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★★★★☆ "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival. Welcome to our planet." These words form the basis of Michael Madsen's The Visit; a tantalising reminder that humanity continues to send signals out into space and await a reply. For a film built completely on the discussion of hypothetical situations, this documentary is impressive and engrossing to a fault. Madsen delivers a thought-provoking conversation on an encounter that has truly only ever been dreamed of, pondered on and written about into myth.

The Danish comedy The Reunion (Klassefesten) from 2011 is being given an Estonian remake by 1944’s producer Kristian Taska of Taska Film.

Principal photography has begun in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on Klassikokkutulek under the direction of René Vilbre (I Was Here) with a cast including Mait Malmsten, Henry Korvits and Aso Andreson.

The Estonian remake comes in the wake of the successful theatrical release of the Finnish version by Teneli Mustonen for Solar Films earlier this year.

Mustonen’s film - known as Luokkakokous - broke local box-office records when it opened in March, selling more than 150,000 tikets in the first seven days.

Jaana Puskala, Head of Feature Film Promotion at the Finnish Film Foundation, told Screen that the comedy has since been seen by more than half a million, quite a remarkable achievement considering that Finland’s total population is only 5.5m.

Debut for Cinéfondation winner

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Gulf of...

James Vanderbilt’s ‘Rathergate’ scandal drama starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford will open the 23rd annual event on October 8.

Topher Grace and Elisabeth Moss round out the key cast on the drama, based on journalist Mary Mapes’ account of the CBS report into former President George W Bush’s dereliction of duty while serving in the National Guard during the Vietnam War.

The government attempted to discredit the 2004 report, which led to the ruining of Rather’s career and the firing of Mapes.

Spc has positioned Truth for a potential awards run and will release it in theatres on October 16. The world premiere is set for Toronto in the Special Presentations strand.

This year’s Narrative Competition feature films include Matt Sobel’s Take Me To The River, Ciro Guerra’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight winner Embrace Of The Serpent, Avishai Sivan’s Tikkun, Grímur Hákonarson’s Rams and Diastème’s French Blood.

Documentary Competition...

For the third consecutive year, the founders and partners of SpectreVision, Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller and Elijah Wood, have teamed with Cinefamily to present SpectreFest 2015, a curated selection of sneaks peaks and premieres highlighting the best of contemporary “elevated” genre cinema from around the world. In addition, the happenings will include a range of events, rare repertory programs, radio, music, Vr and other forms of media that exemplify the aesthetic spirit of the festival. This year’s chosen films include "Goodnight Mommy," "Cooties," Shinya Tsukomoto’s "Fires on the Plain," SIon Sono’s "Love & Peace," Michael Madsen’s "The Visit" and "Final Girls." Events are hosted by the partners of SpectreVision, featuring appearances by stars and filmmakers, each followed by a reception. Confirmed guests to date include Elijah Wood, Kristen Wiig and Bushwick...

Exclusive: SpectreFest 2015, the third horror film festival from SpectreVision, will open with the horror comedy Cooties which stars SpectreVision’s Elijah Wood and close with Avishai Sivan’s Tikkun which won top honors this summer at the Jerusalem Film Festival. In fact, it won Best Actor, Best Israeli Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Attendees to SpectreFest will also see the Los Angeles premiere of Michael Madsen’s The Visit, which is shot…...

Montreal’s genre film festival wraps with over 100,000 spectators attending across its 23 days of screenings.

Sion Sono’s Tag was among the winners at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, which wrapped yesterday [Aug 4] with the Canadian premiere of Shinji Higuchi’s Attack on Titan.

This year saw over 100,000 spectators attending across the festival’s 23 days of screenings, including 195 indoor screenings, three outdoor screenings, eight virtual reality films and other special events, such as the debut international performance of Glass Eye Pix’s live horror radio show Tales from Beyond the Pale.

Over 900 international guests, including more than 400 film industry professionals, visited the festival and its Frontières Market which saw two deals close during the market. Raven Banner boarded worldwide sales on Gigi Saul Guerrero’s El Gigante, while Frank Murray of Lux Capta Films signed on as producer of Renaud Gauthier’s ‘Lude Behavior.

Guests included Jon Watts and Kevin Bacon for Cop Car, Michael Ironside, [link...

