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With the premieres of “Love,” “Stranger Things,” and “Luke Cage,” Netflix is having quite a busy year for original series, but soon they will debut their first Brazilian original production “3%.” Created by Pedro Aguilera and directed and executive produced by Cesar Charlone (“City of God”), “3%” follows a dystopian future Brazil in which the surviving population resides in the Inland, a place that lacks basic resources. But at the age of 20, everyone is given a chance to apply for the Process, which allows 3% of applicants to live in the glorious Mar Alto. The cast includes Joao Miguel (“Xingu”), Bianca Comparator (“Pure Beauty”), Zeze Motta (“Chica da Silva”), Mel Fronckowiak (“Rebelde”), and more.Watch the teaser trailer for the series below.

Read More: ’13th’ Review: Ava DuVernay’s Netflix Documentary Is the Most Relevant Movie of the Year — Nyff

Based off a 2011 web series also created by Pedro Aguilera, , “3%” marks the first Netflix series to be filmed,...

German distributor of Southpaw, Transcendence to return to production.

German distributor Tobis Film is to return to production after more than a decade’s absence following the arrival of two new shareholders, Timm Oberwelland and Peter Eiff.

According to Tobis - distributor of titles including 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle and upcoming Antoine Fuqua action-drama Southpaw - the company’s new shareholder structure will see the outfit become more active in the production of German-language films and international co-productions alongside the company’s core activities of film distribution, home entertainment and TV licensing in the German-speaking territories.

Founded in 1972 by the late film producer-distributor Horst Wendlandt, Tobis Film had made its first foray into production after StudioCanal took a 60% stake in the Berlin-based company in February 2000.

Under the management of Haig Balian and Albert Wiederspiel, the renamed Tobis StudioCanal (Tsc) was involved via its in-house production arm in the co-production of such local titles as Edward Berger’s [link...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) handed out their annual awards tonight and it was Spike Jonze winning for his original screenplay, Her, while Billy Ray took the adaptation top prize for Captain Phillips, based on the book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals, and Dangerous Days at Sea". Both screenplays are nominated for Oscars this year and, in fact, the Original Screenplay nominations match up exactly, but in the Adapted category John Ridley's screenplay for 12 Years a Slave was one of many deemed ineligible due to WGA qualifying rules. So if you think this makes for an "open and shut" case at the Oscars, that's definitely something to consider. That said, the win for Jonze I see as a very big deal in a tough field of competitors. I have Her at the top of my predictions in the Original Screenplay category and this only solidifies my opinion further,...

Both the Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and East (Wgae) have announced nominations for the Writers Guild Awards. The biggest omission? Oscar front-runner "12 Years A Slave!" According to IndieWire, "12 Years A Slave, Fruitvale Station, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, God Loves Uganda, 20 Feet From Stardom, and The Square are indeed ineligible for a WGA nomination because they were not written under the guild's jurisdiction."

Whatever that means! If you're wondering what happened, read the Writers Guild's rules:

Feature films eligible for a Writers Guild Award were exhibited theatrically for at least one week in Los Angeles during 2013 and were written under the WGA.s Minimum Basic Agreement (Mba) or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Writers Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild, or the New Zealand Writers Guild. Theatrical screenplays produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate...

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) just announced its nominees for the PGA Awards. And now, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced its own nominees for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen. Films eligible for a WGA Award were exhibited theatrically for at least one week in Los Angeles during 2013 and were written under the WGA rules. The winners will be announced and honored at a ceremony simultaneously held in New York and Los Angeles on Saturday, February 1st. Check out the full list of nominees below. Original Screenplay * American Hustle * Blue Jasmine * Dallas Buyers Club * Her * Nebraska Adapted Screenplay * August: Osage County * Before Midnight * Captain Phillips * Lone Survivor * The Wolf of Wall Street Documentary Screenplay * Dirty Wars * Herblock - The Black and The White * No Place on Earth * Stories We Tell * We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks...

