Latest news with #BiGan
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Melbourne international film festival 2025: the 10 movies you must see this year
Director: Bi Gan Country: China, France Bi Gan's last feature, 2018's Long Day's Journey Into Night, became the subject of unlikely wrath in its home country when it was marketed as a sumptuous romance to Chinese filmgoers – who then showed up on its New Year's Eve premiere to watch an elliptical, esoteric odyssey that concludes with a 59-minute, one-shot dream sequence shot in 3D. The Cannes prize winner Resurrection sounds equally enigmatic: a 160-minute epic set in a future where humans no longer dream, though a group of fringe rebels defy the odds. The film traverses Chinese national history as well as cinematic lineage; by all accounts, it sounds suitably deranged. – Michael Sun Director: Mary Bronstein Country: US Who doesn't have time for Rose Byrne? The Australian actor is a reliable and perhaps under-appreciated performer but rarely gets big, meaty, interesting, grandstanding roles … until now. In this year's opening night film she stars as Linda, a Long Island therapist caring for a sick daughter and navigating a series of intense crises. Byrne's performance has tongues wagging, attracting descriptors such as 'monumental', 'tour de force' and 'harrowingly brilliant'. – Luke Buckmaster Director: Eva Victor Country: US Twee is good again! We are so back. Eva Victor's Sundance award-winning debut (produced by Barry Jenkins) follows a long legacy of arch, affected comedies that unpeel to reveal their base anxieties: Frances Ha, Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, Miranda July's entire oeuvre, and any American indie made circa 2010. Sorry, Baby might be twee's purest form: a New England pastoral following a twentysomething professor of letters (Victor herself) so full of blundering charm and jagged one-liners that the film's emotional centrepiece lands like a full-body tackle. – Michael Sun Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Country: Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, UK, Sweden Joshua Oppenheimer is best known for directing gut-wrenching documentaries about mass murders in Indonesia (The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence). Nobody saw his first narrative film coming: a post-apocalyptic musical entirely set in an underground bunker, in a future world made uninhabitable by the climate crisis. Reviews so far have been mixed: Radheyan Simonpillai called it 'intermittently fascinating' while Wendy Ide pegged it as 'wildly ambitious' but 'catastrophically self-indulgent'. – Luke Buckmaster Director: Constantine Costi Country: Australia, UK It's the film about making porridge you never knew you needed! Constantine Costi's charming doco unpacks the world's annual porridge-making competition, which takes place in the Scottish village of Carrbridge. As I wrote in my review, 'a pleasure to watch – with endearing salt-of-the-earth subjects, a lovely ebb and flow, and a tone that feels just right: neither overly serious nor tongue in cheek.' – Luke Buckmaster Director: Charlie Shackleton Country: US, UK It's 2025 and everything is just true crime now. Every murderer has a six-part Netflix limited series. Every scammer has a podcast and a spot on Dancing With the Stars. Every TikToker is an armchair detective and every TikTok is CSI. So what now? If you're British documentarian Charlie Shackleton, you try – and fail – to make a film about the Zodiac Killer. And then from the ashes you build something weirder: part send-up, part homage to the true crime genre, full of 'amusing comments on all [its] cliches and mannerisms', says our Guardian review. – Michael Sun Director: Raoul Peck Country: France, US We'd all love to live in a world where George Orwell got it wrong, and none of his ideas came to pass. Sadly the great author's work continues to be terrifyingly prescient. Director Raoul Peck's documentary has unpacked Orwell's life and career while constructing a thesis that connects the ideas in Nineteen Eighty-Four to contemporary events, including the US Capitol attack and the war in Ukraine. – Luke Buckmaster Director: Christian Petzold Country: Germany It can often feel masochistic to watch a Christian Petzold film in the depths of Melbourne winter; his most recent trio (this one included) have been devastatingly chic pictures of beautiful and willowy Europeans swimming, sunbathing and idling while slowly digesting some life-altering tragedy or heartache. Petzold's longtime muse, Paula Beer, returns here as a woman who's taken in by an older, genial stranger after her boyfriend dies in a road accident – though an eerie mist hangs over the countryside cottage like a haunting. At 86 minutes, it feels close to a novella: gauzy and elegant. – Michael Sun Directors: Maggie Miles and Trisha Morton-Thomas Country: Australia The life and legacy of the inimitable David Gulpilil was unpacked in Molly Reynolds' superb 2021 documentary My Name Is Gulpilil – a very tough act to follow. This new film, narrated by Hugh Jackman and co-directed by Maggie Miles and Trisha Morton-Thomas, captures the final stage of Gulpilil's story, in which he was laid to rest in his homeland of Gupulul in Arnhem Land. Miff's program calls it a 'continent-traversing commemoration worthy of his transcendent talent'. – Luke Buckmaster Director: Genki Kawamura Country: Japan As a fan of both the original version of The Exit 8 and its virtual reality spin-off, I kind of can't believe they made a movie out of it. It's essentially a spot-the-difference video game in which the player navigates a series of near-identical hallways in a Tokyo subway station and must decide whether each environment is exactly the same as the first hallway they encountered. So not exactly a production crying out for feature film treatment. Kazunari Ninomiya plays the tripped-out commuter who really should've caught the bus. – Luke Buckmaster Melbourne international film festival 2025 runs 7-24 August in venues across the city and regional Victoria, as well as online through Acmi. Tickets sales open now for Miff members and will open to the general public on 15 July