Exclusive: Vienna based Autlook Filmsales has snapped up international sales rights to Songs Of Lahore, the new feature doc from Sharmeen Obey - the first Pakistani ever to win an Oscar - and Andy Schocken.

Songs Of Lahore, which recently premiered in Tribeca, follows a group of musicians in Pakistan brought together to keep their musical traditions alive in the face of rising fundamentalist threats. When they release an album that receives worldwide acclaim, they are invited by Jazz legend Wynton Marsalis to perform with his orchestra at Lincoln Center.

“The unlikely combination of Pakistani traditional musicians and American Jazz legends is simply beautiful and magical,” said Autlook CEO Salma Abdalla.

“The drama and struggles of these gifted musicians is excellently crafted with a good dose of humor, the story develops into an unintended statement that arts can be incredibly important to pacify society. The story is more newsworthy than ever.”

Other titles...

Random Media has acquired North American rights to the first-ever documentary about aliens on Earth...even if aliens haven't necessarily made contact just yet. "The Visit," directed by Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen is a documentary, sort of, about aliens who visit Earth, constructed entirely from real interviews with experts from Nasa, the Un and Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. No word yet on a possible release date, but you can check out the trailer here.Read More: Indiewire's Summer Preview: 21 Must-See Indies...

Halloween is coming to Montreal this summer, as the star-studded (both in front of and behind the camera) anthology horror film, Tales of Halloween, is scheduled to make its world premiere at the festival. JeruZalem, Turbo Kid, Deathgasm, and many more movies are also slated to screen:

Press Release -- "Montreal, May 6, 2015 – The 19th annual Fantasia International Film Festival is gearing up to rush Montreal with three weeks of cinematic inspiration and fantastical visions from across the world from July 14 until August 4, 2015.

Our complete lineup of programming and special events will be revealed in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, here’s an early First Wave Announcement of selected highlights and info to whet your appetite for the exciting things to come!

Unveiling Our 2015 Poster Art: Fantasia Continues Its Celebration Of Regional Folklore With The Wendigo

In recent editions, Fantasia has showcased poster art informed by various regional legends and myths,...

Danish documentarian Michael Madsen’s The Visit premiered in Sundance and chronicles humanity’s first hypothetical meeting with extraterrestrial life.

The Visit utilises interviews with experts from Nasa, United Nations and the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Seti) Institute to support a realistic thesis of how an interaction between Earth and an alien race would play out. The interaction is primarily told through the eyes of the alien race.

“It is not difficult to predict that the encounter with alien intelligent life would be the single most significant event in human history,” said Madsen.

“However, the real task for The Visit is to venture beyond this question and discover, what such an encounter would really mean… [the film] is the dress rehearsal, the emergency plan, that the United Nations has voiced concerns about not being in existence. From more earthly experiences we know what can happen when cultures find themselves alien to each other.”

Random Media plans...

First wave of titles unveiled for 19th edition of Montreal’s genre film festival .

Keiichi Hara’s Miss Hokusai will receive its North American premiere as the opening film of this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival (July 14-Aug 4).

Based on Hinako Suguira’s manga Sarusuberi, the film centres on the relationship between ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) artist Katsushika Hokusai and his talented daughter O-Ei.

Fantasia’s opening night will also see the Montreal premiere of Marvel Studios’ latest outing Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed.

The first wave of titles also includes the world premieres of horror omnibus Tales of Halloween, featuring segments directed by the likes of Darren Lynn Bousman, Neil Marshall and Lucky McKee, and Israeli duo Yoav & Doron Paz’s Jeruzalem which follows a group of American teenagers who find themselves inside their worst nightmare when they visit Jerusalem on Yom Kippur.

This year’s festival will also host the international premiere of Eiichiro Hasumi...

The Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, now in its 19th year, is one of our favorite festivals around and a fan favorite for Sound on Sight readers for several years now. This year’s festival runs July 14 to August 4, and the first wave of films on the lineup has just been revealed.

Marvel’s highly anticipated Ant-Man, with Paul Rudd, will be the opening night film, along with the Japanese animated film Miss Hokusai. Miss Hokusai comes from Production I.G., known for its other classics including A Letter to Momo and Giovanni’s Island.

Fantasia ’15 will also be home to several World Premieres, including Tales of Halloween, a collection of 10 short horror stories, and Jeruzalem, a horror film from Israeli directors and Tiff honorees Yoav and Doron Paz (Phobidilia).

