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Im Rahmen des Länderfokus Österreich wird Bernhard Wengers Tragikomödie „Pfau – Bin ich echt?“ beim Glasgow Film Festival seine UK-Premiere feiern.

Bernhard Wengers „Pfau – Bin ich echt? feiert beim Glasgow Film Festival seine UK-Premiere (Credit: Wild Bunch)

Unter dem Titel „From the Heart of Europe: Austria on Screen” widmet das Glasgow Film Festival den Länderschwerpunkt seiner vom 26. Februar bis 9. März 2025 stattfindenden Ausgabe Österreich. Das gab das Festival jetzt bekannt.

Im Rahmen des Länderschwerpunkts Österreich wird Bernhard Wengers Tragikomödie „Pfau – Bin ich echt?“ (hier unsere Spot-Besprechung) mit Albrecht Schuch in der Hauptrolle, nach ihrer Weltpremiere in der Mostra-Reihe Settimana Internazionale della Critica in Glasgow ihre UK-Premiere feiern.

Darüber hinaus werden auf dem Festival im Rahmen des Länderschwerpunkts Österreich Josef Haders „Andrea lässt sich scheiden“, Ulrike Koflers „Gina“, Christoph Schwarz Debütfilm „Sparschwein“, der im Januar auch auf dem Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis zu sehen sein wird, „Veni Vidi Vici“ von...

Das Berliner Weltkinofestival hat jetzt das Programm von Wettbewerb und Specials seiner von 29. November bis 7. Dezember stattfindenden 19. Ausgabe bekannt gegeben.

Kurdwin Ayubs „Mond“ ist einer der Filme im Wettbewerb von Around the World in 14 Films (Credit: Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion)

Das Berliner Weltkinofestival Around the World in 14 Films hat jetzt das Programm für seine von 29. November bis 7. Dezember stattfindende 19. Ausgabe bekannt gegeben.

Herzstück ist nach Angaben des Festivals der 14 Filme umfassende Wettbewerb in dem der

Basis Berlin Postproduction Award für Beste Regie vergeben wird. Unter den eingeladenen Filmen von zehn Regisseurinnen und fünf Regisseuren befinden sich auch Titel, die zuvor schon auf Festivals wie Sundance, Cannes, Venedig oder Locarno erfolgreich gezeigt wurde.

Die Wettbewerbsfilme von Around the World in 14 Films im Überblick:

• „Kill the Jockey”, Regie: Luis Ortega (Argentinien)

• „Sujo”, Regie: Astrid Rondero und Fernanda Valadez (Mexiko)

• „The Village Next to Paradise”, Regie: Mo Harawe (Somalia)

• „Vermiglio”, Regie: Maura Delpero...

In etwas mehr als zwei Wochen steigt zum dritten Mal nach 2022 und 2023 das bundesweite Kinofest – unterstützt von zahlreichen prominenten Paten aus der Politik. Mit einer besonders engagierten (Video-)Botschaft meldet sich Ministerpräsident Hendrik Wüst zu Wort.

Zwei der von Voll:Kontakt für das Kinofest erstellten Kampagnenmotive (Credit: Hdf Kino)

Die Vorbereitungen für das bundesweite Kinofest gehen auf die Zielgerade. Nur noch gut zwei Wochen sind es, bis Kinos im ganzen Land am 7. und 8. September zum Aktionspreis von fünf Euro einladen, die ganze Vielfalt der Leinwand zu feiern und womöglich auch wiederzuentdecken.

Das Publikum darf sich dabei auf etliche Programmhighlights freuen. Denn zu diesem Wochenende gehen nicht nur Filme wie etwa der französische Sensationserfolg „Was ist schon normal?“, der packende Hai-Thriller „Something in the Water“, die warmherzige Freundschaftsgeschichte „Bleib am Ball – Egal was kommt“ oder das herausragende Jugenddrama „Ellbogen“ an den Start. Sondern es werden auch zahlreiche Previews extra zum Kinofest angeboten,...

All genres are welcome at Locarno’s co-development initiative Alliance 4 Development this year, from “dramas to dark comedies and thrillers,” says project manager Francesca Palleschi. But 11 projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland do share some recurring themes.

“Identity, history’s enduring legacy, environmental concerns, family ties, the sense of belonging and displacement, societal dynamics. And the desperate search for attention,” Palleschi list.

In “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” by Julia Niemann, who recently enjoyed arthouse success with controversial Sundance premiere “Veni Vidi Vici” co-directed with Daniel Hoesl, she’s following Emmy, a contestant on a dating reality show. The film will be shot in English.

“Reality TV may be the lowest of all forms of entertainment. But when it’s done well, it tells of nothing less than the human condition, just like the movies. It’s a film about what we all want: Attention. Why...

Magnify, the International sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to Taiwanese thriller “Pierce” from first-time feature filmmaker Nelicia Low. An official teaser has now been released for the title ahead of its sales launch at the upcoming Marche du Film in Cannes.