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As Nigerian Cinema Goes From Strength To Strength, Ramsey Nouah & Rita Dominic Return For AfroCannes Screener ‘77: The Festac Conspiracy'
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline's fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it's ever been, but breakout hits are emerging in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. That's why we're doing the hard work for you. This week, we have a film from Nigeria that was shown in Cannes. Set against the backdrop of a huge cultural festival called Festac that took place in Lagos in 1976, it's a period piece and follows on from a successful earlier movie that hit festivals and ultimately landed on Netflix. It's exciting times for Nigerian cinema, with films at big festivals like Cannes and the government putting money behind an effort to boost the sector. More from Deadline What Does The Cannes Film Festival Have Against Documentaries? Doc Talk In Cannes: Deadline Podcast Hosts American Pavilion Panel On Challenged State Of Documentary Industry Janus Films Acquires Bi Gan's Cannes Prize-winner 'Resurrection' For North America Name: '77: The Festac Conspiracy Country: Nigeria Producer: Adonis Productions Distributor: Self distributed Where you can watch: TBC For fans of: Authentically told African stories and fans of the previous movie, '76, which sold to Netflix Nigerian cinema had a moment in Cannes and part of that story was the first-ever screening of '77: The Festac Conspiracy. The follow-up to political thriller '76, which landed global distribution on Netflix and played at the Toronto Film Festival, it screened as part of AfroCannes, the buzzy event focused on African moviemaking and talent. More accurately, Nigerian cinema had several moments at Cannes. Akinola Davis Jr.'s My Father's Shadow played in competition while the country's Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa-Musawa, was at the Festival to unveil ambitious plans to bolster the country's creative sector. The '77: The Festac Conspiracy team were also on the Cote D'Azur to present their latest movie. Izu Ojukwu directed '76 and returned to helm '77: The Festac Conspiracy, reuniting with Tonye Princewill and Adonijah Owiriwa who exec produce. Ojukwu and Princewill were at AfroCannes and anticipation levels are high after the first film was picked up for African pay-TV after a theatrical release. It then played on Netflix. '76 was set after the Nigerian Civil War and followed a young army officer, Joseph Dewa, played by Ramsey Nouah, who is accused of being involved in an unsuccessful military coup. His relationship with Suzy, played by Rita Dominic, is tested by these events as well as her family's disapproval of Joseph as a match for her. Nouah and Dominic are back and reprise their roles in '77: The Festac Conspiracy. The film picks up the story from '76 and is set against the backdrop of Festac, a month-long showcase of African art and culture that took place in Lagos, Nigeria. With half a million attendees, it attracted artists from across the continent and diaspora. The new film sees Joseph and Suzy trying to rebuild their lives after he leaves the army. 'They leave the barracks in Ibadan together to start a new life together in in Lagos,' Princewill explains. 'This is them trying to start over. There's Festac coming and, as you can imagine, that touched literally everyone. So, here they are, and then there's a conspiracy going on behind the scenes of Festac, and it's so deep that it stretches across countries and continents.' For '77: The Festac Conspiracy the filmmakers mix new material with archive footage to create the desired setting and ambience. To get the automobiles of the day right – and to get cars in good enough condition that the exhausts weren't billowing smoke – the team traveled and filmed in the Republic of Lebanon, where the required vehicles are in good condition and available. Before '77 There Was '76 Princewill reveals there is a new doc coming as part of the franchise. 76: The Story Behind The Story is directed by Adeola Osunkojo and sheds light on the real-life events that helped inspire the first film. 'It's made by a wonderful young female director who went behind the scenes. It weaves together the true story and what happened to the lives of the people that were left behind by events in '76.' '76 played at the Toronto international Film Festival and then the London Film Festival. The journey to festivals, movie theaters and streaming was a long one, taking in lengthy filming in Nigeria and post-production in Munich, Germany. The film was released in 2016 having shot in 2012. Princewill says that given it was a period piece, and because the film was privately financed, there was no pressure to rush it into theaters. 'We had our own money, so we didn't have to go to institutions or wait for a fund. We were very intentional about it,' he adds. 'From a funding perspective, we were less pressured, and from a business perspective, we really wanted to get a movie out at the right time, in the right window, with the right people. This took time, and we could spare that time. The average African filmmaker doesn't have that luxury. 