The Canadian indie Turbo Kid, which we first caught up with at Sundance this year, will also be having its...

It’s a story that hasn’t happened yet. The Visit is advertised as a documentary but the label is rather limiting as it that dabbles in the “what if”, specifically the event where man finally meets alien, under the pretense that it is currently happening. Rather than to pose the questions as hypothetical, the multiple subjects from Nasa members to a social psychologist mull over the situation as though they’re first responders, trying to grapple with situation where there is no precedent. Needless to say, Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen’s approach and utility of the documentary form is unconventional which appropriately sets the tone for an equally unconventional scenario which extends into other outstretched tangents. As a result, this Scandi-docu stands as an experiment, creating an uncanny, lofty, and self-reflexive new sense of verite that is both intriguing and alarming.

Much in line with an episode of The Twilight Zone,...

So, the aliens have landed. Well, not really. But let's for a moment say they have. E.T.s are in town, and they're ready to talk. To whom do they converse? Who do we, collectively, send out to initiate the initial chat? And what would we even talk about? Consider The Visit, directed by Michael Madsen, as a speculative documentary. It plays as a delightfully playful thought experiment that's treated with the seriousness required. This is heady stuff, and The Visit manages to make a meal of it. Structurally it's fairly simple. We, in the point-of-view of the camera, are said aliens. We, the audience, are placed in a position to confront, or at least converse, with a series of political and military leaders. We...

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

Exclusive: Madsen documentary sells to Italy and Poland, with further deals close.

The Visit - An Alien Encounter by Michael Madsen - director of documentary Into Eternity: A Film for the Future and an episode of Cathedrals Of Culture - is to recevie its market premiere at Berlin’s European Film Market (Efm) (Feb 5-13) following its Sundance screenings.

New sales by Autlook have been secured in Italy (iWonder) and Poland (Against Gravity)prior to the Berlinale, following a deal in the UK (Metrodome), as revealed by ScreenDaily.

Autlook confirmed that negotiations are underway with German and reach buyers. The Us sales rep is Cinetic.

The Visit, shot in 4K, is billed as a hybrid form of documentary “about an an event that has never taken place – man’s first encounter with intelligent life from space”.

In Berlin, docs specialist Autlook is presenting two films in 3D.

One is head banging music documentary Wacken - The Movie...

Exclusive: Michael Madsen alien encounter doc played at Sundance.

Metrodome has picked up UK rights to The Visit, Michael Madsen’s documentary about a first contact scenario, which played at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The film, from the producers of Oscar-nominated Burma VJ, documents man’s hypothetical first encounter with intelligent life from space and includes access to the Un Office for Outer Space Affairs, the Us military, and experts from leading space agencies.

Giles Edwards, Metrodome head of acquisitions, acquired the film from Salma Abdalla, MD of Autlook Film Sales.

Edwards said: “Michael Madsen’s latest is a provocative, visionary and exquisitely realized inquiry into some of our universe’s most profound mysteries. Bewildering, thrilling and enthralling, it’s everything we desire in a documentary.”

Abdalla added: “Metrodome convinced with the most ambitious and flexible release strategy on all channels from theatrical to digital.

“They would like to support the pan-European (alien landing) or kick...

The 2015 SXSW Film Festival will be running from March 13th through March 21st in Austin, Texas and the first wave of selections were announced today to get attendees excited for all the amazing films coming our way next month. And while horror fans have to wait until next week for the announcement of the Midnighters slate, here’s a look at some of the genre-related titles already revealed amidst SXSW’s other film categories for this year.

Narrative Feature Competition

Manson Family Vacation

Director/Screenwriter: J. Davis

The story of two brothers: one who’s devoted to his family, the other who’s obsessed with the Manson Family. Cast: Jay Duplass, Linas Phillips, Leonora Pitts, Tobin Bell, Adam Chernick, Davie-Blue. (World Premiere)

Headliners

Ex Machina

Director/Screenwriter: Alex Garland

Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller Ex Machina, starring Domhnall Gleeson,...

A couple of years ago, I had a chance to see documentary filmmaker Michael Madsen's (not to be confused with that Michael Madsen) Into Eternity on the big screen. It's a gorgeous and haunting documentary about nuclear waste storage and though it sounds like it might be some dry or overly technical documentary, it is actually a really damning reminder of what humanity is doing to Earth.

