Noga Kedem is a composer and vocalist whose artistry bridges the worlds of classical, metal, and film music with remarkable versatility. Trained as a classical singer and a longtime member of The Haifa Symphony Orchestra’s Opera Choir, she later forged her own path by founding the progressive metal band Venus In Fear, performing across Israel for five years. Currently collaborating with acclaimed composer Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator), she is scoring multiple films across...

GAGNE TON CIEL / COST OF HEAVEN

TIFF  2025

An interview with Director/writer Mathieu Denis.

 

In this captivating movie directed by maverick director Mathieu Denis, a family man, ‘Nacer Belkacem’ played by the brilliant Samir Guesmi, takes progressively darker actions in his desperate pursuit of a better life as he is facing financial hardship and craving prosperity. There is a heavy feeling as you watch this film, and you start to identify yourself with this man who is struggling to make it, at any cost. We live in very challenging and draining times right now, and a movie like this brings a fresh perspective about what to do in times of super challenges. It’s a beautiful film that needs to find a distributor and a voice so one of the many, unheard, is finally coming to the forefront for some Re-Evolution.

 

Q: Such a beautiful and very moving picture. How did it come together? What were you to address with this film?

 

Mathieu Denis: This was an idea I had a while ago. It’s inspired by an event that happened in Montreal back in 2012. My story is loosely based on this event. I think my movie is more interesting if we don’t know much about it while watching it. So, let’s hold on a lot of surprises and invite people to go and watch my movie. They are up for a great surprise and some amazing twists. It’s about this man, in 2012, who was a family man and very involved with his community. He was an everyday every man. He ended up being arrested for something extreme he had done. I was drawn to the idea of making this film to understand what pushes an ordinary man to do such an extreme act. This was the first spark. Little by little, I read lots of things about this man and this event. But then, I put this idea to rest for a while. So, it was in a folder on my computer for a while. Two years after his arrest, in 2014, this man had his trial for his acts. It took a long time to get him to a court trial. At that time, there was even more information that was revealed about his actions and how he had done it and why he had done it. Many aspects of his story made it more interesting for me. For example, there was this financial component to it. He was an engineer with a good job and a happy family. But something was missing in his life. He was obsessed with the stock exchange and the financial world. He was trying to make more money than he was making. This was interesting to me. In many ways, it’s related to the World we live in. The economic system we live in, since the late 90’s hasn’t been really challenged. I have this impression that it’s not that there are no other values, but the main value in our world is materialism. It feels like this value goes over any other value, which means that if you don’t realize material success, then it’s very hard to feel like you have fully accomplished yourself in your life. So, obviously, this is a problem because I think there are other values one has to be judged about and feel great about. However, materialistic success often supersedes all other values. It’s maintaining us in a state of constant dissatisfaction with our own lives. Because it’s always possible to have more, and it’s also always easy to look at your neighbor or your friend and look at who has the bigger car, the bigger house. And so, you feel bad about yourself and the accomplishment you have made. The man in the film had reached a ceiling that he couldn’t surpass. He felt he was not realizing the full version of himself. All of that was about the amount of money he was making. It’s a very universal theme, I think. Also, the c

 
La Biennale di Venezia is proud to announce that the 12. edition of the Venice Gap-Financing Market (August 29 – August 31, 2025), organised as part of the Venice Production Bridge, has selected 40 Fiction and Documentary projects, 14 Immersive projects and will present an additional 10 Immersive and 3 Fiction projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema workshops.

 