'We actually spent more money than we should have because we had cast and crew in hotels for six months. Nobody has principal photography for six months in Nigeria.' After a four-week run in Nigerian movie theaters, the film went to regional pay TV giant's DStv Box Office store before landing on its premium movie channels. African streaming service Showmax wanted the film, but its streaming home ended up being Netflix, which took global rights to the movie, giving it a wide international reach. Princewill and the team also applied their business smarts to distribution. Nigeria is home to many of Africa's richest people as well as large corporates. The team arranged a host of private screenings, effectively bringing a premiere-type experience to wealthy people and organizations, recouping the equivalent of thousands of individual movie admissions each time. The Nigerian Film Biz Nigeria has a bustling film business and the Culture Minister was in Cannes to talk about a government growth plan dubbed 'Destination 2030 Nigeria' to boost the country's cultural sector. The Minister said the plan is to deliver $100M to Nigeria's GDP within the next five years backed by $300M of investment from the federal government. Princewill hopes the efforts bear fruit and will be felt across the value chain of filmmaking. 'As much as you put in, you've got to be able to follow it through,' he says. 'A filmmaker can't just make a movie. They have to take that movie and walk the globe with it. That challenge is going to have to be overcome, and maybe the funders will start to say: 'Okay, you've made the product, but we recognize that there's a need to take that and travel the globe with it'.' Princewill's background is engineering, business and politics but he has applied some of the skills and motivations from previous experience to his forays into film. 'My co-executive producer is from an engineering background as well… so we come from a sort of 'fixing things and business' background, and we've brought that into what we think is an amazing industry in Nigeria,' he says. 'What we think was very important, was to show people like ourselves that investing in film is a good idea and '76 was model for that. It was an opportunity to show people that you can invest in in film and help youth unemployment, creative development, storytelling, history and it was an opportunity for us to talk about Nigeria in a positive light.' He adds: 'It was the first military thriller that you'd find in these parts, and the first movie to be selected by TIFF on merit.' And did the numbers stack up for Princewill and the team? 'We didn't make it for the money. We made it for the message, and the money came as a byproduct of that.' Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More Everything We Know About 'Happy Gilmore 2' So Far
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bi Gan's Cannes Winner ‘Resurrection' Nabbed by Janus Films for North America (EXCLUSIVE)
Janus Films has acquired all North American rights to 'Resurrection,' the Special Award winner at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival from visionary Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan. The film, which premiered in competition at Cannes, marks the third feature from Bi Gan, whose previous credits include 'Kaili Blues' and 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' More from Variety Jafar Panahi Returns to Cheers in Tehran as Palme d'Or Victory Prompts Diplomatic Spat Between France and Iran 'The Love That Remains' Review: Hlynur Pálmason's Exquisitely Tender, Increasingly Haywire Portrait of a Family in Limbo Inside TikTok's Cannes Film Festival Takeover, From One-on-One Time With Tom Cruise to Reece Feldman's Short Film Premiere Told in six parts spanning a century, 'Resurrection's' framing story takes place in a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream, with one creature remaining entranced by the fading illusions of the dreamworld. The film stars Chinese superstar singer and actor Jackson Yee and veteran actor Shu Qi, known for her collaborations with Hou Hsiao-Hsien. 'Resurrection' was praised by Variety critic Jessica Kiang as 'a marvelously maximalist movie of opulent ambition that is actually five or six movies, each at once playful and peculiar and part of an overarchingly melancholy elegy for the dream of 20th-century cinema and the lives we lived within it.' Speaking with Variety ahead of the film's Cannes premiere, Bi had said: 'Screens are getting smaller and smaller, and I want to evoke that old feeling of watching films in theaters. The first story begins in the early 20th century, and I employed the cinematic language of that era.' The deal was negotiated between Janus Films and Les Films du Losange. 'Resurrection' was produced by China's Huace Pictures and Dangmai Films with France's CG Cinema, and features a score by M83. 'Bi Gan's 'Resurrection' is a kaleidoscopic, time-skipping, genre-mashing odyssey through cinema and dreams that will thrill fans of daring, visionary filmmakers like David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky, Leos Carax and Wong Kar-wai,' Janus Films said in a statement. 