WGA Awards 2014 nominations: Woody Allen, ‘American Hustle’ in; ’12 Years a Slave,’ ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ ineligible (photo: Cate Blanchett and Woody Allen on the ‘Blue Jasmine’ set) The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for the 2014 WGA Awards. The lists — adapted and original screenplay, documentary screenplay — mostly feature the expected titles, in addition to a handful of surprises chiefly because several of this year’s top contenders for screenplay awards have failed to meet the WGA’s strict eligibility rules. Among the out-of-contention screenplays for the 2014 WGA Awards were John Ridley’s 12 Years a Slave, Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s Philomena, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalia Lacroix’s Blue Is the Warmest Color, William Nicholson’s Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Peter Morgan’s Rush, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station. The winners of the...

Earlier today saw the announcement of the Writers Guild of America‘s nominations for Best Original, Adapted, and Documentary Screenplay for 2013. Of the major guilds (Producers Guild, Directors Guild, etc.), these are usually the awards taken the least seriously due to their silly rules that exclude several of the top contenders each year. This year, major casualties of their rules included 12 Years a Slave (which is on the fast-track to winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar), Philomena, and Fruitvale Station. However, this wouldn’t be the first time a disqualified screenplay has gone on to win an Oscar, as we’ve seen previously with Django Unchained and The King’s Speech.

The exclusion of some of these nominees has led to a bit of randomness in their selections, particularly in the Adapted Screenplay category, where we find surprises like August: Osage County and Lone Survivor, two films that were of pretty poor quality.

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during 2013. Winners will be honored at the 2014 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 1, 2014, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.

Screen Nominees

Original Screenplay

American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures

Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features http://focusguilds2013.com/dbcscreenplay/

Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.

Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures

Original Screenplay

August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company

Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics

Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the...

The Writers Guild Of America has unveiled its screen nominees ahead of the 2014 Writers Guild Awards on February 1 - however Inside Llewyn Davis and, less shockingly, Gravity are shut out.

The following are nominated for Original screenplay: American Hustle, Woody Allen, Dallas Buyers Club, Her and Nebraska.

The adapted screenplay nominees are: August: Osage County, Before Midnight, Captain Phillips, Lone Survivor and The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Documentary screenplay contenders are: Dirty Wars, Herblock – The Black & The White, No Place On Earth, Stories We Tell and We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks.

12 Years A Slave, Philomena, Fruitvale Station and Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom were ineligible.

The Writers Guild of America award nominations are out, but don’t expect to learn much about the Oscar race from these shortlists.

Too many major screenplays are ineligible for the guild prize, since the organization only honors writers who are union members or films that were made under the auspices of a guild agreement — excluding many foreign and independent movies.

Among those disqualified this year: John Ridley’s script for 12 Years a Slave — considered a frontrunner for the adapted screenplay Oscar — and Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s Philomena — another strong contender for that Academy Award. In the original screenplay category,...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the nominees for the 2014 WGA Awards and, as always, there will be Oscar contending screenplays that weren't eligible due to WGA qualifying rules. This year some of the ineligible scripts include 12 Years a Slave, Rush, Fruitvale Station and Philomena (via HitFix). The absence of such titles make the Oscar race a little more interesting, but if you think Lone Survivor is going to get a nomination (as much as I like seeing it recognized) over 12 Years a Slave guess again. In fact, looking at the nominations compared to my current Oscar predictions for Adapted and Original Screenplay you're going to find few differences. In the Original category the biggest difference is yet another snub for Inside Llewyn Davis, which was looked over yesterday by the Producers Guild and again today by the WGA, and once again, in its place we find Dallas Buyers Club,...

The Oscar race gets more interesting by the day!

The Writers Guild of America unveiled their film nominations today, and among the set are a few surprises - as well as some notable snubs.

In the original screenplay category, mortal lock Woody Allen received his 21st WGA nomination for "Blue Jasmine," while Spike Jonze earned his first for "Her." Rounding out the rest of the field were Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell for "American Hustle," Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack for "Dallas Buyers Club," and Bob Nelson for "Nebraska."

One high-profile movie left out in the cold is Joel and Ethan Coen's "Inside Llewyn Davis." With a snub from the Producers Guild earlier this week, the critically-acclaimed tale of the '60s folk music scene is losing Oscar momentum.

