In writer-director Jérémy Clapin’s downbeat science-fiction film Meanwhile on Earth, the promises of the future are already the naïve and tarnished daydreams of the past, while the present is a matter of inexorable decline. Lit in wintry tones of disillusionment, nearly every shot in Clapin’s follow-up to I Lost My Body evokes a kind of post-Futurist mood. At the same time, there are flashes of nostalgia for what we thought the present could be—if only we had believed in those daydreams hard enough for them to become reality.
The film tells the story of Elsa (Megan Northam), a young woman whose brother, Franck (voiced by Sébastien Pouderoux), has disappeared into the vacuum of outer space on an exploration mission. Her talent as an illustrator motivates Meanwhile on Earth’s several animated daydreams, in which she meets with Franck on a spacecraft that suggests something out of a Mœbius comic.
The film tells the story of Elsa (Megan Northam), a young woman whose brother, Franck (voiced by Sébastien Pouderoux), has disappeared into the vacuum of outer space on an exploration mission. Her talent as an illustrator motivates Meanwhile on Earth’s several animated daydreams, in which she meets with Franck on a spacecraft that suggests something out of a Mœbius comic.
- 9/11/2024
- by William Repass
- Slant Magazine
"A stunning sci-fi experience." Metrograph Pics has revealed another teaser for the indie sci-fi film titled Meanwhile on Earth, from French filmmaker Jérémy Clapin. It's now rescheduled to open in November, shifting a few months from the initial September date for a better fit later in the fall. This first premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival earlier in the year. Jérémy Clapin is the same director who made the excellent animated film I Lost My Body, which anyone can now watch on Netflix. In this new film, a young woman is contacted by her missing brother, an astronaut who vanished on a mission, but all is not what it seems in this sci-fi thriller. The intro from Berlinale explains: "Siblings Elsa & Franck were always very close. When Franck mysteriously disappeared during a space mission three years ago, everything changed for Elsa. Since then, the 23-year-old has struggled to move on with her life.
- 8/27/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
“They’ve gone into their dream.” That’s what the non-corporeal extraterrestrial entity (voiced by Dimitri Doré) says through a highly malleable seed that Elsa Martens (Megan Northam) places in her ear. The words are meant to comfort her when the first of its victims is imperceptibly replaced by one of its companions––that the person she knew the body to be didn’t die. It was instead painlessly sent away to exist in a realm we can assume will bring it joy. Does this fact make it easier to deal with the task she’s been asked to undertake? Nothing about choosing four more people for this alien to use as vessels in exchange for bringing her brother back to Earth is easy, but she’s going to try anyway.
Writer-director Jérémy Clapin’s Meanwhile on Earth presents us with a world where thick-as-thieves siblings Elsa and Franck are no longer together.
Writer-director Jérémy Clapin’s Meanwhile on Earth presents us with a world where thick-as-thieves siblings Elsa and Franck are no longer together.
- 7/23/2024
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Metrograph Pictures is releasing Jérémy Clapin's sci-fi drama, Meanwhile on Earth, in cinemas on September 13th. A 23 year-old girl is contacted by an unknown life form claiming to be able to bring her older brother safely back to Earth, who disappeared during a space mission. Metrograph released the trailer today. Check it out below the long synopsis. Meanwhile on Earth also happens to be playing at Fantasia next week on the 22nd, for its North American premiere. From the director of I Lost My Body (Academy Award®-nominated Best Animated Feature) comes a thrilling new sci-fi vision Metrograph Pictures will release Meanwhile On Earth in theaters September 13, 2024 Elsa, along with...
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[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/17/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Writer/Director Jérémy Clapin, whose 2019 animated debut, I Lost My Body, earned an Academy Award nomination, makes the jump to live-action with the sci-fi thriller Meanwhile on Earth. Today, we have a first look trailer that introduces a strange mystery from space.
Metrograph Pictures releases Meanwhile on Earth in theaters on September 13, 2024.
In the film, “Elsa, along with her family, is struggling following the disappearance of her brother Franck, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission. While stargazing one night, Elsa is shocked to receive contact from Franck, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind Franck’s reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.”
Watch the trailer below, which goes heavy on the psychological as strange things begin to happen surrounding Elsa’s search for her brother.
It may...
Metrograph Pictures releases Meanwhile on Earth in theaters on September 13, 2024.
In the film, “Elsa, along with her family, is struggling following the disappearance of her brother Franck, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission. While stargazing one night, Elsa is shocked to receive contact from Franck, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind Franck’s reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.”
Watch the trailer below, which goes heavy on the psychological as strange things begin to happen surrounding Elsa’s search for her brother.
It may...
- 7/17/2024
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
After crafting one of the most imaginative animated films of the last few years with the Oscar-nominated Cannes premiere I Lost My Body, director Jérémy Clapin returned this year in the live-action realm Meanwhile on Earth. World premiering at Berlinale earlier this year, ahead of a stop at Fantasia Film Festival and a theatrical release beginning on September 13, Metrograph Pictures have now released the first trailer and poster.
Here’s the synopsis: “Elsa, along with her family, is struggling following the disappearance of her brother Franck, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission. While stargazing one night, Elsa is shocked to receive contact from Franck, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind Franck’s reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever. “
See the trailer and poster below.
The post...
Here’s the synopsis: “Elsa, along with her family, is struggling following the disappearance of her brother Franck, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission. While stargazing one night, Elsa is shocked to receive contact from Franck, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind Franck’s reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever. “
See the trailer and poster below.
The post...
- 7/17/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
After directing the Oscar-nominated animated film “I Lost My Body,” Jérémy Clapin now finds himself making his first live-action feature.
Clapin writes and directs the drama “Meanwhile on Earth,” which stars newcomer Megan Northam as a girl who grieves her missing astronaut brother. However, all may not be as it seems.
The official synopsis reads: “Elsa (Northam), along with her family, is struggling following the disappearance of her brother Franck, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission. While stargazing one night, Elsa is shocked to receive contact from Franck, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind Franck’s reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.”
The film is produced by Marc du Pontavice and will be distributed by Metrograph Pictures. Rising outfit Metrograph is making a splash this year...
Clapin writes and directs the drama “Meanwhile on Earth,” which stars newcomer Megan Northam as a girl who grieves her missing astronaut brother. However, all may not be as it seems.
The official synopsis reads: “Elsa (Northam), along with her family, is struggling following the disappearance of her brother Franck, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission. While stargazing one night, Elsa is shocked to receive contact from Franck, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind Franck’s reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.”
The film is produced by Marc du Pontavice and will be distributed by Metrograph Pictures. Rising outfit Metrograph is making a splash this year...
- 7/17/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
"No one will ever know we are among you." Metrograph Pictures has revealed an official trailer for an indie sci-fi film titled Meanwhile on Earth, from French filmmaker Jérémy Clapin. This premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, and opens in art house theaters in the US starting in September this fall. Jérémy Clapin is the same director who made the excellent animated film I Lost My Body, which anyone can now watch on Netflix. In this new film, a young woman is contacted by her missing brother, an astronaut who vanished on a mission, but all is not what it seems in this sci-fi thriller. The intro from Berlinale: "Siblings Elsa & Franck were always very close. When Franck mysteriously disappeared during a space mission three years ago, everything changed for Elsa. Since then, the 23-year-old has struggled to move on with her life. One day she is contacted by an...
- 7/17/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The Annecy Animation Festival hosted its closing ceremony on Saturday, where there were two clear winners from the main feature film competition. Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail” took Annecy’s top award, the Cristal for best feature, and Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow” scooped just about everything else.
Australian stop-motion feature “Memoir of a Snail” is the latest from Elliot, an Academy Award winner who scored the animated short statue in 2004 with his stop-motion film “Harvie Krumpet.” This time around, the director offers the heartstring-pulling story of Grace Pudel, a lonely misfit who loves collecting snails.
“There’s a magic to 100%-CG-free stop-motion, with its cellophane flames and tears made of sexual lubricant,” wrote Variety Chief Film Critic Peter Debruge in his review of the film. “Don’t be surprised if ‘Memoir’ has you shedding real ones in your seat.”
Zilbalodis’ “Flow” won a four-pack of honors at this year...