Madsen contributed to the 3D architecture documentary that was much buzzed about at Sundance last year Cathedrals of Culture (trailer) and this year he's back with The Visit, another beautiful, sombre, documentary; the second [Continued ...]...

“The Visit” sees humans’ first encounter with intelligent life from another world. Through tantalizing interviews with experts from Nasa, United Nations, and the Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, among many others, acclaimed Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen constructs a chillingly believable scenario of first contact on Earth, beginning with the simplest of questions: Why are you here? How do you think? What do you see in humans that we don’t see in ourselves? The implications unfold within a mind-bending landscape of everyday sights and sounds that Madsen succeeds in turning bizarre and extraordinary, as if seen through the eyes of a life form exploring our planet for the first time. [Synopsis courtesy of Sundance Institute.] What's your film about in 140 characters or less? Encountering Alien intelligent life will be the biggest event in human history. “The Visit” is the emergency plan that the Un doesn’t have. Now what's it Really about? When addressing.

As a conceptual artist Michael Madsen doesn’t so much create nonfiction films as craft mind-blowing experiences, introducing even the most jaded of us docu-philes to people and places we’d no idea even existed. (Prior to Idfa 2010 I, for one, never knew about Finland’s nuclear waste storage facility Onkalo, the subject of Madsen’s Into Eternity and an underground cavern the size of a large city set for completion in the 22nd century.) In his latest The Visit the Danish director turns his attention and limitless imagination towards mankind’s first encounter with alien intelligent life. With the help of expert guides […]...

As a conceptual artist Michael Madsen doesn’t so much create nonfiction films as craft mind-blowing experiences, introducing even the most jaded of us docu-philes to people and places we’d no idea even existed. (Prior to Idfa 2010 I, for one, never knew about Finland’s nuclear waste storage facility Onkalo, the subject of Madsen’s Into Eternity and an underground cavern the size of a large city set for completion in the 22nd century.) In his latest The Visit the Danish director turns his attention and limitless imagination towards mankind’s first encounter with alien intelligent life. With the help of expert guides […]...

Michael Madsen’s “documentary from outer space” is at the top of our viewing list at Sundance this year. As it is described by production company Ngf: The Visit is a documentary with comedy elements, and a philosophical exploration of our fear of strangers through the ultimate threat to our self-image: The discovery of Alien Intelligent Life. In Vienna lies the Un-city, with its late 1970’s architecture and its extra-territorial status not unlike a giant spacecraft that has landed in the middle of the civilized world. Inside this impressive institution representing our belief in humanity, resides the Un Office of Outer […]...

Michael Madsen’s “documentary from outer space” is at the top of our viewing list at Sundance this year. As it is described by production company Ngf: The Visit is a documentary with comedy elements, and a philosophical exploration of our fear of strangers through the ultimate threat to our self-image: The discovery of Alien Intelligent Life. In Vienna lies the Un-city, with its late 1970’s architecture and its extra-territorial status not unlike a giant spacecraft that has landed in the middle of the civilized world. Inside this impressive institution representing our belief in humanity, resides the Un Office of Outer […]...

The Lobster [pictured] is presented as case study in co-production market.

The sixth edition of the Les Arcs European Film Festival turned its focus on Ireland with an aim to celebrate its cinematic beauty and history, and in turn, its filmic opportunities.

While the festival’s co-founders Guillaume Calop and Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin mentioned in an opening statement that this year had seen a persistent crisis within the European Union (EU) and a loss of confidence in its benefits, Geraldine Byrne Nason (Ambassador of Ireland to France) commented that “things were looking up for Ireland, and that the festival had clearly captured the essence of arts and culture that is very important for the EU.”

The festival’s ‘Irish Focus’ programming included 14 films, including older favourites such as John Crowley’s Intermission, Jim Sheridan’s In the Name of the Father and Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins to more recent movies like John Carney’s Once, Alicia Duffy’s [link...

"This film documents an event that has never taken place..." Chills. This documentary explores the idea of what would happen, and how we would respond, if aliens came to Earth. Titled The Visit, from filmmaker (not actor) Michael Madsen (of Into Eternity: A Film for the Future), the documentary is premiering at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in January and it looks like a must see (it's definitely on my radar now). As explained by Sundance, utilizing "unprecedented access to" the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs (such an office exists?), and "leading space scientists and space agencies," the doc wonders how we would respond and what might happen. I can't wait. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." Here's the first official trailer for Michael Madsen's documentary The Visit, found via Twitch: The cinematography in this looks stunning, only adding more depth and intrigue. Impressive first trailer.

