November
18
IFC Goes Foreign
IFC exec Ryan Werner is a tireless marketing machine. He's the guy who is shepherding an amazing number of films into release this fall and winter, from Steve Soderbergh's Che to Jan Troell's Everlasting Moments, one of five movies IFC is releasing that have been submitted for the foreign Oscar.
IFC Films is able to release so many films because the distrib doesn't spend much to market them in just a few cities, via IFC in Theaters, their day-and-date distribution platform, or their Festival Direct video-on-demand service.
Any lover of sophisticated foreign cinema is well-advised to check it out. IFC President Jonathan Sehring is committed, he says, "to bringing original, exciting and prestigious product from around the world to U.S. audiences. The exceptional reach of our distribution platforms means these acclaimed foreign films will soon have the opportunity to be seen by millions of people."
The company boasts 12 pics nominated for European Film Awards, led by Italy's Oscar entry Gomorrah, with five noms, which IFC just added to its December line-up. The gangster pic has grossed over $14 million in Italy since its release, and won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Other nominated European Film Award titles from IFC were Steve McQueen's Irish drama Hunger, starring Michael Fassbender as Irish Republican hunger striker Bobby Sands (three European Film Award noms); Israel's Lemon Tree, starring The Visitor's Hiam Abbas (two noms); Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale, starring Mathieu Amalric and Catherine Deneuve (a nom for editor Laurence Briaud); Denmark's highest-grossing film of the last decade, Flame & Citron (a joint nom for stars Thure Lindhardt & Mads Mikkelsen); and Germany's The Wave (best actor nom for Juergen Vogel). Last year, IFC's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days won Best Film.
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European films are so awesome. Kudos to IFC for bringing them here. 'CHE' should be an interesting film...
Posted by: UGLY PUNK GURL! | November 18, 2008 at 08:06 PM
Thank goodness for IFC and the other microminies who feed those of us here in the US starving for good foreign films.
I just saw Francois Ozon's ANGEL last week at the BAM Cinematek in NYC...such an amazing film...AND NO US DISTRIBUTOR. Unbelievable, and a bit scary.
Posted by: ProgGrrl | November 19, 2008 at 09:39 AM