In Contention

Tag: IFC Films

  • IFC takes on ‘Brighton Rock’

    Way back in the autumn festival phase, it seemed like Rowan Joffe’s update of “Brighton Rock” might have some kind of awards presence, as praise trickled out of Toronto for breakout star Andrea Riseborough. Things went deadly quiet around the film, however, when no US distributor stepped forward.

    A month later, when it had its homeland premiere at the London Film Festival, I learned the reason for the silence: Joffe’s film is a badly botched attempt to recast Graham Greene’s stark moral thriller as a swinging youth nostalgia piece. I might have let my disappointment show a little in my review:

    [S]carcely a potential avenue for error has been left unexplored here, as the film’s self-conscious (and technically over-egged) noir stylings bristle against a clearly overworked script that fidgets to no effect with Greene’s plotting, with a cast that never coalesces floating somewhere amid the wreckage.

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  • ‘Enter the Void: Bigger, Longer and Uncut’

    Gaspar Noé’s “Enter the Void,” which was finally released in autumn after lying in distribution limbo since Cannes 2009, is not exactly a film that inspires widespread agreement.

    My own 2009 review of the French enfant terrible‘s deranged follow-up to “Irréversible” dismissed it as “fatuous… deploys an arsenal of tricked-out technique and a colossal running time of 163 minutes to make the startling revelations that death is, like, sad, and that drug-dealing is generally not a good idea.”

    Kris, by contrast, couldn’t have landed any further from me on this one, going so far as to name the film in his Top 10 of the year. It’s that kind of conversation-piece picture, and we’re grateful for them — and even more grateful now that IFC has announced plans to re-release the film theatrically in the form its maker intended.

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  • ‘Carlos’ trailer

    Olivier Assayas’s five-and-a-half-hour Carlos the Jackal biopic was the film I most regretted missing it Cannes, where its gargantuan running time prevented any repeat screenings. Happily, I have a chance to catch up with it at next month’s London Film Festival, and am enormously looking forward to doing so. (It will have its US premiere next week at the New York fest.) IFC will be releasing the film on October 15 both in its full miniseries-format glory and in a 150-minute theatrical cut; word from those I trust at Cannes is that the film rewards the long haul. Click on the image below to check out the trailer via Apple, or watch the embed after the jump.

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  • TIFF: ‘Brighton,’ ‘Virginia’ bow, ‘Super’ picked up

    At Toronto today, a hand handful of distribution-seeking films hit and one potential cult favorite found a home.  Let’s dig in…

    One film looking for a distributor that we’ve had an eye on as a potential awards play for supporting actress Andrea Riseborough is Rowan Joffe’s Graham Green’s  “Brighton Rock.” But The Hollywood Reporter’s Ray Bennett largely criticizes a “bloated score” that he says “overwhelms” the narrative.  But he had nice things to say about Riseborough by noting that she “adds to the film’s appeal.”  (See a new clip from the film after the jump.)

    The Jennifer Connelly-starrer “What’s Wrong with Virginia,” from “Milk” writer (and Oscar-winner) Dustin Lance Black, also screened.  Jeffrey Wells “didn’t give a damn about the angry rurals in Black’s world” and walked out of the screening.  The Film Stage’s Jordan Raup, meanwhile, called it “Solondz-lite,” and despite good things to say about Connelly’s performance, said the film “didn’t really come together.”  And Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir found it to be an unstable mix of “American Beauty” and “Blue Velvet.”

    And in the acquisitions department, James Gunn’s “Super” (which was well received at a midnight screening Friday night) has been picked up by IFC Films for its IFC Midnight banner.

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  • Christopher Nolan’s ‘Doodlebug’

    I was looking at Brad Brevet’s take on ranking the films of Christopher Nolan over at Rope of Silicon and stumbled across an embed for the director’s 1997 short “Doodlebug.” I hadn’t seen it yet, honestly, and I imagine others haven’t either.  So I figured I’d post it for some discussion.

    What are we seeing here that would find its way into Nolan’s feature work?  You could pull out themes of identity, or reality vs. perception, maybe.  There’s certainly an undercurrent of paranoia in his films that has roots here, too.  Anyway, passing it along for your viewing pleasure on an EXTREMELY slow pre-Comic-Con Tuesday.  Check out the short after the jump.

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  • IFC nabs Katz’s ‘Cold Weather’

    I want to take a moment amid this typical distribution announcement to offer a big congrats to my friends Aaron Katz, Ben Stambler and Brendan McFadden, director and producers of SXSW sensations “Cold Weather.” It’s a special thing to secure major distribution for your first flick and Aaron has been working hard ever since he nabbed that filmmaking degree in the Carolina Piedmont.

    Katz’s last film, “Quiet City,” made my top 10 in 2007, and if I’m honest, I actually thought “Cold Weather” was a step down creatively.  But the filmmaking is nevertheless more refined (cinematographer Andy Reed moving over to the RED camera makes his skills leap off the screen even more).  I can’t wait to see what the boys do next.