Though we're still unpacking the full Sundance selection this year one of the first titles to jump out to our attention is Michael Madsen's The Visit. No, the director is not the guy from all those Tarantino films. Yes, he is very, very good at what he does. And what he's doing here is asking whether we on earth are prepared for an inevitable alien visitation.An alien encounter. A hypothetical visitor arrives from Outer Space. The authorities are immediately alerted - the military, defence and communication advisors, and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. How to deal with this unprecedented event? How to reassure Earth's inhabitants, who are prone to panic, when you have no previous experience to draw upon?This is absolutely fascinating...

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

A pair of high profile cinematic biopics lead the World Documentary Competition slate for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, which was announced on Wednesday (December 3) afternoon. Actually, leading off for the World Documentary Competition is "How To Change The World," one of four Day One films playing when Sundance opens on January 22, 2015. Directed by Jerry Rothwell, "How To Change The World" focuses on the original founders of Greenpeace and their 1971 protest in a nuclear test zone. But at a festival for film-lovers, expect ample attention to be paid to Stevan Riley's "Listen to Me Marlon," which uses Marlon Brando's previously unheard audio archives to tell the "Godfather" star's story both on-screen and off. And true cinephiles will be intrigued by "Sembene!," Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman's look at Ousmane Sembene, often called The Father of African Cinema. Sadly, "Chuck Norris vs Communism" isn't a Chuck Norris biopic, but Ilinca Calugareanu...

The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) has announced its Special Screenings line-up of high-profile films from Japan and abroad.

Aside from previously announced opening and closing films - Big Hero 6 and Parasyte - world premieres in Special Screenings include Mamoru Oshii’s Japan-Canada coproduction Garm Wars The Last Druid, a “hybrid animation fusing pioneer CG and live-action technologies”.

Also, Isshin Inudo’s romance Miracle: Devil Claus’ Love And Magic, Sebastian Masuda’s The Nutcracker 3D and Kiyotaka Taguchi’s The Next Generation - Patlabor - Episode 10, a live action version of Mobile Police Patlabor with special footage to screen with commentary from general director Oshii.

The line-up will also include a look at footage from upcoming Tim Burton feature Big Eyes, starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. It opens in the Us on Dec 25.

The festival will run Oct 23-31.

Special Screenings

Title/country/director, Wp - World Premiere

Big Hero 6 (Us) Don Hall, [link...

Hyena

The full line-up has been announced for this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 29th June. In total, 156 features from 47 countries will be screened, with 11 world premieres, 7 European premieres and 95 UK premieres.

The festival opens with the world premiere of British drug trafficking thriller Hyena from writer-director Gerard Johnson, starring Peter Ferdinando, Stephen Graham, Neil Maskell, and MyAnna Buring. The closing night gala is the international premiere of romantic comedy We’ll Never Have Paris, directed by husband and wife team Jocelyn Towne and Simon Helberg (best known for The Big Bang Theory). Written by and also starring Helberg, it features Melanie Lynskey, Maggie Grace, Zachary Quinto, and Alfred Molina in its cast.

We’ll Never Have Paris

The American Dreams strand highlights cutting-edge new works from American independent cinema. Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring featured last year, and now Gia Coppola...

The Look of Silence will look at Indonesian death squads from victims’ perspective.

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer is now busy in production on The Look of Silence, his follow-up to The Act of Killing.

While The Act of Killing followed the perpetrators from Indonesia’s death squads, the new film is about the victims.

The Look of Silence will be edited in May and post-production will be done in June and July, for a launch at autumn festivals.

The films will each stand on their own but will make strong companion pieces that show “the sum is bigger than the parts,” said producer Signe Byrge Sørensen of Copenhagen-based Final Cut For Real. “It has never been a secret that we wanted to do both perspectives. We just didn’t want them in the same film.”

“It’s not Anwar’s [the lead protagonist in the first film] victims but it’s a similar story,” she added. “I think the two films can work strongly...