In 2025 the VPB Focuses will be the United Kingdom, supported by British Film Institute; Chile, supported by Ministerio de las Culturas, las Artes y el Patrimonio, Gobierno de Chile; and Morocco, supported by Centre Cinématographique Marocain.   The selection is divided as follows: ·       40 feature-length Fiction Film and Documentary projects         (incl. 11 VPB Focus projects) ·       14 Immersive projects (incl. 3 VPB Focus projects) ·       10 Biennale College Cinema - Immersive projects ·       3 Biennale College Cinema projects &nb Read more Los Angeles Greek Film Festival 2025 Award Winners Los Angeles Greek Film Festival 2025 Award Winners Rick W / Tuesday, June 3, 2025 0 163 The 11th Discovery Days Jury picked Katerina Mavrogeorgi’s project, ANCHORED, as the winner of this year’s feature film projects, and gave an Honorable Mention to THE SON, represented by Yorgos Athanasiou and George Zafeiropoulos. The awards were presented during the Orpheus Awards by the lab’s Director Karina Logothetis and last year’s participant Tilbe Cana Inan. This is what Logothetis said: “We were deeply moved by the work and discipline of the participants. Over the course of four days we witnessed their stories take form, their visions grow sharper, and a real sense of creative unity emerge — with filmmakers inspiring and lifting each other up throughout the process.” The jury included three industry professionals – Gareth Ellis-Unwin, Alesia Weston, Danielle Wolff – and an established Greek filmmaker – Yorgos Zois. Learn more about our story & pitch lab here.    Discovery Days Winners       Read more Daily Cannes Film Festival for 15/05/2025 Daily Cannes Film Festival for 15/05/2025 Rick W / Wednesday, May 14, 2025 0 97      COMPÉTITION (SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE)  TWO PROSECUTORS (DEUX PROCUREURS) by SERGEI LOZNITSA at 12:00 (runtime 1h58)  Soviet Union, 1937. Thousands of letters from detainees falsely accused by the regime are burned in a prison cell. Against all odds, one of them reaches its destination, upon the desk of the newly appointed local prosecutor, Alexander Kornev. Kornev does his utmost to meet the prisoner, a victim of corrupt agents of the secret police, the NKVD. A dedicated Bolshevik of integrity, the young prosecutor suspects foul play. His quest for justice will take him all the way to the office of the Attorney General in Moscow.In the age of the great Stalinist purges, this is the plunge of a man into the corridors of a totalitarian regime that does not bear said name.  SOUND OF FALLING by MASCHA SCHILINSKI at 14:40 (runtime 2h29)  Four girls, Alma, Erika, Angelika, and Lenka, each spend their youth on the same farm in northern Germany. As the home evolves over a century, echoes of the past linger in its walls. Though separated by time, their lives begin to mirror each other.   DOSSIER 137 (CASE 137) by DOMINIK MOLL at 18:30 (runtime 1h55)  Stéphanie, a police officer working for Internal Affairs, is assigned to a case involving a young man severely wounded during a tense and chaotic demonstration in Paris. While she finds no evidence of illegitimate police violence, the case takes a personal turn when she discovers the victim is from her hometown.  SIRÂT by OLIVER LAXE at 21:30 (runtime 2h)  A father (Sergi López) and his son arrive at a rave deep in the mountains of southern Morocco. They’re searching for Mar — daughter and sister — who vanished months ago at one of these endless, sleepless parties. Surrounded by electronic music and a raw, unfamiliar sense of freedom, they hand out her photo again and again. Hope is fading but they push through and follow a group of ravers heading to one last party in the desert. As they venture deeper into the burning wilderness, the journey forces them to confront their own limits.       UN CERTAIN REGARD (SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE)  A PALE VIEW OF HILLS by KEI ISHIKAWA at 11:00 (runtime 2h03)   In 1982, UK. An aspiring Japanese-British writer plans to write a book based on her mother Etsuko’s post-war experiences in Nagasaki. Etsuko, haunted by the suicide of her older daughter, begins to recount her memories from 1952 as a young mother-to-be. Her story begins with her encounter with Sachiko, who was full of hope about starting a new life abroad, and her young daughter Mariko, who constantly spoke of an eerie woman. The writer finds something at odds as she confronts the mementos of her mother’s Nagasaki years, as well as the memories Etsuko sh Read more Daily Cannes Film Festival for 15/05/2025 Daily Cannes Film Festival for 15/05/2025 Rick W / Wednesday, May 14, 2025 0 91   COMPÉTITION (SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE)  TWO PROSECUTORS (DEUX PROCUREURS) by SERGEI LOZNITSA at 12:00 (runtime 1h58)  Soviet Union, 1937. Thousands of letters from detainees falsely accused by the regime are burned in a prison cell. Against all odds, one of them reaches its destination, upon the desk of the newly appointed local prosecutor, Alexander Kornev. Kornev does his utmost to meet the prisoner, a victim of corrupt agents of the secret police, the NKVD. A dedicated Bolshevik of integrity, the young prosecutor suspects foul play. His quest for justice will take him all the way to the office of the Attorney General in Moscow. In the age of the great Stalinist purges, this is the plunge of a man into the corridors of a totalitarian regime that does not bear said name.  SOUND OF FALLING by MASCHA SCHILINSKI at 14:40 (runtime 2h29)  Four girls, Alma, Erika, Angelika, and Lenka, each spend their youth on the same farm in northern Germany. As the home evolves over a century, echoes of the past linger in its walls. Though separated by time, their lives begin to mirror each other.   DOSSIER 137 (CASE 137) by DOMINIK MOLL at 18:30 (runtime 1h55)  Stéphanie, a police officer working for Internal Affairs, is assigned to a case involving a young man severely wounded during a tense and chaotic demonstration in Paris. While she finds no evidence of illegitimate police violence, the case takes a personal turn when she discovers the victim is from her hometown.  