Australian stop-motion feature “Memoir of a Snail” is the latest from Elliot, an Academy Award winner who scored the animated short statue in 2004 with his stop-motion film “Harvie Krumpet.” This time around, the director offers the heartstring-pulling story of Grace Pudel, a lonely misfit who loves collecting snails.
“There’s a magic to 100%-CG-free stop-motion, with its cellophane flames and tears made of sexual lubricant,” wrote Variety Chief Film Critic Peter Debruge in his review of the film. “Don’t be surprised if ‘Memoir’ has you shedding real ones in your seat.”
Zilbalodis’ “Flow” won a four-pack of honors at this year...
- 6/15/2024
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The seventh edition of Animation is Film (Aif), a Los Angeles-based sister event to France’s prestigious Annecy Animation Festival, will run October 18-20 at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood this fall.
Launched in 2017, “The Festival embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form on par with live action and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of,” reads the Aif mission statement.
The festival’s executive director, Matt Kaszanek, put it more succinctly during last year’s event: “Animation Is Film is not just the name of our festival; it is its mission.”
Animation is Film fills a gap in the U.S. market, which has no dedicated animation festivals on par with those in Europe, Asia, and Canada. The annual autumn event is also becoming something of an Oscar-season bellwether.
Launched in 2017, “The Festival embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form on par with live action and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of,” reads the Aif mission statement.
The festival’s executive director, Matt Kaszanek, put it more succinctly during last year’s event: “Animation Is Film is not just the name of our festival; it is its mission.”
Animation is Film fills a gap in the U.S. market, which has no dedicated animation festivals on par with those in Europe, Asia, and Canada. The annual autumn event is also becoming something of an Oscar-season bellwether.
- 6/14/2024
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Update: Netflix has unveiled a new teaser for the show, so you can see some of it in action for yourselves. Our original article continues below.
If nothing else, Zack Snyder has a distinct style. Much like Michael Bay, you can recognize a Snyder film the moment you watch it. Whether you clock his use of slow motion, his eye for striking imagery and poses, or his slick action, Snyder's background in music video directing means he knows how to craft memorable images in a short amount of time with limited resources.
This is to say, Zack Snyder was always meant to work in animation. Say what you will about his owl movie, which no one saw, but "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" showed this, with fantastic visuals that matched Snyder's narrative obsession with myth-making.
Now, he's getting another chance at it, with "Twilight of the Gods.
If nothing else, Zack Snyder has a distinct style. Much like Michael Bay, you can recognize a Snyder film the moment you watch it. Whether you clock his use of slow motion, his eye for striking imagery and poses, or his slick action, Snyder's background in music video directing means he knows how to craft memorable images in a short amount of time with limited resources.
This is to say, Zack Snyder was always meant to work in animation. Say what you will about his owl movie, which no one saw, but "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" showed this, with fantastic visuals that matched Snyder's narrative obsession with myth-making.
Now, he's getting another chance at it, with "Twilight of the Gods.
- 6/12/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Netflix Animation held its first slate preview event June 6 at the Tudum in L.A., as a lead-up to the Annecy Animation Festival (June 9-15), where it will premiere Shannon Tindle’s “Ultraman: Rising” (streaming June 14) and tout some of its upcoming works in 2024 and 2025.
Hosted by Christopher Sean (the voice star of “Ultraman: Rising”), attendees were treated to exclusive presentations, previews, and special announcements. The biggest announcement was the full title of Aardman’s next stop-motion feature, “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” which will have an Oscar-qualifying run this winter before streaming in 2025.
Directed by franchise creator Nick Park and creative director Merlin Crossingham, who offered a pre-recorded introduction, “Vengeance Most Fowl” marks the return of the villainous penguin, Feathers McGraw, from the Oscar-winning short “The Wrong Trousers.” The film is a cautionary tale of high-tech gone wrong involving an out-of-control “smart gnome” with a mind of its own.
Hosted by Christopher Sean (the voice star of “Ultraman: Rising”), attendees were treated to exclusive presentations, previews, and special announcements. The biggest announcement was the full title of Aardman’s next stop-motion feature, “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” which will have an Oscar-qualifying run this winter before streaming in 2025.
Directed by franchise creator Nick Park and creative director Merlin Crossingham, who offered a pre-recorded introduction, “Vengeance Most Fowl” marks the return of the villainous penguin, Feathers McGraw, from the Oscar-winning short “The Wrong Trousers.” The film is a cautionary tale of high-tech gone wrong involving an out-of-control “smart gnome” with a mind of its own.
- 6/6/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
LevelFilm has acquired a brace of festival favorite films from Metrograph Pictures for Canadian distribution.
India Donaldson’s feature directorial debut “Good One” world premiered at Sundance and screened at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. In the coming-of-age drama, 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome brotherly dynamic, airing long-held grievances, Sam attempts to mediate their disputes. But when lines are crossed and Sam’s trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch.
“Meanwhile on Earth” is the live-action debut of Jérémy Clapin who was nominated for an Academy Award for his adult animated film “I Lost My Body.” The film, which premiered at the Berlinale earlier this year, stars Meghan Northam (“The Passengers of the Night”) in her debut feature starring role.
India Donaldson’s feature directorial debut “Good One” world premiered at Sundance and screened at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. In the coming-of-age drama, 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome brotherly dynamic, airing long-held grievances, Sam attempts to mediate their disputes. But when lines are crossed and Sam’s trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch.
“Meanwhile on Earth” is the live-action debut of Jérémy Clapin who was nominated for an Academy Award for his adult animated film “I Lost My Body.” The film, which premiered at the Berlinale earlier this year, stars Meghan Northam (“The Passengers of the Night”) in her debut feature starring role.
- 5/30/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Urban Sales has closed a raft of deals on the upcoming animated feature “Into the Wonderwoods” ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Special Screenings section.
The film, which bows with a special screening May 22 at the prestigious French fest, has sold to 45 territories, the Paris-based sales outfit announced during the Cannes Market. Pic has sold to Volga for the Cis territories and the Baltics; Selim Ramia & Co. for the Mena region; Skyline for Vietnam; New Horizons for Poland; Ascot Elite for Switzerland; Movies Inspired for Italy; Vercine for Spain; and Pris Audiovisuais for Portugal.
The family animation next travels to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to compete in the main competition for the prestigious Cristal award. Le Pacte will be releasing the film in France on Oct. 23. Advanced negotiations are ongoing for Benelux, China, Germany, Turkey, Latin America and North America.
“Into the Wonderwoods...
The film, which bows with a special screening May 22 at the prestigious French fest, has sold to 45 territories, the Paris-based sales outfit announced during the Cannes Market. Pic has sold to Volga for the Cis territories and the Baltics; Selim Ramia & Co. for the Mena region; Skyline for Vietnam; New Horizons for Poland; Ascot Elite for Switzerland; Movies Inspired for Italy; Vercine for Spain; and Pris Audiovisuais for Portugal.
The family animation next travels to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to compete in the main competition for the prestigious Cristal award. Le Pacte will be releasing the film in France on Oct. 23. Advanced negotiations are ongoing for Benelux, China, Germany, Turkey, Latin America and North America.
“Into the Wonderwoods...
- 5/19/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes Critics’ Week, now in its 63rd year, is always an opportunity to explore uncharted work from new and emerging filmmakers — and away from the glitter and glitz of the Croisette, where the main competition bows. Recent Critics’ Week Grand Prize winners have included everything from “Tiger Stripes,” a Malaysian coming-of-age debut opening in stateside theaters later this month, to 2019’s honoree “I Lost My Body,” the animated favorite that went on to be nominated for an Oscar.
Coming up in the Special Screenings category of Critics’ Week, Alexis Langlois makes their feature directorial debut with “Queens of Drama,” a French pop/punk musical that brings a mid-aughts camp sensibility to Cannes this year. Below, IndieWire shares an exclusive clip for the film along with a first-look image. “Queens of Drama” premieres at Critics’ Week on Saturday, May 18, with Charades handling sales.
Per the synopsis, in 2005, Mimi Madamour, the young pop idol,...
Coming up in the Special Screenings category of Critics’ Week, Alexis Langlois makes their feature directorial debut with “Queens of Drama,” a French pop/punk musical that brings a mid-aughts camp sensibility to Cannes this year. Below, IndieWire shares an exclusive clip for the film along with a first-look image. “Queens of Drama” premieres at Critics’ Week on Saturday, May 18, with Charades handling sales.