While 3D technology has largely been used by Hollywood in the service of banging and crashing and blowing things up films such as Pina and Cave Of Forgotten Dreams have demonstrated that the technology has far more wide ranging uses than just that. In the right hands and directed towards the right subjects 3D can be used to share location and experience, to place the audience in a place rather than simply having them look at it. And that is precisely the point of upcoming documentary series Cathedrals Of Culture.A six part project with installments to be directed by Robert Redford, Wim Wenders, Michael Glawogger, James Marsh (no, not that James Marsh), Karim Ainouz and Michael Madsen (no, not that Michael Madsen) the series will...

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

Director Rosie Jones has won the Award for Best Australian Documentary Film for her film The Triangle Wars at the inaugural Antenna International Documentary Film Festival.

The film follows the conflict between local government, big business and the community over the development of a ‘mega mall’ on the foreshore of St Kilda.

Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen won the Sbs Award for Best International Documentary Film for Into Eternity, looking at how Finland considers their options regarding the very real, very long-term issue of nuclear waste storage.

Matt Cooney took out the Best Australian Students Documentary Film Award for his film Ol’ Blue Eyes, about the life of Sydney taxi driver, Zachary Kryuchkov, who is a classically trained singer from Ukraine playing his CDs to his customers.

This year was the first outing for the Antenna Film Festival. Director David Rokach told Encore: “We felt there is a need for a...

The Antenna International Documentary Film Festival has announced their inaugural line-up for the event which runs 5-9 October.

Boasting 15 Australian premieres and 25 Sydney premieres with films from 18 different countries, there is $10,000 in prizes.

Opening night at the Dendy Opera Quays will screen Robert Nugent’s Memoirs of a Plague that looks at the relationship between humans and the locust.

Closing night will be Philip Cox’s The Bengali Detective followed by an awards presentation to announce the winner of the Sbs Award for International Documentary (worth $5000) and the Best Australian Documentary ($2500). Both films are in competition.

Other films in International Competition: Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity, Robin Hessman’s My Perestroika, Danfun Dennis’ Hell and Back Again and Marcus Linden’s Regretters – winner of the Prix Europa Best Documentary at Berlin 2010 about two transgender people regretting their decisions to undergo surgery.

In the international special screenings, see Alex Gibney’s...

The Antenna International Documentary Film Festival will debut this year at Sydney’ Chauvel Cinema from 5 to 9 October.

The festival, with 28 feature documentaries will also include nearly $10,000 in prize money spread across three categories.

Films will compete for either the Sbs Award for Best International Documentary ($5,000), Award for Best Australian Documentary ($2500), or a student competition in association with Aftrs ($2,000).

In a statement, Antenna Founding Director David Rokach said, “I have seen the impact that documentary film festivals have in other countries, not just in the development of new audiences for documentary but also in the quality of the films being produced. We thought a festival dedicated exclusively to documentary would be a great contribution to Australia and we hope Antenna will become a fruitful platform for presenting the complexities of the world we live in. We look to present films that will challenge audiences, while also being relevant.”

Matchmaking mayors, pool parties,...

Werner Herzog finds a stunning world full of art and wonder beneath France. By Peter Bradshaw

It could almost be a modern Brit horror, a film that takes us on an eerie descent into an ancient cave to discover something strange, awe-inspiring and scary … Werner Herzog.

This director has scored another remarkable success with this documentary, using 3D to accentuate the massive, sculptural forms revealed to his camera. He and a minimal crew were allowed into the extraordinary Chauvet cave in the south of France, named after Jean-Marie Chauvet, the explorer who in 1994 made a Tutankhamun-level discovery: hundreds of pictures of animals drawn with flair, sophistication and detail by early man around 32,000 years ago.

It represents, as Herzog puts it in his unmistakable voice, "the beginnings of the modern human soul" and playfully remarks that the superimposed drawings of animals' legs in different positions create the sense of movement and...

Into Eternity

Directed by Michael Madsen

2010, Denmark | Finland | Sweden | Italy

As human beings, we quantify the world in measurements relative to our biological experience of it. Distance is defined in terms of our physical ability to traverse it, and time is divided in to collective generations at one extreme, and individual acts of consumption at the other. The sinister joke is that many of the byproducts of our consumptions are not subject to a biological time scale, but to a geological one; those byproducts will in all likelihood outlast mankind, including the most pernicious: nuclear waste.

The current and future use of nuclear power to meet our energy needs is a political and moral issue, but the waste already derived from spent nuclear fuel is a material fact. A fact that the vast majority of us fail to appreciate because we have little idea what that waste is; we can...