The adapted screenplay category was more muddled this year, with likely Oscar contenders "12 Years a Slave," "Fruitvale Station," and...

It’s not hard to find incredible stories of Jewish families enduring remarkable hardships and making impossible choices to evade capture by the Nazis during World War II, and with No Place on Earth it just got a little easier. For well over a year, a collection of families made a home out of a subterranean cave in Ukraine, and through a number of close calls and near starvation, they outlasted the persecution and live to tell the tale 70 years later. Janet Tobias puts together a concise and riveting documentary, the only faults of which come in the form of subjects who aren’t always easy to understand and a few testimonial clips that don’t really make sense. Otherwise, the combination of talking heads and skillful dramatic reenactments combine for an engrossing and touching story.

Read more...

As the Toronto Film Festival acquisitions market gets cracking, I find it helpful to see how some of last year’s titles fared at the box office. It’s an instructive way to keep things in perspective. Titles below reflect theatrical grosses, but remember, multi-platform business is not reflected and in some cases has turned films into profitable winners. Related: Toronto 2013: Will Deals Take Back Seat? Toronto Film Festival 2012 Acquisitions at the Domestic B.O. Title (distributor) Domestic B.O. (in millions except where noted) The Place Beyond the Pines (Focus Features) $21.4 Spring Breakers (A24) $14.1 Much Ado About Nothing (Roadside Attractions) $4.27 Frances Ha (IFC) $4.05 Emperor (Roadside Attractions) $3.35 Stories We Tell (Roadside Attractions) $1.59 Girl Most Likely (Roadside Attractions) $1.38 The Lords of Salem (Anchor Bay) $1.17 What Maisie Knew (Millennium Ent.) $1.07 Still Mine (Samuel Goldwyn) $587K The Reluctant Fundamentalist (IFC) $529K Arthur Newman (Cinedigm) $208K No Place on Earth (Magnolia) $200K John Dies at the End...

Chicago – This week’s What to Watch on DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix, Amazon, On Demand and more is another seemingly random hodge-podge of offerings that you can use to guide your way through the new releases shelf at Best Buy, the On Demand section on Vudu, the store on iTunes, various online DVD retailers and maybe even Netflix and Hulu. Pick your favorites. This is the way we’d rank them if you have a free night or money to burn this week.

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

Photo credit: IFC Films

“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”

David Lowery’s beautiful drama was covered more thoroughly in our theatrical review and opens tomorrow at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago (and we’ve already run Matt Fagerholm’s interview with the writer/director) but you can actually watch it now On Demand and so we wanted to included it in What to Watch.

Check out what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and, of course, Netflix. Cable On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Epic (animated family adventure; voices of Colin Farrell, Amanda Seyfried; rated PG) Scary Movie 5 (horror-spoof comedy; Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Ashley Tisdale; unrated) Amour (drama; Jean-Louis Trigtignant, Emmanuelle Riva; PG-13) Jayne Mansfield's Car (drama; Billy Bob Thornton, Kevin Bacon; pretheatrical release; rated R) No One Lives (horror; Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens; rated R) No Place on Earth (documentary; Chris Nicola, Saul Stermer; rated PG-13) A...

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We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.

In a year that seems over-populated with apocalyptic films, 2013 has given a generous amount of hope to the concept of going to the movies, and that’s only with six months off the calendar. With its finest showing to be a healthy mix of genres, budgets, and storytelling styles, the year of 2013 has seen some grand pieces of work from filmmakers that range from retiring heavyweights like Steven Soderbergh to rising talents like Katie Aselton or Derek Cianfrance.

Below are my Top 7 Films So Far of 2013. And after you’ve finished soaking up this list, don’t forget to read Jeff’s list too.

7. No Place on Earth

Recap: A documentary about an extended family who hid in two different caves to elude the Gestapo during World War II, told partially with dramatic reenactments. One does not need to be a fan of history,...

When Chris Nicola traveled to the Ukraine, it was to understand his own family's history and explore caves. Not only did he inexplicably discover everyday objects such as buttons and shoes in a remote cave, but he also unearthed a rumor of a group of Jews who lived in a cave. These discoveries led to an incredible Holocaust survival story of how 38 people lived underground for a year and a half -- the longest recorded sustained underground survival -- to escape the death camps. Nicola confirmed the story by locating 14 of the original cave inhabitants.