Per the synopsis, in 2005, Mimi Madamour, the young pop idol,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Two of France’s fastest-rising young stars, Lyna Khoudri and Rio Vega, will lead the French voice cast of animated feature “In Waves,” an unconditional first love story, and tale of loss and memories adapting American illustrator Aj Dungo’s same-titled multi-prized graphic novel.
An anticipated banner prestige animation title from Paris-based Silex Films, “In Waves” lead producer, the feature also marks the first animated co-production of both Anonymous Content and Charades, behind sales of Jeremy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body” and Mamoru Hosoda’s “Mirai,” both Oscar nominated titles.
In Waves is directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen, a former student of French animation schools Gobelins and La Poudrière who helmed episodes of the Silex-produced animated series “Brazen” and was Oscar-shortlisted for her short “My Home,” “In Waves” has just been announced as one of five titles at the Annecy Animation Showcase, part of Cannes’ Animation Day on May...
An anticipated banner prestige animation title from Paris-based Silex Films, “In Waves” lead producer, the feature also marks the first animated co-production of both Anonymous Content and Charades, behind sales of Jeremy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body” and Mamoru Hosoda’s “Mirai,” both Oscar nominated titles.
In Waves is directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen, a former student of French animation schools Gobelins and La Poudrière who helmed episodes of the Silex-produced animated series “Brazen” and was Oscar-shortlisted for her short “My Home,” “In Waves” has just been announced as one of five titles at the Annecy Animation Showcase, part of Cannes’ Animation Day on May...
- 4/23/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Veteran French distributor Rezo Films is closing its doors after more than 32 years and nearly 400 films after struggling to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive distribution landscape.
Founded in 1992 by Jean-Michel Rey and Nadia Lassoujade, Rezo Films helped to launch the careers of several French auteurs including Abdellatif Kechiche, Pascal Bonitzer, Catherine Corsini, Xavier Dolan, Gaspar Noé, Stéphane Brizé and Jeremy Clapin.
Several of those films performed well for arthouse titles in the territory including Clapin’s debut feature I Lost My Body in 2019, Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon in 2009, and Kechiche’s Games Of Love And Chance (L’Esquive) with 373,618 tickets...
Founded in 1992 by Jean-Michel Rey and Nadia Lassoujade, Rezo Films helped to launch the careers of several French auteurs including Abdellatif Kechiche, Pascal Bonitzer, Catherine Corsini, Xavier Dolan, Gaspar Noé, Stéphane Brizé and Jeremy Clapin.
Several of those films performed well for arthouse titles in the territory including Clapin’s debut feature I Lost My Body in 2019, Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon in 2009, and Kechiche’s Games Of Love And Chance (L’Esquive) with 373,618 tickets...
- 3/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: New York-based distributor Metrograph Pictures has acquired North American rights to French director Jérémy Clapin’s sci-fi drama Meanwhile on Earth following its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama section last month.
The lost sibling tale marks the first live-action feature for Clapin after his 2019 Oscar-nominated, Netflix-acquired animated movie I Lost My Body, which originally world premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week and also won the Cristal for Best film at the Annecy International Animation Festival in 2019
The drama follows a young woman who is struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of her brother, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission.
While stargazing one night, she is shocked to receive contact from her him, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind his reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.
The lost sibling tale marks the first live-action feature for Clapin after his 2019 Oscar-nominated, Netflix-acquired animated movie I Lost My Body, which originally world premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week and also won the Cristal for Best film at the Annecy International Animation Festival in 2019
The drama follows a young woman who is struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of her brother, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission.
While stargazing one night, she is shocked to receive contact from her him, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind his reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.
- 3/8/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Originally developed as an eight-episode series, the maritime adventure “Lucy Lost” will instead hit the silver screen now that Paris-based powerhouse Xilam Animation has retooled the project as a feature. “Klaus” alum Olivier Clert has boarded as co-writer and director, joining BAFTA-winning screenwriter Helen Blakeman for a seaside family tale adapted from “War Horse” author Michael Morpurgo’s 2014 novel “Listen to the Moon.”
Xilam has shared this first-look with Variety ahead of the reformatted project’s pitch at Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux.
Set on the Isles of Scilly just off the Cornish coast, the film follows a young girl named Lucy raised by a clan of fishermen she knows not to be hers. However, she remembers little else about her past, and as a terrible war rages off in the distance, a chance encounter with the mysterious girl her own age soon helps Lucy put back the pieces of her...
Xilam has shared this first-look with Variety ahead of the reformatted project’s pitch at Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux.
Set on the Isles of Scilly just off the Cornish coast, the film follows a young girl named Lucy raised by a clan of fishermen she knows not to be hers. However, she remembers little else about her past, and as a terrible war rages off in the distance, a chance encounter with the mysterious girl her own age soon helps Lucy put back the pieces of her...
- 3/5/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
One of my favorite films from 2019 is an animated French feature called I Lost My Body, about hand that runs off from a lab and a guy who encounters it. I was delighted to discover that the filmmaker behind I Lost My Body, named Jérémy Clapin, already has a new science fiction film finished and ready. His latest film is titled Meanwhile on Earth, also known as Pendant ce temps sur Terre in French, and it premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. I'm glad I caught up with it, even though I didn't even know it was playing at Berlinale until halfway through when other colleagues started talking about it. Meanwhile on Earth is a mesmerizing little sci-fi film about a woman connecting with extraterrestrial life. Not a knockout, nothing to phone home about, but vibrant filmmaking that kept me intrigued. It may not end up...
- 2/23/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Best Friend Forever has acquired international rights to emerging director Dania Reymond-Boughenou’s debut feature “Silent Storms,” a supernatural film set in a fictional Arab city.
Currently in post production, the movie follows Nacer, a 45-year-old journalist who is observing the appearance of strange yellow sandstorms looming over Algiers and its surroundings. While covering the phenomenon for his newspaper, he starts witnessing more and more supernatural events, until his late wife Fajar returns to life. Faced with increasingly threatening storms, Samir has to face a dark past that haunts him.
“Silent Storms” stars Khaled Benaïssa (“Papicha”), singer-turned-director Camélia Jordana, Shirine Boutella (“Lupin”) and Mehdi Ramdani. The movie is scored by Dan Levy (“I Lost my Body”).
Reymond-Boughenou previously directed the short film “Constellation de la Rouguiere,” which was selected for Fid Marseille and Clermont Ferrand film festivals.
The helmer said she wanted the film to depict the reappearing of a traumatic memory.
Currently in post production, the movie follows Nacer, a 45-year-old journalist who is observing the appearance of strange yellow sandstorms looming over Algiers and its surroundings. While covering the phenomenon for his newspaper, he starts witnessing more and more supernatural events, until his late wife Fajar returns to life. Faced with increasingly threatening storms, Samir has to face a dark past that haunts him.
“Silent Storms” stars Khaled Benaïssa (“Papicha”), singer-turned-director Camélia Jordana, Shirine Boutella (“Lupin”) and Mehdi Ramdani. The movie is scored by Dan Levy (“I Lost my Body”).
Reymond-Boughenou previously directed the short film “Constellation de la Rouguiere,” which was selected for Fid Marseille and Clermont Ferrand film festivals.
The helmer said she wanted the film to depict the reappearing of a traumatic memory.
- 2/20/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Grief is a concept that everyone with a heart can relate to, but it’s not always something that everyone with a brain can deal with. Riffing on Jean Cocteau’s 1950 classic Orphée and giving it a very modern makeover, French writer-director Jérémy Clapin explores that very paradox with Meanwhile on Earth, a strange, poetic, and endearingly surreal meditation on the counterintuitive ways in which we react when confronted with loss.
In a very literal way, Clapin has been here before, with his acclaimed and surprisingly poignant 2019 animated film I Lost My Body, in which the disembodied hand of a pizza delivery boy goes on a journey to find the rest of itself. This much more cryptic follow-up pushes the notion a whole lot further, and whether it works or not will be in the eye of the beholder.
The loss this time is felt by Elsa (Megan Northam), who...
In a very literal way, Clapin has been here before, with his acclaimed and surprisingly poignant 2019 animated film I Lost My Body, in which the disembodied hand of a pizza delivery boy goes on a journey to find the rest of itself. This much more cryptic follow-up pushes the notion a whole lot further, and whether it works or not will be in the eye of the beholder.