'We're very proud and excited to bring this surreal, provocative, epic experience to screens across North America and to champion the work of Bi Gan, a director we have long admired.' Les Films du Losange added: ''Resurrection' is a powerful and singular film that has been sparking passionate reactions from festival audiences, international buyers, and the press. It's a film that truly calls for a tailored, original, and ambitious release strategy. With their impeccable taste and exceptional vision, Janus Films are the ideal partners for us.' The acquisition continues Janus Films' recent push into first-run distribution of new international cinema. The company has earned eight Academy Award nominations in partnership with Sideshow Pictures, releasing such titles as Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Oscar winner 'Drive My Car,' Jerzy Skolimowski's Oscar-nominated 'EO,' Payal Kapadia's Cannes Grand Prix winner 'All We Imagine as Light,' and Gints Zibalodis' 'Flow,' which won the Oscar for best animated feature and became Janus' highest-grossing theatrical release. This year's Janus slate has included Alain Guiraudie's 'Misericordia,' David Cronenberg's 'The Shrouds' and Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides.' Upcoming releases include Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 'Cloud' in July and Ira Sachs' 'Peter Hujar's Day' slated for fall. Founded in 1956, Janus Films was the first U.S. theatrical distribution company dedicated to bringing international arthouse films to American audiences, building a library that includes classics from Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini and contemporary masters like David Lynch and Wong Kar-wai. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Janus Films Acquires Bi Gan's Cannes Prize-winner ‘Resurrection' For North America
Janus Films has acquired North American rights to Bi Gan's Resurrection, with the film winning the Special Jury prize at the recently-concluded Cannes Film Festival. Marking Bi's third feature, Resurrection stars Jackson Yee, Shu Qi, Mark Chao and Li Gengxi. More from Deadline Sergei Loznitsa's 'Two Prosecutors' Scores Fresh Deals For Coproduction Office - Cannes Netflix Buys Richard Linklater's 'Breathless' Homage & Love Letter To Cinema 'Nouvelle Vague' In Record Domestic Deal For A French-Language Movie Breaking Baz @ Cannes: "Even If I'm Fired, I Stay," Declares Defiant Thierry Frémaux; Festival Victors Dance The Night Away After Strongest Selection In Years The deal was negotiated by Janus Films and Losange Films. Resurrection unfolds in six parts spanning a century, set in a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream. However, one creature remains entranced by the fading illusions of the dreamworld. Bi previously directed Kaili Blues and Long Day's Journey into Night — with the latter premiering in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section in 2018. Resurrection was produced by China's Huace Pictures and Dangmai Films with France's CG Cinema, and features a score by French band M83. 'Bi Gan's Resurrection is a kaleidoscopic, time-skipping, genre-mashing odyssey through cinema and dreams that will thrill fans of daring, visionary filmmakers like David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky, Leos Carax and Wong Kar-wai,' said Janus Films. 'We're very proud and excited to bring this surreal, provocative, epic experience to screens across North America and to champion the work of Bi Gan, a director we have long admired.' Losange Films added: 'Losange Films is delighted to embark on this new collaboration with the Janus Films team. Resurrection is a powerful and singular film that has been sparking passionate reactions from festival audiences, international buyers, and the press. It's a film that truly calls for a tailored, original, and ambitious release strategy. With their impeccable taste and exceptional vision, Janus Films are the ideal partners for us.' Best of Deadline 'Hacks' Season 4 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About 'Hacks' Season 4 So Far 'The Last Of Us': Differences Between HBO Series & Video Game Across Seasons 1 And 2
Arab News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Iran's Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
DUBAI: Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi made a triumphant return to the global stage, winning the prestigious Palme d'Or for his latest film 'It Was Just an Accident' at the 78th Cannes International Film Festival. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ Panahi, long a symbol of artistic defiance in Iran, had previously faced imprisonment and a 20-year ban on filmmaking and international travel. His emotional appearance at the festival, where he received the award from jury president Juliette Binoche — a vocal supporter of his work — marked a significant moment for both the director and Cannes. A post shared by Festival de Cannes (@festivaldecannes) The political thriller centers on a former prisoner who kidnaps the man he believes tortured him and grapples with fellow dissidents over whether to exact revenge or offer forgiveness. The ceremony also recognized other global talents. Chinese director Bi Gan received a special jury prize for 'Resurrection,' while Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi made history as the first from his country to win the Camera d'Or for debut feature 'The President's Cake.' A post shared by Festival de Cannes (@festivaldecannes) Brazil's Wagner Moura took home best actor honors for 'The Secret Agent,' a 1970s-set political drama by Kleber Mendonça Filho, who also won best director. German director Mascha Schilinski and Spain's Oliver Laxe shared the Jury Prize for their respective films 'Sound of Falling' and 'Sirat.' The former is a sweeping multigenerational family saga, while the latter explores an apocalyptic vision of the Moroccan desert through techno-infused storytelling. Actor John C. Reilly surprised audiences with a rendition of 'La Vie en Rose' before presenting best screenplay to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for 'Young Mothers,' the Belgian brothers' latest social drama.