The experiences of these Ukrainian Jews is captured in the documentary No Place on Earth -- which opens in Austin tomorrow at Regal Arbor -- by longtime television producer Janet Tobias in her film directorial debut. The survivors are now in their eighties and nineties, but they were quite young when they took refuge in the cave.

Once again film makers have mined the histories and stories of World War II for another fascinating, little known tale of survival. The best known story may be that of Anne Frank, who was back in the news recently thanks to a pop music star visiting her museum. Two years ago the St. Louis International Film Festival was wowed by In Darkness, a dramatic feature that told the story of Polish Jews who lived in the city’s sewers to avoid arrest by the occupying Nazi forces. In release now is No Place On Earth, a similar story told in a very different way. Earth is basically a documentary that uncovers a new survival story that’s every bit as moving and dramatic as the former film.

The new film actually begins in the United States, New York city to be exact. Underground explorer Chris Nicola decided to travel to...

The new documentary No Place on Earth attempts to take viewers back in time to the dark days of the second world war, when Nazis were pursuing Jews, peril was everywhere, and still no one had any real notion of just how horrifying the truth really was.  Through the use of full-on detailed re-enactments, first time feature film director Janet Tobias attempts to lucidly display the true-life plight of five Ukrainian families that hid in a massive underground cave for well over a year, unable to ever see the sun. Through the bookending exposition offered by Chris Nicola, the expert explorer who recently discovered proof of 20th century human activity in the cave, the unthinkable conditions these people so valiantly toiled in is clearly...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Chicago – The human face of the Holocaust – the Jewish genocide by Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party – has been reflected through many incredible accounts of horror and survival. A new film focuses on another amazing story, set in a cave in the Ukraine, where five Jewish families hid underground from German soldiers in 1942. The survivors give their witness in “No Place on Earth.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The story of these survivors – children and teenagers then, old men and women now – adds another chapter of inhumanity to the desperate times of the Holocaust era. Through the accounts of the participants, and the precise re-creation of the events by director Janet Tobias, this unusual scenario comes to life from a faraway time, in a faraway land. And beyond the event itself, it is about the gutsy discovery of a cave explorer and his curiosity, the initial telling of the tale in National Geographic magazine,...

No Place on Earth

Directed by: Janet Tobias

Documentary

Running Time: 1 hr 24 mins

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: April 19, 2013 (Chicago)

Plot: A documentary about an extended family who hid in two different caves to elude the Gestapo during World War II. Partially told with dramatic reenactments.

Who’S It For? One does not need to be a fan of history, or even directly drawn to Holocaust survival stories, to enjoy No Place on Earth. This movie can easily appeal to and entertain any audience member who likes discovering a great true story.

Read our interview with Director Janet Tobias & Survivors Sima Dodyk Blitzer, Sonia Dodyk Hochman, and Sam Stermer

Overall

To paraphrase a point by critic comrade Bill Stamets, “It’s not the survivors’ fault they survived.”

No Place on Earth is evidence that while cinema seems to have a soft spot for stories of survival during the Holocaust, such fascination often comes within reason.

No Place on Earth is a documentary about one family’s “bedtime story”; a tale of a family in World War II who successfully hid from the Nazis by hiding in two caves for 511 days straight. As filled with miracles this story may be, the events are all true, as unearthed by cave explorer Chris Nicola. Director Janet Tobias brings the story to life with dramatic reenactments and interviews with the survivors in this enthralling documentary.

Read our “8/10″ review for ‘No Place on Earth’

This is Tobias’ first feature film, with her previous journalistic experience (as a producer) featured on television programs like “Frontline,” and TV docs like “The Battle for America’s Schools,” and “MSNBC Reports: The Next War.”

In this exciting opportunity, I was able to talk to three of the survivors whose story is told in the film, Sima Dodyk Blitzer, Sonia Dodyk Hochman, and Sam Stermer.