The loss this time is felt by Elsa (Megan Northam), who...
- 2/17/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
“Close to You,” the Elliot Page-starring drama directed by BAFTA winner Dominic Savage, will be introduced to international buyers at the European Film Market by former Charades exec Jean-Félix Dealberto.
The film, which was written by Savage and Page, and also stars Hillary Baack (“Sound of Metal”), had its world premiere in Toronto, where Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights.
“Close to You” follows Sam (Page), who moved to Toronto from his small town on Lake Ontario, Canada, and finally decides to return home to visit his family for his dad’s birthday. On his journey, he has a chance encounter with a friend from high school (Baack) that sparks old feelings. It is on this trip where Sam can finally confront long-buried feelings, a first love that was never properly resolved, his relationship with his family and a newfound love and confidence in himself.
The film was...
The film, which was written by Savage and Page, and also stars Hillary Baack (“Sound of Metal”), had its world premiere in Toronto, where Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights.
“Close to You” follows Sam (Page), who moved to Toronto from his small town on Lake Ontario, Canada, and finally decides to return home to visit his family for his dad’s birthday. On his journey, he has a chance encounter with a friend from high school (Baack) that sparks old feelings. It is on this trip where Sam can finally confront long-buried feelings, a first love that was never properly resolved, his relationship with his family and a newfound love and confidence in himself.
The film was...
- 2/15/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlinale has completed the lineup for its Panorama, Generation, Forum and Forum expanded sections, with new films from Levan Akin and Andre Techine, plus the debut feature of US playwright Annie Baker.
Swedish filmmaker Akin, who scored an international hit in 2019 with And Then We Danced, will open the Panorama strand with Crossing, about two people travelling from Georgia to Istanbul in search of a young transgender woman.
Scroll down for the full list of Panorama, Generation and Forum features
Also among the 31 films in Panorama are My New Friends from French filmmaker Techine, starring Isabelle Hupert, Hafsia Herzi...
Swedish filmmaker Akin, who scored an international hit in 2019 with And Then We Danced, will open the Panorama strand with Crossing, about two people travelling from Georgia to Istanbul in search of a young transgender woman.
Scroll down for the full list of Panorama, Generation and Forum features
Also among the 31 films in Panorama are My New Friends from French filmmaker Techine, starring Isabelle Hupert, Hafsia Herzi...
- 1/17/2024
- by Ben Dalton¬Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSBreak no.1 & Break no.2..The lineups for select sections of the 2024 editions of the Berlinale and International Film Festival Rotterdam have been unveiled, with films from Panorama, Forum, Forum Expanded, Generation, and Berlinale Special announced for the former, and the Tiger and Big Screen competitions at the latter. In Berlin, so far, we are excited by the prospect of new films by Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) and Jérémy Clapin (I Lost My Body), whereas in Rotterdam, we have our eye on new work by Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich and Lei Lei. As the year comes to a close, the Best of 2023 lists keep coming. Sight & Sound shared the seventh edition of their always-interesting poll of the best video essays of the year,...
- 12/20/2023
- MUBI
The filmmaking duo, whose debut film Gagarine earned the Cannes Label in 2020 and found its way to cinephiles amidst the challenges of the pandemic, have been gradually crafting their next project. Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh will move into production next spring on Les Yeux Verts — it will be produced by June Films’ Naomi Denamur and Julie Billy (who just completed production on the highly anticipated feature debut by Ariane Labed). Casting is currently underway for what will be another film with young protagonists – the pre-teen and teen demo. We have no idea what the plotline is, but the project was co-written with Guillaume Laurent of Amélie and I Lost My Body fame.…...
- 10/25/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Julien Bisaro and Claire Paoletti, the French director-writer team behind award-winning short Shooom’s Odyssey (2020) are setting their feature debut. The duo pitched the animated feature La Petite Cavale (On The Run) to co-production partners, as well as producers and broadcasters, at an industry session at this year’s Annecy animation festival on Wednesday. Bisaro and Paoletti screened a two-minute pilot for the project, which France’s Picolo Pictures are producing.
The kids-friendly feature focuses on Cookie, a male penguin who cannot lay an egg. When a volcanic eruption disrupts his New Zealand refuge and rolls an echidna egg in his path, Cookie takes it as a sign that this is the opportunity for fatherhood he has been longing for, and decides to raise the echidna chick as his own.
The bird theme and focus on parenthood recall Bisaro and Paoletti’s Shooom’s Odyssey, which told the story of little owl...
The kids-friendly feature focuses on Cookie, a male penguin who cannot lay an egg. When a volcanic eruption disrupts his New Zealand refuge and rolls an echidna egg in his path, Cookie takes it as a sign that this is the opportunity for fatherhood he has been longing for, and decides to raise the echidna chick as his own.
The bird theme and focus on parenthood recall Bisaro and Paoletti’s Shooom’s Odyssey, which told the story of little owl...
- 6/14/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Nimona” took a twisty road to the big screen. But now it’s ready for its debut at Annecy Animation Film Festival. Pictured above is an exclusive still from the anticipated fantasy adventure.
Based on the graphic novel by N.D. Stevenson, the feature follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight in a futuristic medieval world who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. The only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy.
“Nimona” started out at 20th Century Fox’s animation shingle Blue Sky Studios, which optioned the novel in 2015. Nick Bruno and Troy Quane were brought onboard in 2020 when creative direction of the film changed. The film continued production apace even after Disney completed its $71.9 billion merger with 20th Century Fox in 2019.
Production continued during the pandemic as well, but then in 2021, Disney shuttered Blue Sky.
Based on the graphic novel by N.D. Stevenson, the feature follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight in a futuristic medieval world who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. The only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy.
“Nimona” started out at 20th Century Fox’s animation shingle Blue Sky Studios, which optioned the novel in 2015. Nick Bruno and Troy Quane were brought onboard in 2020 when creative direction of the film changed. The film continued production apace even after Disney completed its $71.9 billion merger with 20th Century Fox in 2019.
Production continued during the pandemic as well, but then in 2021, Disney shuttered Blue Sky.
- 6/11/2023
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
Charades has acquired “Flow,” a 3D animated feature directed by Gints Zilbalodis, the Annie-nominated filmmaker of “Away”.
Produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well Studio and Take Five, “Flow” will be presented in the Work-in-Progress section in Annecy.
Zilbalodis penned the feature with Matiss Kaza at Dream Well Studio and Ron Dyens (“Barking Island”) at Sacrebleu Productions who are acting as co-writers and producers.
“Flow” is currently in production in Marseille, Paris and Bruxelles, with an expected delivery date during the second quarter of 2024.
“Flow” is set in the aftermath of a terrible flood that ravages the world and follows a stubbornly independent cat who is forced to share a boat with a group of other animals. Getting along with them proves to be an even greater challenge than surviving the flood.
Zilbalodis, a Latvian filmmaker and animator, made his feature debut at the age of 24 with “Away.” The movie...
Produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well Studio and Take Five, “Flow” will be presented in the Work-in-Progress section in Annecy.
Zilbalodis penned the feature with Matiss Kaza at Dream Well Studio and Ron Dyens (“Barking Island”) at Sacrebleu Productions who are acting as co-writers and producers.
“Flow” is currently in production in Marseille, Paris and Bruxelles, with an expected delivery date during the second quarter of 2024.
“Flow” is set in the aftermath of a terrible flood that ravages the world and follows a stubbornly independent cat who is forced to share a boat with a group of other animals. Getting along with them proves to be an even greater challenge than surviving the flood.
Zilbalodis, a Latvian filmmaker and animator, made his feature debut at the age of 24 with “Away.” The movie...
- 6/7/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Every year at the Cannes Film Festival, there's one extraordinary animated film that quietly premieres in one of the side sections. Some of my other favorites from the past are: I Lost My Body (2019), The Summit of the Gods (2021), and Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be (2022). This year's big animation discovery is a French animated feature called Mars Express, a hard sci-fi creation from director Jérémie Périn. At the fest there's also the animated film Robot Dreams, which I already reviewed and it's wonderful as well, but this one completely rocked me. Both of these films involve robots, which is a bit of a fun coincidence. Mars Express is pretty much a French update on the iconic Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell, featuring a noir story involving androids and artificial intelligence and hacking and robots galore. While it's not as great as Gits, it's as close as anyone has...