    The press release, in part:

    IFC Films, the leading American distributor of independent and foreign films, announced today that the company has acquired North American and multiple foreign rights including Asia, the Middle East and East-Central Europe to Aaron Katz’s critically acclaimed COLD WEATHER…IFC Films will release COLD WEATHER via its IFC in Theaters platform which brings critically-acclaimed independent movies to on-demand viewers at home the same day they premiere in theaters.

    President of IFC Entertainment Jonathan Sehring said: “We’ve always been fans of Aaron Katz’s work but, with COLD WEATHER, he has made a great step forward as a filmmaker. It’s great fun to see him play with the detective/mystery genre and he’s aided by a wonderful cast and fantastic creative team. This is one of the most original American independent films of the year and we can’t wait to bring it to audiences via all of our various platforms.”

    Bravo.

  • IFC previews its wares

    Isabelle Huppert in White MaterialDo you live in New York? Lucky you. I say that for many reasons, but chief among them right now is that you can attend this weekend’s Focus on IFC Films mini-festival, in which the dedicated indie distributor previews a selection of their upcoming theatrical and VOD titles at Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek.

    I mention this principally as another excuse to plug my favorite film 0f 2009, Claire Denis’s “White Material.” IFC acquired U.S. rights to this staggering Isabelle Huppert-led study of post-colonial Africa last month, and will introduce it under their banner on Friday night.

    Other films in the lineup include Ken Loach’s “Looking for Eric,” which I reviewed upon its UK release last June, Ji-woon Kim’s batty Korean spaghetti western “The Good, The Bad, The Weird,” which I thoroughly enjoyed at the London fest in 2008, and Elia Suleiman’s “The Time That Remains,” which I briefly reviewed in October.

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  • THE LONG SHOT: Post early for Christmas

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerLondon is in the midst of a postal strike. No mail, be it far-flung postcard or electricity bill, has popped through my front door for over a month. I recently had to stroll into Soho to pick up my London Film Festival accreditation pack by hand. And rather discouragingly, my local post office today put a hastily scrawled sign in the window: “Post NOW for delivery by Christmas.”

    If you’re wondering why I’ve started this week’s column with this fascinating tidbit from my domestic life – apart from the fact that, as Kris noted, the crickets are chirping in awardsville this week – it’s because, as I stared disbelievingly at the sign, it occurred to me that a similar memo should be sent to several specialty studios hoping for a stake in this awards season. (Yes, my mind works in curious ways.)

    In short: you have a little package that needs to deliver in time for Oscar consideration? Don’t wait until December. Send it out now.

    This may seem like crazy advice given Oscar voters’ ever-growing love affair with winter releases. Just last year, no pre-November release made the Best Picture cut. And Harvey Weinstein has proved time and again that substantial rewards can be reaped if you spring a film upon the Academy without giving them too much time to think about it – from “The Cider House Rules” to “Chocolat” to “The Reader,” he knows which films won’t survive a few months of critical and industry scrutiny.

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  • 9/9 Web Round-up

    Matt Damon in The Bourne Ultimatum• Roger Deakins, Alexandre Desplat and Colleen Atwood added to Hollywood film fest honorees. [Variety]

    • Matt Damon talks “Bourne 4.” [Empire]

    • Viggo Mortensen planning an early retirement after the release of “The Road?” [Cinema Blend]

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  • IFC to bring ‘Fish Tank’ to U.S. screens

    Katie Jarvis in Fish TankI mentioned last week how much Andrea Arnold’s Cannes-garlanded Brit beauty “Fish Tank” has grown in my esteem over the weeks — I’m really starting to think the 3½ stars I gave it in my review was too cautious.

    I wrote then that the film was still awaiting a Stateside distributor, and while I suspected its American premiere in Toronto would remedy that, it turns we didn’t even have to wait that long. ScreenDaily reports that, unsurprisingly, it is once more IFC who have come to the rescue:

    IFC Films has acquired US rights to Andrea Arnold’s second feature Fish Tank following its world premiere in Cannes where it shared the special jury prize.

    IFC’s vice-president of acquisitions Arianna Bocco brokered the deal with UTA and Jamie Carmichael of ContentFilm International. Arnold is represented by Matthew Bates at Sayle Screen Ltd in the UK and Gersh in the US. IFC Films will release through its IFC In Theaters theatrical and VOD day-and-date platform.

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  • If at first you don’t succeed…

    I Hate Valentine's DayHas Nia Vardalos cloned herself? That’s a pretty terrifying thought, granted, but don’t shudder just yet, because my next statement is even more troubling: Vardalos has another movie out next month.

    Yes, fresh from the roaring success of “My Life in Ruins,” Hollywood’s favorite recycler of Hellenic schtick is striking while the iron’s, uh, hot with a romantic comedy titled “I Hate Valentine’s Day.” IFC are the fortunate distributors; I’d say riding the coattails of Fox Searchlight’s Vardalos project must have seemed like a good idea at the time, but, well, how could it have done?

    Unlike “My Life in Ruins,” this one is written and directed by the star herself, so Vardalos’ numerous fans can rejoice in the fact that her talent will be unbridled this time. And look! John Corbett is back for the ride, to rekindle that old Greek magic. I bet July 3 suddenly seems too long to wait, huh?