Looking at this weekend's new releases, you might think there's not much reason to go out with the schmaltzy "42" and (probably) absolutely awful "Scary Movie 5" populating the multiplex. But if you can take a few steps off the well worn path and head down to your local arthouse, you might find something a lot more nourishing. Already playing in limited release, director Janet Tobias' "No Place On Earth" continues to find more theaters for her compelling documentary. It tells the remarkable, untold and true story of thirty-eight Ukrainian Jews who survived World War II by living in caves for eighteen months. Using interviews with the surviving former cave inhabitants, recreations and more, "No Place On Earth" spins an intriguing tale and in this exclusive clip, you can get a taste of the first hand accounts of what it was like when the survivors were finally able to leave the caves.

In 1993, American cave enthusiast Chris Nicola traveled to Western Ukraine for two purposes—to learn more about his ancestral roots and to explore the Gypsum Giant cave system that is home to some of the world’s largest horizontal caverns. When Nicola stumbled onto some miscellaneous artifacts—a key, a comb, a woman’s shoe—he also stumbled onto a much shrouded and forgotten piece of World War II history. In No Place on Earth, director Janet Tobias explores this profound discovery, shedding light on a incredible story of endurance....

Part The Diary of Anne Frank, part The Swiss Family Robinson, and part The Shawshank Redemption, No Place on Earth, about a Ukrainian Jewish family in WWII who hides from the Nazis by living in caves, has all the elements of a great story: an epic quest (survival), formidable obstacles (Nazis discovering each hiding place), and clever solutions to those obstacles (digging new exits, finding new caves). Unfortunately, the telling, by director Janet Tobias, is no match for the story. At the beginning, the film seems to be a documentary about a spelunker, Chris Nicola, who years later discovers the remains of one of the family's encampments and seeks survivors and relatives with little luck. But our luck is much better; without explanation, the family is sudden...

The Descent: Tobias Brings Recently Discovered Holocaust Tale to Light

For her directorial debut, producer Janet Tobias documents a harrowing discovery made by a spelunker in the early 90s with No Place on Earth, which makes for one very fascinating and incredible Holocaust survival story. Through a series of interviews with survivors of this living history as well as combination of narration from one of the survivor memoirs and various physical reenactments, Tobias paints a portrait of perilous survival that’s difficult to comprehend.

In 1993, spelunker Chris Nicola discovered evidence of human dwelling in the expansive gypsum caves of Ukraine. Evidence seemed to indicate that a group of people had lived in them for quite some time. In asking the locals for information, he found that most people were unwilling to speak with him, which was no surprise due to the current political climate, with a group of people coming...

New shots from The Hangover Part III, Jack the Giant Slayer, Olympus Has Fallen, Dead Man Down, Emperor, I'm So Excited, and a set photo of Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone filming Grudge Match.

There's also Hugh Jackman on the set of The Wolverine, Vin Diesel in Riddick, Hailee Steinfeld in Ender's Game, and Ashley Greene in Random.

Posters for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Mud, Black Rock, No Place on Earth, In the House, Tyler Perry Presents Peeples, Manhunt, The Last Exorcism Part II, To the Wonder, The Silence, Spring Breakers, Two Mothers, Dead Man Down, Evil Dead.

"Riddick" filmmaker David Twohy has penned an excellent posting about his friend, the great sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison. He also touches upon a project the pair briefly worked on together.

"New Blu-ray release dates include 'Cloud Atlas' and 'Dexter: Season 7' on May 14th, and 'Chasing Ice' on September 10th…...

In 1942 a group of 38 Ukrainian Jews descended into a cave to hide from the Nazis. They lived in the cave for over a year-and-a-half to survive the evil tyrany. A trailer for a new documentary called No Place On Earth has been released that tells this incredible story of survival blending interviews with the survivors and dramatizations of the events that took place.

The film was directed by Janet Tobias, it chronicles the story of how cave explorer Chris Nicola just happened to stumble upon this underground cave, and how it lead him on a journey to uncover the story behind it. The story of which is both terrifying and inspiring. Here's the synopsis:

In October 1942, Esther Stermer, the matriarch of a Jewish family in the Ukraine, leads her family underground to hide from the pursuing Nazis—and stays nearly a year and a half. Their harrowing story of survival...