- 5/23/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Zack Snyder has been a busy boy since his guardianship of the DC movie universe came to an end following principal photography on "Justice League." Though he eventually returned to finish his version of that film, the multi-hyphenate filmmaker has since settled in firmly at Netflix and is focusing on original stories rather than pre-existing franchises. Among these projects is "Twilight of the Gods," a 2D animated action series based on Norse mythology.
The project marks another return to Snyder's filmmaking roots. He made his feature directorial debut in 2004 with the very well-received remake of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," and his first project for Netflix was the Las Vegas-set undead action horror "Army of the Dead." Snyder's second feature-length film debuted back in 2006 and secured his status as a rising talent to watch: the epic historical war movie "300," inspired by the legendary Battle of Thermopylae. "Twilight of the Gods...
The project marks another return to Snyder's filmmaking roots. He made his feature directorial debut in 2004 with the very well-received remake of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," and his first project for Netflix was the Las Vegas-set undead action horror "Army of the Dead." Snyder's second feature-length film debuted back in 2006 and secured his status as a rising talent to watch: the epic historical war movie "300," inspired by the legendary Battle of Thermopylae. "Twilight of the Gods...
- 5/7/2023
- by Hannah Shaw-Williams
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Paris-based sales and production company Charades and London-based production and financing studio Anton are partnering on the worldwide sales of Oscar-winning Australian director Adam Elliot’s upcoming stop-motion drama Memoir Of A Snail.
The poignant tale of a young lonely misfit is the second feature after the award-winning 2019 animation Mary And Max for Elliot, who won an Oscar for the 2004 short Harvey Krumpet.
The partners have unveiled a first image as well as some first members of international voice cast featuring Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis), Dominique Pinon, Magda Szubanski, and Eric Bana (The Dry).
The lead cast has yet to be announced.
The animated feature is produced by Arenamedia, with Liz Kearney (Paper Planes) as producer, and Robert Connolly (The Dry) and Robert Patterson as Executive Producers.
The film is currently shooting in Melbourne, Australia, with an expected release date...
The poignant tale of a young lonely misfit is the second feature after the award-winning 2019 animation Mary And Max for Elliot, who won an Oscar for the 2004 short Harvey Krumpet.
The partners have unveiled a first image as well as some first members of international voice cast featuring Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis), Dominique Pinon, Magda Szubanski, and Eric Bana (The Dry).
The lead cast has yet to be announced.
The animated feature is produced by Arenamedia, with Liz Kearney (Paper Planes) as producer, and Robert Connolly (The Dry) and Robert Patterson as Executive Producers.
The film is currently shooting in Melbourne, Australia, with an expected release date...
- 5/4/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Anonymous Content has come on board California surf-themed animated feature adapted from illustrator Aj Dungo’s celebrated graphic memoir, “In Waves.”
Produced by Paris-based Silex Films, “In Waves” marks the feature debut of Phuong Mai Nguyen (“Brazen”), and is being penned by Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux, whose screenwriting credits include “After Love” and “The Origin of Evil.”
The feature is produced by Priscilla Bertin and Judith Nora, co-Founders of Silex Films, alongside Charades and Nick Shumaker, Garrett Kemble, and David Levine who will executive produce on behalf of Anonymous Content.
“We fell in love immediately with ‘In Waves’ on first read,” said Nick Shumaker on behalf of Anonymous Content. “Its themes of first love, loss, and memory will speak to worldwide audiences across age ranges and demographics, and is a needed anecdote to help inject positive emotion back into our everyday,” Shumaker continued. He pointed out the projects marks...
Produced by Paris-based Silex Films, “In Waves” marks the feature debut of Phuong Mai Nguyen (“Brazen”), and is being penned by Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux, whose screenwriting credits include “After Love” and “The Origin of Evil.”
The feature is produced by Priscilla Bertin and Judith Nora, co-Founders of Silex Films, alongside Charades and Nick Shumaker, Garrett Kemble, and David Levine who will executive produce on behalf of Anonymous Content.
“We fell in love immediately with ‘In Waves’ on first read,” said Nick Shumaker on behalf of Anonymous Content. “Its themes of first love, loss, and memory will speak to worldwide audiences across age ranges and demographics, and is a needed anecdote to help inject positive emotion back into our everyday,” Shumaker continued. He pointed out the projects marks...
- 5/4/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-nominated Xilam Animation will serve as animation studio for Zack Snyder’s upcoming epic 2D animated action series Twilight of the Gods.
Set in the world of Norse mythology, the series is created by Snyder, who directs two episodes, Jay Olivia, who also directs, and Eric Carrasco. Series is executive produced by Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller, and produced by Zack and Deborah Snyder’s production company The Stone Quarry. Carrasco also serves as producer.
Xilam’s animation services on the animated series will include lay-out, colour Bg, animation and compositing.
“We’re so proud to be working with the team at Stone Quarry, including iconic creator and director Zack Snyder. And we’re also deeply grateful to Netflix for trusting us to bring his spectacular vision to life,” said Marc du Pontavice, Founder and CEO at Xilam Animation. “We’ll be utilising state of the art 2D animation across the series,...
Set in the world of Norse mythology, the series is created by Snyder, who directs two episodes, Jay Olivia, who also directs, and Eric Carrasco. Series is executive produced by Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller, and produced by Zack and Deborah Snyder’s production company The Stone Quarry. Carrasco also serves as producer.
Xilam’s animation services on the animated series will include lay-out, colour Bg, animation and compositing.
“We’re so proud to be working with the team at Stone Quarry, including iconic creator and director Zack Snyder. And we’re also deeply grateful to Netflix for trusting us to bring his spectacular vision to life,” said Marc du Pontavice, Founder and CEO at Xilam Animation. “We’ll be utilising state of the art 2D animation across the series,...
- 5/3/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Xilam Animation will serve as animation studio on Zack Snyder’s upcoming Netflix series “Twilight of the Gods.”
The series was originally announced in 2019. Little is known about the plot other than it will ancient Norse mythology. The voice cast includes: Sylvia Hoeks, Stuart Martin, Pilou Asbaek, John Noble, Paterson Joseph, Rahul Kohli, Jamie Clayton, Kristopher Hivju, Peter Stormare, Jamie Chung, Lauren Cohan, and Corey Stroll. The series does not yet have a premiere date.
Xilam’s animation services on the animated series will include lay-out, colour Bg, animation and compositing. The studio’s past credits include the Oscar-nominated feature “I Lost My Body” as well as shows like “Oggy and the Cockroaches,” “Zig & Sharko,” and “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life.”
“We’re so proud to be working with the team at Stone Quarry, including iconic creator and director Zack Snyder,” said Marc du Pontavice, founder and CEO at Xilam Animation.
The series was originally announced in 2019. Little is known about the plot other than it will ancient Norse mythology. The voice cast includes: Sylvia Hoeks, Stuart Martin, Pilou Asbaek, John Noble, Paterson Joseph, Rahul Kohli, Jamie Clayton, Kristopher Hivju, Peter Stormare, Jamie Chung, Lauren Cohan, and Corey Stroll. The series does not yet have a premiere date.
Xilam’s animation services on the animated series will include lay-out, colour Bg, animation and compositing. The studio’s past credits include the Oscar-nominated feature “I Lost My Body” as well as shows like “Oggy and the Cockroaches,” “Zig & Sharko,” and “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life.”
“We’re so proud to be working with the team at Stone Quarry, including iconic creator and director Zack Snyder,” said Marc du Pontavice, founder and CEO at Xilam Animation.
- 5/3/2023
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
“Hina is Beautiful,” a new film from Japan’s Iwaisawa Kenji, director of the cult “On-Gaku: Our Sound”), headlines an Annecy Animation Showcase at this year’s Cannes’ Marché du Film.
The Showcase in general looks like a declaration of intentions from the world’s most important animation festival. Its shows heartfelt support for some of the world’s most original, redolent and sometimes riotous – think France’s Jul, Brazil’s Otto Guerra – adult animation auteurs of all ages, hailing from four corners of the earth.
All productions are works in progress, though production status varies radically from one title to another.
“Hina” looks to have largely flown under the international radar to date, which will make this year’s Showcase a must-attend after Iwaisawa burst onto the scene with left-of-field musical comedy “On-Gaku,” hailed by Variety as 2020’s “biggest dark horse in anime fandom.” If it’s half as...