    Why had I not heard about this film until today? Why was I not warned? (Hat tip to Stale Popcorn for breaking the news to me gently.) And why, given the title of the film, could they not at least wait until Valentine’s Day 2010 to give us time to recover?

    Remember when it looked like a very real possibility that Nia Vardalos could win a Best Original Screenplay Oscar? And then when, in a rare and frankly astonishing gesture of common sense and good taste, they went for Pedro Almodovar instead? It’s days like this when I feel inspired to write a personal thank-you note to every member of the Academy.

  • IFC to bring ‘Antichrist’ to U.S.

    Willem Dafoe in AntichristSpeaking of “Antichrist,” while some doubted that the controversial pic would see the light of day Stateside, IFC Films is ensuring that it will. The indie outfit has picked up U.S. distribution rights to Lars Von Trier’s film, and moreover, has announced that no cuts will be made to film ahead of its release. IFC president Jonathan Sehring’s states:

    “Since it premiered at Cannes on Monday, we haven’t been able to stop talking or thinking about ‘Antichrist’ … It is a towering work of cinema by one its greatest directors.  We are incredibly excited to bring this film to America and expect it to have a major impact on audiences not only in America but worldwide.”

    Given that the film will unquestionably land an NC-17 certificate, not to mention further media ire in the States, it’s a courageous move from IFC, and I think they should be commended for it. “Antichrist” certainly stands in stark contrast to IFC’s other Cannes acquisition of the day: Ken Loach’s gentle, well-liked character comedy “Looking for Eric.”

  • IFC nabs Sundance winner ‘Five Minutes of Heaven’

    Liam Neeson in Five Minutes of HeavenFor whatever reason, it completely slipped my mind to mention Oliver Hirschbiegel’s superb “Five Minutes of Heaven” when it premiered on UK television last month. The film, which won directing and writing honours at Sundance in January, is an exemplary return to form for the “Downfall” director, a grim but riveting account of two men seeking closure 30 years after one murdered the other’s brother in the darkest days of the Irish Troubles.

    As the reformed killer, Liam Neeson offers up his most nuanced, affecting work in several years, but it’s really British TV regular James Nesbitt who breaks the heart as a man stuck in agonised limbo between release and revenge. It’s taut, impeccably written and realised drama, comparable in many ways to Paul Greengrass’s similarly disquieting “Bloody Sunday” — between this and the “Red Riding” trilogy, it’s an odd truth that the best filmmaking of the year so far has only appeared on the small screen on this side of the pond.

    Happily, Screen International reports that the film will get the theatrical platform it deserves Stateside. IFC Films has acquired US rights to the film, and is planning a multi-format August release:

    IFC’s Arianna Bocco negotiated the deal with Pathe International and UTA and the distributor will release the film through its IFC In Theatres VOD day-and-date platform.

    Five Minutes Of Heaven, which premiered in Sundance, will also go through the company’s exclusive deal with Blockbuster in stores, by mail subscription and digital downloading at Blockbuster.com.

    Great plan. The film’s not the easiest sell in the world, so the more accessible they make it to the viewing public, the better. Keep an eye out — I can imagine this one landing on a few ten-best lists comes the year’s end.

  • AFI FEST: ‘Hunger,’ ‘Che’

    Benicio Del Toro in CheFour days and three screenings into the 2008 AFI Fest, I’m one-for-two and looking to add to the “win” column as much as possible in the next week.  It hit me this afternoon, though, that no two films could be better suited to an introductory update from the festival, two exercises in subverting the conventions of the biopic.  One succeeds, one fails, but both maintain a certain spirit that you don’t find in the work of many filmmakers today.  And interestingly, both are set for distribution by the always courageous IFC Films.

    Let’s dive in…

    “HUNGER” (***1/2)
    Who the hell is Steve McQueen anyway?  Talk about bursting onto the scene out of nowhere — with what could have been an unfortunate namesake — and carving a spot for yourself that no one will soon dispute.  “Hunger” is one of the year’s best films, a curiously intimate dissection of the blanket, no wash and hunger protests of IRA prisoners held at HM Maze Prison in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

    Spearheaded by a committed (to say the least) performance from Michael Fassbender, the film may be the most visually dynamic effort to hit cinemas in 2008.  McQueen deservedly won the Caméra d’Or (for best first feature) at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival, but a case might have been made for a technical citation for lenser Sean Bobbitt.  He captures the most mundane and intimate moments with an epic craftsman’s touch, guided no doubt by McQueen’s own preoccupation with lingering in this most uncomfortable — and unfortunate — of settings.

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  • ‘Che’ and ‘Hurt Locker’ find distributors in Toronto

    It looks like IFC Films, not Magnolia Pictures (as originally expected), has picked up the much-discussed “Che” at the Toronto International Film Festival.  Here’s Anne Thompson on why.  Meanwhile, Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq film “The Hurt Locker,” which is stunning critics all over the place, was scooped up by Summit Entertainment.

    How interesting is it that no major stuio grabbed these films and they are staying in the independent mindset of smaller factions?  I love it!