"I wanted to say thank you to the cave." Today's trailer on Oscar Sunday is for the documentary called No Place On Earth, an "extraordinary true story" about a cave expedition where they found remnants of a WWII camp that lead to the discovery of a remarkable and harrowing story of survival. This looks like yet another powerful doc, that begins one place, and ends in a completely different one. It tells the story of this group of survivors from the cave, and it seems to show them returning there for a revisit, though that might be giving away too much. There's some tricky editing in this trailer, but this otherwise looks worth watching. Watch the theatrical trailer for Janet Tobias' documentary No Place On Earth, in high def on Apple: While mapping out the largest cave system in Ukraine, explorer and investigator Chris Nicola discovers evidence that five...

Title: No Place On Earth Magnolia Pictures Director: Janet Tobias Screenwriter: Janet Tobias, Paul Laikin Cast: Saul Stermer, Sam Stermer, Sonia Dodyk, Sima Dodyk, Yetta Stermer, Sol Wexler, Christopher Nicola Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 2/22/13 Opens: April 5, 2013 Some people ask for a respite from Holocaust movies on the grounds that everything said has already been told. One wonders whether these folks would say the same about crime movies, romances, family dysfunction comedies, operas, Shakespeare, etc. In fact, “No Place on Earth” does break new ground, literally in fact, focusing on an event which, if entered into competition in the Guinness Book of World Records would inform us [ Read More ]

The post No Place on Earth Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

See the first poster for Magnolia Pictures' No Place on Earth documentary, directed by Janet Tobias. The film won was seen at last year's Toronto Film,Festival, and won the Audience Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2012. Zita Kisgergely, Paul Laikin, Rafael Marmor and Tobias produce while David McKillop, Jeff Field and J. Flint Davis executive produce alongside Susan Werbe and Katja Zink. In No Place on Earth, while mapping out the largest cave system in Ukraine, explorer and investigator Chris Nicola discovers evidence that five Jewish families spent nearly a year and a half in the pitch-black caves to escape the Nazis. This is the story of the longest uninterrupted underground survival in recorded human history.

See the first poster for Magnolia Pictures' No Place on Earth documentary, directed by Janet Tobias. The film won was seen at last year's Toronto Film,Festival, and won the Audience Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2012. Zita Kisgergely, Paul Laikin, Rafael Marmor and Tobias produce while David McKillop, Jeff Field and J. Flint Davis executive produce alongside Susan Werbe and Katja Zink. In No Place on Earth, while mapping out the largest cave system in Ukraine, explorer and investigator Chris Nicola discovers evidence that five Jewish families spent nearly a year and a half in the pitch-black caves to escape the Nazis. This is the story of the longest uninterrupted underground survival in recorded human history.

ComingSoon.net has your exclusive first look at the poster for the Magnolia Pictures documentary No Place on Earth . Opening in theaters on April 5, the Janet Tobias-directed film features Chris Nicola, Saul Stermer, Sam Stermer, Sonia Dodyk and Sima Dodyk. In October 1942, Esther Stermer, the matriarch of a Jewish family in the Ukraine, leads her family underground to hide from the pursuing Nazis . and stays nearly a year and a half. Their harrowing story of survival living in near total darkness in two cold, damp caves is one like no other ever told. It was life...like No Place On Earth. Click the poster for a bigger version!

The Roundup (La Rafle)

by Rose Bosch (Isa: Legende). U.S. Menemsha. France: Gaumont, TF1, Canal +, France Television

Until the 1990s when then-Prime Minister Jacques Chirac officially accepted the idea of French complicity for the Vichy regime of France, all Frenchmen seem to have claimed to have been part of DeGaulle’s Resistance Movement. Recently, the new Prime Minister Hollande apologized again for France’s role in rounding up the Jews, especially 13,000 in Paris who were herded into the Vel’ Hive (The Winter Velodrome). Because of the acknowledgement, filmmaker and former journalist Rose Bosch could raise private equity to make the feature The Roundup (La Rafle) on the same subject. With a 47% increase in Anti-Semitism in France, when the film aired on TV, Twitter was inundated with Anti-Semitic remarks and jokes which is frightening today to those whose ideals remain on the side of democratic multi-culturalism.