The Showcase in general looks like a declaration of intentions from the world’s most important animation festival. Its shows heartfelt support for some of the world’s most original, redolent and sometimes riotous – think France’s Jul, Brazil’s Otto Guerra – adult animation auteurs of all ages, hailing from four corners of the earth.
All productions are works in progress, though production status varies radically from one title to another.
“Hina” looks to have largely flown under the international radar to date, which will make this year’s Showcase a must-attend after Iwaisawa burst onto the scene with left-of-field musical comedy “On-Gaku,” hailed by Variety as 2020’s “biggest dark horse in anime fandom.” If it’s half as...
- 4/21/2023
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
In celebration of his love for animation, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro is set to program a weekend of animation for the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica called “Guillermo del Toro’s Weekend of Animation.”
The films programmed by del Toro will include screenings of “The Red Turtle” and “I Lost My Body.”
The weekend of animation will open with the 2016 Studio Ghibli film, “The Red Turtle,” with del Toro virtually introducing the film. Following that, there will be a screening of the Netflix film “I Lost My Body.”
Sunday concludes with a 35mm screening of the Oscar-nominated film “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” Del Toro and co-director Mark Gustafson will attend a post-screening Q&a.
There have been over 60 adaptations of “Pinocchio,” but del Toro’s version leans into the darkness, tenderness and humor of Carlo Collodi’s 1881 novel. At its heart, the film centers on the father-son relationship,...
The films programmed by del Toro will include screenings of “The Red Turtle” and “I Lost My Body.”
The weekend of animation will open with the 2016 Studio Ghibli film, “The Red Turtle,” with del Toro virtually introducing the film. Following that, there will be a screening of the Netflix film “I Lost My Body.”
Sunday concludes with a 35mm screening of the Oscar-nominated film “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” Del Toro and co-director Mark Gustafson will attend a post-screening Q&a.
There have been over 60 adaptations of “Pinocchio,” but del Toro’s version leans into the darkness, tenderness and humor of Carlo Collodi’s 1881 novel. At its heart, the film centers on the father-son relationship,...
- 2/17/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has laid off 30 staffers from its Film Animation teams, IndieWire has confirmed.
Earlier this year, Netflix unveiled new leadership for its Animation Film team: vice president of Animation Film Content Karen Toliver and VP of Animation Film Production Traci Balthazor. Wednesday’s changes organize the animated-film production business under Balthazor, a person with knowledge of the plans told us. The 30 roles in question were no longer needed, the person said.
Netflix has had seven animated projects nominated for Oscars over the past five years, including a win for “If Anything Happens, I Love You” (Best Animated Short Film). The other nominated animated films include 2022 nominees “Robin Robin” (Best Animated Short) and “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” (Best Animated Feature), 2021’s “Over The Moon” (Best Animated Feature Film) and “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” (Best Animated Feature), and 2020’s “I Lost My Body” (Best Animated Feature) and “Klaus” (Best...
Earlier this year, Netflix unveiled new leadership for its Animation Film team: vice president of Animation Film Content Karen Toliver and VP of Animation Film Production Traci Balthazor. Wednesday’s changes organize the animated-film production business under Balthazor, a person with knowledge of the plans told us. The 30 roles in question were no longer needed, the person said.
Netflix has had seven animated projects nominated for Oscars over the past five years, including a win for “If Anything Happens, I Love You” (Best Animated Short Film). The other nominated animated films include 2022 nominees “Robin Robin” (Best Animated Short) and “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” (Best Animated Feature), 2021’s “Over The Moon” (Best Animated Feature Film) and “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” (Best Animated Feature), and 2020’s “I Lost My Body” (Best Animated Feature) and “Klaus” (Best...
- 9/14/2022
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: We are hearing from sources that Cattywumpus, the Gore Verbinski-directed animated movie about outer space felines, will be getting shopped around town to other studios.
Verbinski, whose films have grossed 3.76 billion and who won an Oscar in 2012 for the Paramount animated movie Rango, had been working on his latest film at Netflix.
Such is the complex nature of animated film production, where quite often halfway through, stories and plans can pivot. There’s a history of that from movies such as Pixar’s Soul and Dinosaur and DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
Cattywumpus repped Verbinski’s second animated movie after the Johnny Depp-voiced Western Rango, which grossed 246 million at the worldwide box office.
Netflix, we understand, gave the creative team the option to go shop the movie elsewhere.
Netflix has seen promotions and changeovers in its animation executive suite over the summer.
Verbinski, whose films have grossed 3.76 billion and who won an Oscar in 2012 for the Paramount animated movie Rango, had been working on his latest film at Netflix.
Such is the complex nature of animated film production, where quite often halfway through, stories and plans can pivot. There’s a history of that from movies such as Pixar’s Soul and Dinosaur and DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
Cattywumpus repped Verbinski’s second animated movie after the Johnny Depp-voiced Western Rango, which grossed 246 million at the worldwide box office.
Netflix, we understand, gave the creative team the option to go shop the movie elsewhere.
Netflix has seen promotions and changeovers in its animation executive suite over the summer.
- 9/1/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: French industry execs Naomi Denamur and Julie Billy are launching Paris-based independent production company June Films with a bustling film and TV slate. Scroll down for the company’s current lineup.
After meeting at Celluloid Dreams 15 years ago, the duo have been putting together their first slate over the past 18 months and are now making movies with talent including Clémence Poésy (The Tunnel), Ariane Labed (Mary Magdalene) and Hafsia Herzi (Good Mother). The idea is to be director-driven and genre agnostic and the company will leverage the duo’s extensive experience in production and international distribution to elevate the prospects for their projects. Billy previously worked at Haut et Court where she produced more than a dozen films including Cannes 2020 title Gagarine, Jonas Carpignano’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight movie A Chiara and The Night Eats The World by Dominique Rocher. Denamur is known for her work in international sales and in acquisitions for distribution companies such as Ad Vitam in France and Elastica in Spain. As a producer, the company is largely working on female-fronted French and English-language projects, but the company will also look to do co-productions with foreign directors. Both Denamur and Billy are fluent English speakers. June’s lineup includes five features as lead producer: Hafsia Herzi’s third feature, after Good Mother (Un Certain Regard 2021) and You Deserve A Lover (Critics’ Week 2019), is adapted from La Petite Dernière (The Last One) by Fatima Daas. Shooting is planned for Q2, 2023. The 2021 novel, which generated much conversation in France, charts the travails of a lesbian Muslim woman who grows up in a banlieue [suburb] outside of Paris. She not only encounters institutional racism and misogyny but must also contend with a family which wanted a son instead of a daughter. Amazons, directed by Emma Benestan (Fragiles), is an elevated genre film which will shoot in the ranches and wide open spaces of the Camargue region, exploring the world of bull racing. The three following films are being co-developed with Haut et Court:
Actress Clémence Poésy’s English-language directorial debut, co-written by Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean), is adapted from Anna Hope’s well-received novel Expectation, which was translated into 20 languages. The well-received 2019 novel charts the dreams and disappointments of a group of East London women. The film is a co-production between June, Haut et Court and Andrea Calderwood and Gail Egan’s UK banner Potboiler, whose credits include The Last King Of Scotland and The Constant Gardener.
Gagarine directors Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s are working with June on a French language feature which is being co-written by Amélie, I Lost My Body and Big Bug writer Guillaume Laurent; and an English-language film with a U.S. producing partner, whose details are being kept under wraps. June’s co-production slate also comprises two features which are due to shoot before year’s end:
Carlo Sironi’s second feature after Sole, produced by Giovanni Pompili, co-producer of Alcarras;
And actress Ariane Labed’s debut feature Sisters, an English-language genre film produced by The Favourite outfit Element Pictures in Ireland. The Souvenir, Mary Magdalene and The Lobster actress Labed directed short Olla which won best first fiction at Clermont-Ferrand in 2020. June is also working on TV projects. The outfit is developing a limited series, adapted from The Mythomaniac Of The Bataclan by Alexander Kauffmann (who will also co-write the series), alongside The Prayer writers Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux. Developed alongside Studiofact, the series has already generated strong interest from potential buyers. The plot follows a woman who falsely claimed to be a victim of a terrorist attack. Billy and Denamur told us: “June brings together a family of filmmakers we’ve met over the years. We will foster the emergence of new talent, while offering a modern production model. The company aims to protect the vision of its filmmakers, while guiding them in the international market, and our line-up focuses on director-driven cinema which puts forward a diverse range of views of the world.” The continued: “The pandemic has shown that there will always be a need for new content. At a moment when streamers, studios and financiers are seeking exciting European filmmakers, our talent relationships and access to emerging voices put us in an opportune position in the market.”...
