Xhdo Escandell gets vp publicity stripes at Sony International
The Berlin Film Festival has awar
stanley italy ded its top prize, theGolden Bear, to Patrice Chereau s sexually explicit Intimacy based on one of Hanif Kureishi ssemi-autobiographical short stories. One of the film s courageous leads,Kerry Fox, also took home the Silver Bear for best actress.Living up to the pre-fest
stanley cup ival promise from jury president and ousted Fox studio chief Bill Mechanic to honour international films whosedaring stand in contrast to Hollywood safety-first mentality, Berlin singledout an audacious film that has yet to find a North American distributor.Marking Chereau s English-language debut, and set in aseedy London where the two lead characters played by Fox and Mark Rylanceengage in a long series of graphically portrayed rough sexual enco
stanley cup unters, Intimacy divided audiences at this year s Sundance FilmFestival. Despite protestations from Chereau himself that this film was muchmore than a sex film, an NC-17 rating seems a virtual certainty should the filmbe picked up by a US distributor looking to stir up the same kind of provocationas Catherine Breillat s Romance. Breillat, as it happens, also won a prize, a DM 30,000 cash awardfor her latest film Fat Girl In our own review, Screen International described the StudioCanal-financed Intimacyas a stunningly-made film thatexplores the mysteries of sexual desire in a dauntless way. Intimacy beat out astrong field that also included Steven Soderbergh s Oscar-nominated Traffic, which walked away with a Silver Bear for Benicio Towv Icon plans UK re-release of La Vie En Rose
Newen announce investment fund for high-end scripted series.Paris-based production and distribution business Newen Group have launched a $54m 鈧?0m investment fund focused on acquiring UK drama.The company are behind high-profile French TV shows Braquo and Versailles.Newens international distribution business, Newen Distribution, will invest in high-end scripted series from UK production companies in order to build a strong presence in English-speaking content.They are aiming support producers projects from
stanley germany early development to deficit funding and want to partner on three to four scripted series.The investment will be supported by an international sales presence in Paris, strong global marketing support and a new London office focused on UK content partnerships. Julien Leroux has been appointed as its executive vice president of sales content developme
stanley us nt.To support the launch of its investment fund, Newen Distribution has also established an advisory board, which comprises Fabrice Larue, Christian Schlumberger, Nadine Nohr, Rod Henwood and Antoine Dresch.Malika Abdellaoui, managing director of Newen Distribution, said: We believe that it is the perfect time to be proactive in the UK, offering producers cash at an
stanley cup early stage, rapid decision-making and privileged access to major Continental European markets, as well as our strong worldwide trading relationships. We want to apply Newens successful entrepreneurial spirit to the UK distribution and coproduction market. Th