“Pierce” follows Jie, a young fencer reconnecting with his estranged older brother Han, who mysteriously returns after seven years in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing competition. Jie believes Han’s insistence that he is innocent and decides to help him, defying his mother’s efforts to erase Han from their lives. Han grows close to Jie in training him for the national championships, but his hostile past is triggered after an argument, leaving Jie to begin to question whether his beloved brother might be a violent sociopath after all.

The film stars Ding Ning (who won a...

Magnify, the rebranded international sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” in the run up to its world premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Directed and co-writer by Tyler Taormina (“Ham on Rye”), the film stars Michael Cera (“Barbie”), Francesca Scorsese, Maria Dizzia (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Ben Shenkman (“Billions”), Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”), Gregg Turkington (“Entertainment”), Sawyer Spielberg (“Masters of the Air”) breakout actor Matilda Fleming, among others.

Written by Taormina and Eric Berger, the film revolves around a rambunctious extended family descending upon their small Long Island hometown for the holidays where hijinks, generational squabbles, and family traditions ensue.

“Taormina takes a singular approach to the classic holiday family movie, bringing his absurdist humor and dynamic filmmaking to life with a charming and perfectly cast ensemble,” said Lorna Lee Torres, Magnify SVP of Global Sales. “We...

Get ready for an intriguing journey into the life of one of history’s most iconic figures in the upcoming episode of “Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator” titled “Veni Vidi Vici,” airing at 9:00 Pm on Tuesday, April 9th, 2024, on PBS.

In this captivating installment, viewers will witness events that threaten to disrupt Caesar’s carefully laid plans, leaving him feeling isolated and vulnerable. As external pressures mount and challenges arise, Caesar finds himself pushed into a corner, forced to make a decision that will have far-reaching consequences for the Republic.

Through compelling storytelling and historical insights, this episode delves deep into the complexities of power, ambition, and the human condition. Audiences will be captivated as they witness Caesar’s struggles and triumphs, gaining a deeper understanding of the man behind the legend.

Don’t miss “Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator” as it continues to unravel...

Magnify, formerly Magnolia Pictures International, has announced multiple territories out of EFM on Veni Vidi Vici, the provocative Sundance premiere from Austrian filmmakers Daniel Hoesl And Julia Niemann.

Deals have closed in France (L’atelier d’Images), Central and Eastern Europe (HBO Europe), Poland (Aurora), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Pilot), former Yugoslavia (Five Star Distribution), Middle East (Gulf), Taiwan (Joinstar), Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic), Hungary (Cinefil), and airlines (Spafax).

Magnify’s SVP of global sales, Lorna Lee Torres and director of global sales Austin Kennedy negotiated the deals and are considering offers on Germany, Japan and other territories.

Satire Veni Vidi Vici premiered...

Magnify and Film4 are teaming up to launch Filipiñana, a Philippines-set feature that will shoot in spring 2024.

It is the debut feature of Filipino filimmaker Rafael Manuel, adapted from Manuel’s short of the same name that won the Silver Bear jury prize at the 2020 Berlinale, and was nominated for a British Independent Film Award.

Film4 has developed the feature and will executive produce and co-finance. Producers are Jeremy Chua and Sam Chua Weishi of Singapore’s Potocol, with Bradley Liew of Epicmedia Productions Inc and Alex Polunin.

Magnify – formerly Magnolia Pictures International - has acquired global and US sales rights on the title,...

There’s a striking dissonance between the serene and realistic surface of Daniel Hoesel and Julia Niemann’s Veni Vidi Vici and the way it bludgeons its points home using the exaggerated methods of social critiques common to such genre pieces as Snowpiercer or Infinity Pool. How effective this will be depends in part on the viewer. Some will appreciate this class satire’s grim portrait of a venal polo-playing billionaire class who explain away their amoral behavior with self-aggrandizing business-speak. Others may thrill to the dark comedy of a serial killer operating so in the open that he’s practically begging to be caught. Either way, the message of Hoesel’s screenplay is blunt: Everyone not at society’s pinnacle is only prey.

The film’s serial killer is Amon (Laurence Rupp), a chipper Austrian billionaire with a thing for picking off strangers with a sniper rifle. He pursues his targets carefully,...

When is an aspiring sociopolitical satire so exasperated with what it’s supposedly lampooning that its anger and indignation threaten to undermine the irony of what it’s trying to ridicule? Directed by Austrian pair Daniel Hoesl and Julia Nieman, their Sahara dry, deadpan social satire, “Veni Vidi Vici” (Latin for “I came; I saw; I conquered”)— about the untouchable nature of the rich and powerful of the world, and how consequences for their actions have largely vanished — isn’t necessarily that film.

Continue reading ‘Veni Vidi Vici’ Review: Dark Billionaire Satire Asks: Do Consequences Exist For The Filthy Rich? [Sundance] at The Playlist.

“Veni Vidi Vici” — a jaw-dropping Austrian shocker that’s part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival – came, saw and conquered at its Thursday premiere.