After meeting at Celluloid Dreams 15 years ago, the duo have been putting together their first slate over the past 18 months and are now making movies with talent including Clémence Poésy (The Tunnel), Ariane Labed (Mary Magdalene) and Hafsia Herzi (Good Mother). The idea is to be director-driven and genre agnostic and the company will leverage the duo’s extensive experience in production and international distribution to elevate the prospects for their projects. Billy previously worked at Haut et Court where she produced more than a dozen films including Cannes 2020 title Gagarine, Jonas Carpignano’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight movie A Chiara and The Night Eats The World by Dominique Rocher. Denamur is known for her work in international sales and in acquisitions for distribution companies such as Ad Vitam in France and Elastica in Spain. As a producer, the company is largely working on female-fronted French and English-language projects, but the company will also look to do co-productions with foreign directors. Both Denamur and Billy are fluent English speakers. June’s lineup includes five features as lead producer: Hafsia Herzi’s third feature, after Good Mother (Un Certain Regard 2021) and You Deserve A Lover (Critics’ Week 2019), is adapted from La Petite Dernière (The Last One) by Fatima Daas. Shooting is planned for Q2, 2023. The 2021 novel, which generated much conversation in France, charts the travails of a lesbian Muslim woman who grows up in a banlieue [suburb] outside of Paris. She not only encounters institutional racism and misogyny but must also contend with a family which wanted a son instead of a daughter. Amazons, directed by Emma Benestan (Fragiles), is an elevated genre film which will shoot in the ranches and wide open spaces of the Camargue region, exploring the world of bull racing. The three following films are being co-developed with Haut et Court:
Actress Clémence Poésy’s English-language directorial debut, co-written by Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean), is adapted from Anna Hope’s well-received novel Expectation, which was translated into 20 languages. The well-received 2019 novel charts the dreams and disappointments of a group of East London women. The film is a co-production between June, Haut et Court and Andrea Calderwood and Gail Egan’s UK banner Potboiler, whose credits include The Last King Of Scotland and The Constant Gardener.
Gagarine directors Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s are working with June on a French language feature which is being co-written by Amélie, I Lost My Body and Big Bug writer Guillaume Laurent; and an English-language film with a U.S. producing partner, whose details are being kept under wraps. June’s co-production slate also comprises two features which are due to shoot before year’s end:
Carlo Sironi’s second feature after Sole, produced by Giovanni Pompili, co-producer of Alcarras;
And actress Ariane Labed’s debut feature Sisters, an English-language genre film produced by The Favourite outfit Element Pictures in Ireland. The Souvenir, Mary Magdalene and The Lobster actress Labed directed short Olla which won best first fiction at Clermont-Ferrand in 2020. June is also working on TV projects. The outfit is developing a limited series, adapted from The Mythomaniac Of The Bataclan by Alexander Kauffmann (who will also co-write the series), alongside The Prayer writers Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux. Developed alongside Studiofact, the series has already generated strong interest from potential buyers. The plot follows a woman who falsely claimed to be a victim of a terrorist attack. Billy and Denamur told us: “June brings together a family of filmmakers we’ve met over the years. We will foster the emergence of new talent, while offering a modern production model. The company aims to protect the vision of its filmmakers, while guiding them in the international market, and our line-up focuses on director-driven cinema which puts forward a diverse range of views of the world.” The continued: “The pandemic has shown that there will always be a need for new content. At a moment when streamers, studios and financiers are seeking exciting European filmmakers, our talent relationships and access to emerging voices put us in an opportune position in the market.”...
- 5/18/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Stars: Nina Bergman, Louis Mandylor, Daniel Bernhardt, Timothy V. Murphy, Dominiquie Vandenberg, Charles Fathy | Written by Katharine Lee McEwan, Romain Serir | Directed by Jesse V. Johnson
English playwright William Congreve wrote that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned back in 1697. Now Jesse V. Johnson and writers Katharine Lee McEwan (Solitary) and Romain Serir (The Girl with Two Faces) are out to prove it’s still true with Hell Hath No Fury, a World War II set story of a woman forced to fight against both sides in order to survive.
World War II is drawing to a close and Marie is about to receive summary justice as a collaborator. She wasn’t, but that’s besides the point. She’s saved from them by a quartet of American G.I.s led by Major Maitland. They’re not doing it out of a sense of justice though, it...
English playwright William Congreve wrote that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned back in 1697. Now Jesse V. Johnson and writers Katharine Lee McEwan (Solitary) and Romain Serir (The Girl with Two Faces) are out to prove it’s still true with Hell Hath No Fury, a World War II set story of a woman forced to fight against both sides in order to survive.
World War II is drawing to a close and Marie is about to receive summary justice as a collaborator. She wasn’t, but that’s besides the point. She’s saved from them by a quartet of American G.I.s led by Major Maitland. They’re not doing it out of a sense of justice though, it...
- 5/11/2022
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Critics’ Week, the sidebar dedicated to first and second films running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, will be kicking off with Jesse Eisenberg’s feature debut “When You Finish Saving the World” and showcase four female-directed movies.
Selected out of 1100 submitted movies, the full roster includes 11 feature films, seven of which will compete and four will play as special screenings.
“When You Finish Saving the World,” which is headlined by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, revolves around the relationship between a politically-engaged mother and her fame-obsessed teenage son, who is also a burgeoning musician. The A24 movie is based on Eisenberg’s 2020 audio drama of the same name and was part of the Sundance 2022 selection.
“We already adored Eisenberg as an actor and discovered him as a true auteur with this film that’s both tender and contemporary and exposes a generational gap between a mother and her son,” said Ava Cahen,...
Selected out of 1100 submitted movies, the full roster includes 11 feature films, seven of which will compete and four will play as special screenings.
“When You Finish Saving the World,” which is headlined by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, revolves around the relationship between a politically-engaged mother and her fame-obsessed teenage son, who is also a burgeoning musician. The A24 movie is based on Eisenberg’s 2020 audio drama of the same name and was part of the Sundance 2022 selection.
“We already adored Eisenberg as an actor and discovered him as a true auteur with this film that’s both tender and contemporary and exposes a generational gap between a mother and her son,” said Ava Cahen,...
- 4/20/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Critics Week (or La Semaine de la Critique), the selection dedicated to first and second films running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, will boast a jury presided over by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (“The Man who Sold his Skin”).
Ben Hania has directed four features, including “Beauty and the Dogs” which competed in Un Certain Regard in 2017, and “The Man who Sold his Skin” which played at Venice in 2020 and was the first Tunisian film nominated for the Oscars’ international feature film race.
The jury of the 61st edition will be completed by French-Greek actress and director Ariane Labed, Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson (“Woman at War”), Belgian cinematographer Benoît Debie, and South Korean journalist and Busan Festival’s topper Huh Moon yung.
Four prizes will be handed out by Ben Hania’s jury, the La Semaine de la Critique Grand Prize, the French Touch Prize of the Jury, the...
Ben Hania has directed four features, including “Beauty and the Dogs” which competed in Un Certain Regard in 2017, and “The Man who Sold his Skin” which played at Venice in 2020 and was the first Tunisian film nominated for the Oscars’ international feature film race.
The jury of the 61st edition will be completed by French-Greek actress and director Ariane Labed, Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson (“Woman at War”), Belgian cinematographer Benoît Debie, and South Korean journalist and Busan Festival’s topper Huh Moon yung.
Four prizes will be handed out by Ben Hania’s jury, the La Semaine de la Critique Grand Prize, the French Touch Prize of the Jury, the...
- 4/18/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Last Sunday, at a very eventful Oscars, it was easy to miss when three actors identified as Disney princesses presented the best animated feature award by reading, “Animated films make up some of our most formative movie experiences as kids. So many kids watch these movies over and over… and over and over and over and over… I think some parents out there know exactly what we’re talking about.”
Framing the five Academy Award nominees for best animated feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure could be dismissed as simply careless. But to those of us who have dedicated our lives to making animated films, that carelessness has become routine. The head of a major animation studio once told an assembly of animators that, if we played our cards right, we would one day “graduate to live-action.” Years later, an exec at another studio...
