Sydney Levine

Richard Lormand, Publicist's Best Films

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • February 9, 2013 12:30 PM
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Richard Lormand's films are always a key to the best films at the festivals of Berlin, Venice and Cannes. If he reps them, you want to see them.

Inaugural Online Film Festival "The Shortlist"

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • August 26, 2012 10:30 AM
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  • 2 Comments
The 12 finalists for the first annual “ShortList” Online Film festival, August 20 - September 4, 2012 include shorts prize winners from the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Venice Film Festival and the LA Film Festival, and come from the United States, Kenya, Italy, Brazil and elsewhere. The shorts will screen exclusively for an online voting audience on http://shortlistfilmfestival.com through Sept. 4.

Festival Scope Partners with Hong Kong FF and Co-Pro Market HAF

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • April 10, 2012 10:30 AM
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The partnership highlights the HAF selected talent: a selection of the previous films of the filmmakers who have a project at HAF are now available for screening on Festival Scope. This will help potential co-producers and sales agents to follow-up their meetings in Hong Kong.

Venice Film Festival Announces its Market in a Crowded Fall Season

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • March 21, 2012 10:41 AM
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The Venice Film Festival's new artistic director Alberto Barbera has announced that France’s Pascal Diot will head the new Venice Film Market. TIFF goes on. In October, Rome has announced that Marco Mueller has been apppointed Director there and will soon reveal market plans. Moscow has also announced its Red Square Screenings will be held during this crowded fall season. The big question is, who will have the energy to attend yet another market?

Rights Round Up Toronto 2011, Venice, Telluride through AFM 2011

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • September 25, 2011 2:30 AM
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  • 1 Comment
This reports on sales made during this fall season. It includes rights acquired in Venice, Telluride, Toronto, San Sebastian and will continue through AFM 2011. It is organized by international sales agent. Additions are made daily.

International Sales Agent of the Day: MPM Film

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • September 16, 2011 6:04 AM
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Congratulations to Marie-Pierre Macia and Juliette Lepoutre. Their start-up international sales company MPM Film is in Toronto with a beautiful, quietly moving and totally aesthetic film in Toronto's Discovery section (and in Venice Days and in San Sebastian's Horizontes section). A U.S. sale on Stories That Only Exist When Remembered (Historias…que so existem quando lembradas) by one of my favorite people in the industry, Pierre Menahem, has already been made to Film Movement for U.S. putting it into the rarefied company of 22 U.S. acquisitions thus far at TIFF. (See my blog for details on this subject.)

Strong Canadian Presence at Venice International Film Festival

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • September 6, 2011 2:30 AM
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The Canadian industry has an outstanding presence at the Venice International Film Festival, with five films officially selected: A Dangerous Method by David Cronenberg, in competition for the Golden Lion; The Moth Diaries by Mary Harron, with a Gala presentation; Marécages by Guy Édoin at the Critics Week, competing for the Lion of the Future – Luigi de Laurentiis Venice Award and the KINO Audience Award; and Café de Flore by Jean-Marc Vallée and Another Silence by Santiago Amigorena in the Venice Days section.

International Sales Agent of the Day: Ondamax

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • January 31, 2011 4:30 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Ondamax is one of the busiest and most energetic of international sales agents and production companies. Founded in 2007, the company has made a name for itself as a specialized “cinema boutique”, working essentially with films from or about Latin Americans and U.S. Latinos. Based in Florida, founder Eric Mathis and his team are always seeking new ways to promote and distribute their collection of films. Their first 25 titles reached 550 selections and won 105 awards in festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Venice and San Sebastian. During last AFM they announced several new initiatives which will be actively in place by the time Berlin roles around including a U.S. DVD distribution deal with Kino Lorber in 2011 and a new venture with Titra for digital restoration of films in Latin America, Canada and the U.S. Ondamax Films/Titra venture shall be powered by the explosion in the number of high-def TV channels which has swept pay TV and digital terrestrial TV sectors.

When are Films Political?: Women Without Men

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • January 5, 2011 3:00 AM
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Women Without Men premiered in Venice in 2009, went on to Toronto and Sundance, was picked up by distributors around the world, including Indiepix for U.S. and still remains one of my all time favorites. It is so unknown here that any chance for a public to see it is special. It is the first film of Shirin Neshat ♀, a well know Iranian visual artist. Co-directed by Neshat's partner Shoja Arari, Women Without Men (2009, 99') is a political thriller and as such the film is highly relevant in our times—particularly in view of the June 2009 elections in Iran, and with the U.S. continually embroiled in neighboring Muslim countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Set against the tumultuous backdrop of Iran's 1953 CIA- and Mi5-backed coup d'état against the democratically-elected president, Mohammad Mossadegh, the destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard garden, where they find independence, solace and companionship. You can see the trailer here. Jan 7 2011 7:30pm - 10:30pmWhere: Harmony Gold Preview Theatre7655 Sunset Blvd.Los Angeles CA 90046ample parking underground and behind the bldg

RIGHTS ROUNDUP AFM and including TIFF, Locarno et al. (Full Report & Updates Here)

  • By Sydney Levine
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  • November 10, 2010 6:30 AM
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  • 0 Comments
The Rights Roundup shows rights acquired internationally, not just for U.S.

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