SIRÂT by OLIVER LAXE at 21:30 (runtime 2h)  A father (Sergi López) and his son arrive at a rave deep in the mountains of southern Morocco. They’re searching for Mar — daughter and sister — who vanished months ago at one of these endless, sleepless parties. Surrounded by electronic music and a raw, unfamiliar sense of freedom, they hand out her photo again and again. Hope is fading but they push through and follow a group of ravers heading to one last party in the desert. As they venture deeper into the burning wilderness, the journey forces them to confront their own limits.      UN CERTAIN REGARD (SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE)  A PALE VIEW OF HILLS by KEI ISHIKAWA at 11:00 (runtime 2h03)   In 1982, UK. An aspiring Japanese-British writer plans to write a book based on her mother Etsuko’s post-war experiences in Nagasaki. Etsuko, haunted by the suicide of her older daughter, begins to recount her memories from 1952 as a young mother-to-be. Her story begins with her encounter with Sachiko, who was full of hope about starting a new life abroad, and her young daughter Mariko, who constantly spoke of an eerie woman. The writer finds something at odds as she confronts the mementos of her mother’s Nagasaki years, as well as the memories Etsuko shares with her.   LA MIST Read more What to Watch: 6 Sundance Institute–Supported Films by Filipino Directors What to Watch: 6 Sundance Institute–Supported Films by Filipino Directors Rick W / Wednesday, May 7, 2025 0 100 A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan’s “In My Mother’s Skin,” which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios By Lucy Spicer Ramona S. Diaz’s 2024 Sundance Film Festival documentary And So It Begins captures the growing movement to defend democracy in the Philippines as progressive Leni […] The post What to Watch: 6 Sundance Institute–Supported Films by Filipino Directors first appeared on sundance.org. Read more Get a glimpse of what's in store at #MDF25! Get a glimpse of what's in store at #MDF25! Rick W / Monday, April 21, 2025 0 45   Get ready for an exciting Marché edition, herewith a first glimpse into the Marché, courtesy MdF     ! The countdown is on! In just a few weeks, we’ll be unveiling our new edition, packed with exciting events, insighful presentations and dynamic showcases that will make #MDF25 one to remember! Here's a teaser of what's to come!   WHO'S GOING TO CANNES? Announcing our 2025 Goes To Cannes partners lineup! Get ready for 5 showcases of original works-in-progress, handpicked by top festivals & markets from around the world. This is your chance to discover fresh projects, meet visionary filmmakers, and explore leading film festivals — all in one place!  Join us for the pitching sessions 16–19 May, and stay tuned as the selected projects are progressively revealed. Please welcome our 2025 – Festival Partners!  Read more The Sofia Film Festival 2025 Announces Lineup The Sofia Film Festival 2025 Announces Lineup Rick W / Friday, March 7, 2025 0 72 The 29th Sofia International Film Festival (SIFF) is welcoming its audience from March 13 to 31, 2025. The preliminary program kicks off on March 10 at the Czech Cultural Center with a retrospective of one of the festival’s special guests – Bohdan Sláma. The SIFF program in Sofia continues until April 4. The festival is organized by Art Fest under the patronage of the Sofia Municipality, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Bulgarian National Film Center, and the Creative Europe MEDIA program of the European Union, in partnership with the National Palace of Culture, various cultural institutions, sponsors, partners, and friends. We eagerly await in Sofia the filmmakers of the competition programs, who will personally present their films to the Bulgarian audience in cinema halls, as well as many world-renowned guests with their latest films. Sofia Film Fest in Plovdiv will be held from March 21 to April 6, the Varna edition from March 21 to 29, and Sofia Film Fest On The Coast in Burgas from March 20 to 28.   * * * The visual theme for the 29th Sofia Film Festival is made by proof. The clip was produced with the assistance of ProCamera Rental, UFO, NATFIZ “Krastyo Sarafov”, and Positive Possum. Sofia Film Fest is produced with the support of UNIQA Insurance Company – Bulgaria, Grand Hotel Sofia, Bulgaria Air, Moto-Pfohe Rent a Car, and the Audience LUX Award. Festival partners include the British Council, Italian Cultural Institute, French Cultural Institute, Polish Institute, Goethe Institute, Romanian Cultural Institute, Austrian Cultural Forum, Czech Center – Sofia, List Institute – Hungarian Cultural Institute, Instituto Cervantes, Doli Media Studio, Maison de MITKO DAMOV, hotels Sveta Sofia, Rosslyn, V1, Intercontinental, and many other organizations, media outlets, and friends. Sofia Film Festival is made possible with the financial support of the Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Culture, the Bulgarian National Film Center, and the Creative Europe MEDIA program of the European Union. The festival will also host the 22nd edition of the industry event Sofia Meetings from 19 to 23 March 2025. International Competition: Cat’s Cry (Serbia, Canada, Croatia) Directed by Sanja Živković Produced by Nova film Coproduced by Artizana Film, Cinnamon Films , YN Films Supported by the Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Telefilm Canada Flesh (Bulgaria) Directed by Dimitar Stoyanovich Produced by Premier Studio Plus Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center Windless (Bulgaria, Italy) Directed by Pavel G. Vesnakov Produced by Red Carpet Coproduced by dispàrte Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Italian Ministry of Culture Honeymoon  Read more RSS Load next 10 article(s) (20 left)Loading...