Framing the five Academy Award nominees for best animated feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure could be dismissed as simply careless. But to those of us who have dedicated our lives to making animated films, that carelessness has become routine. The head of a major animation studio once told an assembly of animators that, if we played our cards right, we would one day “graduate to live-action.” Years later, an exec at another studio...
- 4/6/2022
- by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Institute has selected Minhal Baig, Marion Hill, Ciara Lacy, Billy Luther, Chanelle Aponte Pearson, Mariem Pérez Riera, Jamila Wignot and Iman Zawahry for its fourth Momentum Fellowship, supporting professional development for mid-career artists from historically marginalized communities as they explore and develop their creative practice.
The eight fellows selected will participate in a full-year program tailored for each by Sundance Institute staffers, receiving access to unrestricted grant funding, as well as industry mentorship and meetings, a writing intensive, and professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, with support from The Harnisch Foundation. Additionally, as part of the Sundance Institute’s ongoing partnership with NBCUniversal, the studio will provide an opportunity for select Momentum fellows working on fiction projects to participate in the Universal Directors Initiative. The two-year, at-will initiative, led by Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team, provides access to NBCUniversal’s creative executives and producers to...
The eight fellows selected will participate in a full-year program tailored for each by Sundance Institute staffers, receiving access to unrestricted grant funding, as well as industry mentorship and meetings, a writing intensive, and professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, with support from The Harnisch Foundation. Additionally, as part of the Sundance Institute’s ongoing partnership with NBCUniversal, the studio will provide an opportunity for select Momentum fellows working on fiction projects to participate in the Universal Directors Initiative. The two-year, at-will initiative, led by Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team, provides access to NBCUniversal’s creative executives and producers to...
- 3/8/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Bigbug’ Review: Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Latest Is a Dreadful Sex Farce Set During the Robot Apocalypse
The fact that “Amélie” director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s first movie in nine years is quietly being dumped on Netflix without festival play or advance press of any kind after Jeunet insisted that he would only partner with the streamer as “a last resort” is really the only review you should need when it comes to “Bigbug,” of 2050 (mark it on your calendars). And yet — as this feature-length cluster headache makes perfectly clear — humankind has already surrendered itself to the mercy of our corporate machine overlords, meaning that even the most exasperated critic has to pump out at least 600 words just to convince the tiny God-king inside the Google algorithm not to banish their content to the elephant graveyard that is page two of the search results. So let’s get on with it.
A filmmaker whose breakthrough successes don’t entirely diminish the feeling that he was put on this...
A filmmaker whose breakthrough successes don’t entirely diminish the feeling that he was put on this...
- 2/11/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Rémi Chayé’s “Fleur,” Claude Barras’ “You’re Not the One I Expected” and Alberto Vázquez’s “Unicorn Wars” are some of the multiple potential standouts at the 24th edition of Cartoon Movie, Europe’s leading animated movie co-production event.
Scheduled to take place in Bordeaux, France, over March 8-10, the 2022 Cartoon Movie lineup features 57 projects, 15 hail from France, which is seven fewer than last year as animation grows in the rest of Europe but still marks its predominance in Europe as a producer of arthouse and crossover animated movies.
For the third year running, Spain has the second largest presence at Cartoon Movie with eight titles, a sign of its build as a significant animation producer and host of animation events such as Cartoon Springboard, confirmed last week, Cartoon Business and the Quirino Awards.
“You’re Not the One I Expected” marks the new project from Switzerland’s Claude Barras,...
Scheduled to take place in Bordeaux, France, over March 8-10, the 2022 Cartoon Movie lineup features 57 projects, 15 hail from France, which is seven fewer than last year as animation grows in the rest of Europe but still marks its predominance in Europe as a producer of arthouse and crossover animated movies.
For the third year running, Spain has the second largest presence at Cartoon Movie with eight titles, a sign of its build as a significant animation producer and host of animation events such as Cartoon Springboard, confirmed last week, Cartoon Business and the Quirino Awards.
“You’re Not the One I Expected” marks the new project from Switzerland’s Claude Barras,...
- 12/21/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
When “Summit of the Gods” director Patrick Imbert graduated from France’s Les Gobelins school of animation in the late 1990s, he entered an industry still looking for its right footing.
“The market and industry was not as developed as it is today,” Imbert tells Variety. “There were much fewer projects because there were much fewer screens. We did pre-production in Paris and sent most of the production work overseas. You couldn’t imagine becoming a film director or a character designer or anything so prestigious. You were happy enough to simply make your living by drawing, hoping to work on cool projects. That was our vision of animation.”
Suffice it to say, France’s animation ecosystem has grown by leaps and bounds over the following decades. Buoyed by advances in digital software that cut down production costs, staffed by a workforce from a growing number of training programs and...
“The market and industry was not as developed as it is today,” Imbert tells Variety. “There were much fewer projects because there were much fewer screens. We did pre-production in Paris and sent most of the production work overseas. You couldn’t imagine becoming a film director or a character designer or anything so prestigious. You were happy enough to simply make your living by drawing, hoping to work on cool projects. That was our vision of animation.”
Suffice it to say, France’s animation ecosystem has grown by leaps and bounds over the following decades. Buoyed by advances in digital software that cut down production costs, staffed by a workforce from a growing number of training programs and...
- 12/3/2021
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Adapted from Baku Yumemakura’s mid-‘90s manga series of the same name, Patrick Imbert’s “The Summit of the Gods” might reflect the awed and glassy tone of recent French animation (the similarly ethereal “I Lost My Body” comes to mind), but its most formative influence is fittingly Japanese: Studio Ghibli.
You might sense it in the structure of Imbet, Magali Pouzol, and Jean-Charles Ostorero’s screenplay, which unfolds through a series of nested memories à la Isao Takahata’s “Only Yesterday” — or “Citizen Kane.” More specific is how this film rustles with the same melancholic beauty that swirls through every frame of Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus “The Wind Rises.” Where that melodrama weighed the creative spirit against its most awful cost, this adventure story reaches even higher in its bid to understand why some men are compelled to climb the world’s tallest mountain and/or die trying.
You might sense it in the structure of Imbet, Magali Pouzol, and Jean-Charles Ostorero’s screenplay, which unfolds through a series of nested memories à la Isao Takahata’s “Only Yesterday” — or “Citizen Kane.” More specific is how this film rustles with the same melancholic beauty that swirls through every frame of Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus “The Wind Rises.” Where that melodrama weighed the creative spirit against its most awful cost, this adventure story reaches even higher in its bid to understand why some men are compelled to climb the world’s tallest mountain and/or die trying.
- 11/30/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Emmy-winning French animation production-distribution studio Dandelooo has closed several key sales for its exquisite 2D animated preschool short film “Shooom’s Odyssey,” a standout at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival where it took the Crystal for Best TV Production and was selected as one of Variety’s 10 Shorts Not to Miss that year.
Dandelooo has struck deals for the Picolo Pictures-Bardaf! Productions co-production with Discovery Kids in Latin America, Zdf in Germany, Rai in Italy, Japan’s Nhk, Movistar in Spain, Periscoop in the Netherlands, Hop! In Israel, Truecorp in Thailand, Taiwan’s MomoKids and South Korean public broadcaster Ebs.
“Shooom’s Odyssey” was directed by award-winning animator Julien Bisaro, whose impressive resume includes productions such as his black and white César-nominated short “Bang Bang!,” storyboard artist work on Cannes and Annecy winner and Oscar nominee “I Lost My Body” and Annecy Audience Award-winner and Oscar nominee “The Secret of Kells.
Dandelooo has struck deals for the Picolo Pictures-Bardaf! Productions co-production with Discovery Kids in Latin America, Zdf in Germany, Rai in Italy, Japan’s Nhk, Movistar in Spain, Periscoop in the Netherlands, Hop! In Israel, Truecorp in Thailand, Taiwan’s MomoKids and South Korean public broadcaster Ebs.
“Shooom’s Odyssey” was directed by award-winning animator Julien Bisaro, whose impressive resume includes productions such as his black and white César-nominated short “Bang Bang!,” storyboard artist work on Cannes and Annecy winner and Oscar nominee “I Lost My Body” and Annecy Audience Award-winner and Oscar nominee “The Secret of Kells.
- 10/12/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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