The film follows a ruthless and charismatic billionaire family whose patriarch guns down innocent citizens in his free time, and left many speechless at the Egyptian Theater in Park City. Directed by Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann, the movie features intensely provocative moments including infanticide and brutal public shootings. The family, it turns out, is simply too powerful to face consequences from local police, national defense agents and even their prime minister.

“The problem is that he’s so charming,” director Hoesl said of his leading man Laurence Rupp (whose appeal practically demands a Tom Hiddleston-esque introduction to the American market). “The sunlight is blinding us. We know people like him and we let them get away with it.”

Perhaps not quite like this.

After a snowy Wednesday in Park City dampered some of the arrival fanfare of previous festivals, Sundance soaked up the sun on Thursday’s opening day. With plenty of powder to lend an idyllic backdrop to selfies and social media updates, the festival crowd was buzzing in line for the day’s largest film opening: “Freaky Tales,” taking the coveted early evening spot at the Eccles Center. Dozens of stand-by hopefuls were left in the cold for the popular event though, which kicked off the festival with a riotous screening.

The film marks a Sundance homecoming for director Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, whose breakout hit was the 2006 Sundance favorite “Half Nelson”; the pair most recently helmed the decidedly not indie 2019 superhero flick “Captain Marvel.” “Freaky Tales” is a return to their scrappy roots: An anthology horror-thriller-comedy that pays tribute to ’80s Oakland, the film stars Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis,...

Hailing from the country that gave us such grim social critics as Michael Haneke and Ulrich Seidl, Vantablack Austrian satire “Veni Vidi Vici” opens with a senseless homicide. It’s a startling scene, no less upsetting than the Scorpio killing that kick-starts “Dirty Harry” — except that in this case, the incident is calibrated as the darkest sort of comedy. Rather than picking off an unsuspecting rooftop swimmer, the serial killer does his hunting out in the open, without shame or any pretense of covering his tracks.

The movie makes no mystery of the sniper’s identity, revealing it right from the jump, the way a “Columbo” episode might. And yet the authorities show zero interest in arresting the guilty party, even going so far as to toss an eyewitness out of the police station (that man winds up offing himself in exasperation). That’s because the person responsible, Amon Maynard (Laurence Rupp), is a millionaire,...

Veni, vidi, vici: “I came, I saw, I conquered,” reportedly said Julius Caesar after an especially swift victory. Now, his words echo in Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann’s satire about a family so powerful it can get away with murder. Literally.

“Imagine you are above the law. You can do anything. It’s frustrating, because sometimes you want the world to wake up and yet nothing happens. It’s really funny and really sad,” Hoesl tells Variety.

“These people want to be stopped. They leave all these traces, so why does no one speak up? There is more than one Jeffrey Epstein out there.”

Premiering at Sundance and Rotterdam – and produced by Ulrich Seidl for Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion, with Magnify handling sales – “Veni Vidi Vici” takes a closer look at the Maynard clan where “family is everything,” but human life means nothing.

“Our main character always wins. It...

There are lots of intriguing films premiering at Sundance this year, like “Love Lies Bleeding,” “A Different Man,” and Steven Soderbegh’s “Presence.” But how about a social satire that sounds like a mix between HBO’s “Succession” and the 2020 Blumhouse flick “The Hunt”? Enter “Veni Vidi Vici,” ready to premiere on the fest’s opening night.

Continue reading ‘Veni Vidi Vici’ Trailer: A Billionaire Family Hunts Humans In Upcoming Sundance Social Satire at The Playlist.

For those missing the billionaire voyeurism of “Succession,” Sundance film “Veni Vidi Vici” is poised to be a more sinister remedy.

Directed by Julia Niemann and Daniel Hoesl (and written by Hoesl), the film centers on the Maynard family, who live an “almost perfect” billionaire lifestyle, per the official synopsis. Patriarch Amon is a passionate hunter, but doesn’t shoot animals, as the family’s wealth allows them to live totally free from consequences, as the logline for the social satire dark comedy teases.

“Destructive strength is creative strength,” a character says in the trailer. “But don’t predatory cats belong in the wild?”

The hunt for whomever the dangerous hunter with no regard for human life is takes over a community, as all fingers seem to point to the elite family at the center of the drama. Yet the whodunit takes on another social issue: When the presumed wealthy “madman” killer is revealed,...

Magnify, which was formally known as Magnolia Pictures International, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to “Veni Vedi Vici,” an Australian social satire from directors’ Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann. Written by Hoesl, the film will debut in the World Dramatic Competition section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It marks the first title acquired for sales under the newly rebranded Magnify label.

In “Veni Vedi Vici,” the Maynards and their children lead an almost perfect billionaire family life. Amon is a passionate hunter, but doesn’t shoot animals, as the family’s wealth allows them to live totally free from consequences.

“Daniel and Julia have crafted an exquisite, sophisticated and timely satire that delves into the dynamics of privilege. Fuelled with dark humor, psychotic absurdity, and hyper-realistic violence, ‘Veni Vedi Vici’ promises a captivating watch in Park City, that we are thrilled to launch under the freshly rebranded Magnify label,...