No Place On Earth (The Cave)

by Emmy Award winning director Janet Tobias (Isa: Global Screen GMBh). U.S. contact Submarine

The longest recorded underground survival story in human history was 511 days. This record was set when 5 Jewish families in the Ukraine who descended into a pitch black cave to escape the Nazis.

The Third Half

by Darko Mitrevski, Macedonia's submission for Oscar Nomination for est Foreign Language Film (Isa: The Little Film Co.).

Determined to build the best football club in the country, Dimitry hires the German coach, Rudolph Spitz, to galvanize his rag tag team but when the first Nazi tanks roll through the city in 1939. When Rebecca, the beautiful Jewish daughter of a local banker, elopes with his star player, all Dimitry’s plans must change. The Third Half was born twelve years ago, while the director Darko Metrevski was digging up forgotten stories for a historical TV series. "I remember that, while I was seeking witnesses of various historic periods, someone mentioned the old Mrs. Neta Koen, recently interviewed by the Shoah Visual History Foundation. Soon I found myself in her apartment listening to her stories: She was one of the few Holocaust survivors in Macedonia, a country in which 98% of the Jewish population was brutally wiped out during the WW2. I remember I couldn’t resist asking: “Pardon my curiosity, but how did you survive?” She answered with equal sincerity: “Well, I eloped with a poor football player, and my family renounced me, so my name was not on the lists for deportation. My forbidden love saved my life and the continuity of my family tree as well.” And of course, as in every big, important, monumental event – there is a woman behind all of that.

"Finally, it is a story of my grandfather Vlastimir, a soccer referee and a Holocaust survivor whose written remembrances were the first horrible experience of my childhood.This movie is dedicated to the loving memory of my father, who taught me that creating art is like playing sports – one should never give up as long as his feet stand on the pitch."

Upcoming: Sylvain Bursztejn of Sequoia Films in Paris is now shooting The Last Man in Cologne directed by Pierre-Henry Salfati.

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. theatrical distribution rights to the documentary “No Place on Earth,” which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Monday. The company plans a 2013 theatrical release. Directed by former “60 Minutes” and “Nightline” producer Janet Tobias, “No Place on Earth” tells the incredible story of 38 Ukrainian Jews who survived World War II by living in underground caves for 18 months. The film includes interviews with survivors and Chris Nicola, the caving enthusiast who discovered the story. Read More: Living History: Toronto Doc 'No Place On Earth' Explores Remarkable Story of 38 Jews Who Hid In a Cave For 511 Days Rafael Marmor produced the project along with Tobias, Paul Laikin, Nadav Schirman, Susan Barnett and Zita Kisgergely. History Films, which produced, retains U.S. TV rights. "‘No Place on Earth’ is an incredibly moving and...

Another Toronto Film Festival deal, and this might not be the only one for No Place On Earth as suitors are angling for remake rights to the film. Here’s the announcement: Toronto, On (September 13th, 2012) – The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today that the company is acquiring U.S. theatrical distribution rights to No Place On Earth from History Films™, which has U.S. TV rights. The feature documentary tells the gripping story of a Jewish family who took refuge in caves for nearly two years to evade Nazi capture. The acquisition announcement comes less than 48 hours following the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday night, where it received a lengthy standing ovation. No Place On Earth brings to light the untold story of thirty-eight Ukrainian Jews who survived World War II by living in caves for eighteen months, the longest-recorded sustained underground survival.

As a woman who began her career as a journalist at 60 Minutes working for Diane Sawyer and Don Hewitt, it's safe to say that Janet Tobias is no stranger to a good story. You can imagine, then, how extra-ordinary a story must be for her to dub it "one of the best stories I had ever heard" - which she says of the plot behind her newest film, "No Place On Earth".   Tobias, a genuine lover of stories and history, was determined to bring this - her first feature documentary - to actualization. A true tale that brings to light the strength of the bonds we create between family and the power of what we can accomplish together, "No Place on Earth" reminds us of the obligation we have to pass these stories forward. What the movie is about: "One of the longest underground survivals. A group of Jewish families...