Feb. 18

8:00 p.m.

Chicago Filmmakers

5243 N. Clark St.

Chicago, Il 60640

Hosted by: Chicago Filmmakers

Into Eternity is a documentary directed by Michael Madsen (not the American actor) about the construction of an extensive underground containment system for radioactive waste in Finland.

However, instead of a straight-up scientific tour of the location or an examination of the political ramifications of constructing such a place, Madsen has crafted a poetic meditation on the nature of time as this underground bunker must store this deadly material for over 100,000 years.

The location that is being excavated is called Onkalo, or “hiding place,” and is situated near the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant. It is being constructed in accordance of the Finnish Nuclear Energy Act, which mandates that all of Finland’s nuclear waste must be disposed of in country. Currently, the project is still in the process of excavating and examining the bedrock 520 metres beneath the Earth.

A haunting nonfiction elegy about the threat of the apocalypse, Michael Madsen’s “Into Eternity” explores the horrors of anticipating an unpredictable future. Madsen delves into the perilous crevices of Onkalo (which translates as “hiding place”), an ominous cave in Finland tasked with the permanent storage of nuclear waste. Since Onkalo must last 100,000 years, so too must the warnings that its contents are left undisturbed. Madsen focuses on the challenges ...

This interview was orignally published during last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Michael Madsen's documentary "Into Eternity" opens at Film Forum in New York today. Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storages, which are vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland the world's first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid ...

This interview was orignally published during last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Michael Madsen's documentary "Into Eternity" opens at Film Forum in New York today and will roll out nationally in the near future. Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storages, which are vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland the world's ...

This interview was orignally published during last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Michael Madsen's documentary "Into Eternity" opens at Film Forum in New York today and will roll out nationally in the near future. Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storages, which are vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland the world's ...

Michael Madsen's eerily elegant enviro-doc Into Eternity (which premiered at Tff 2010) is set for a two week run at Film Forum, February 2-15. Five kilometers below the earth, the people of Finland are constructing an enormous tomb as the final resting place for their share of the waste. Armed with his camera, Madsen (not That Michael Madsen) descends into the murky three-mile tunnel dubbed Onkalo (Finnish for "hiding place"), which should be sealed by the year 2100 and must remain untouched for at least 100,000 years. Through interviews with the men who blast the rock as well as top nuclear energy experts, Madsen raises many pressing questions about our world: How far into the future does our way of life have consequences? How can we warn civilizations of the distant future that the buried treasure of our nuclear era - unlike the pyramids and great tombs of pharaohs - must never,...

Michael Madsen's feature film debut, the documentary "Into Eternity," is set to hit North American theaters thanks to International Film Circuit. The film will premiere for U.S. audiences at New York City's Film Forum on February 2nd, followed by a national rollout. "Into Eternity" examines the issue of nuclear waste storage. The film was nominated for two Cinema Eye Honors and won the Green Screen Award at last year's Idfa ...

The distributor International Film Circuit has announced that it will release "Into Eternity" in theatrically in the Us and Canada. The film, directed by Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen, asks the question: What should we do with our vast amounts of nuclear waste? "Into Eternity" debuted on home turf at the 2009 Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival (Cph:dox) and garnered great critical acclaim along its extensive doc festival run. Last night, the ...

In a remote area in western Finland, a tunnel that ultimately will be three miles long and 1,600 feet deep is being drilled into the bedrock. The site is called Onkalo, "hiding place," and when it's completed, sometime in 2100, it will serve as a permanent resting place for the country's radioactive waste, a tomb the government plans to seal and leave undisturbed for at least 100,000 years.

The remarkable documentary "Into Eternity," directed by Danish conceptual artist/filmmaker Michael Madsen (who should start a club with "Hunger"'s Steve McQueen and "Reel Injun"'s Neil Diamond), isn't concerned with nuclear power or the politics the surround it. What's captured Madsen's imagination is the idea of creating something that's intended to last far beyond the existing span of human civilization. As remote as the pyramids are to us now, they're only a few thousand years old, nothing compared to the incomprehensible lengths of...

Summary:  Innovative filmmaking at its utmost, and an ideal companion piece to Werner Herzog's upcoming 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams.'

Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen (not, not that Michael Madsen) takes pleasure in blowing your mind in the most beautiful way possible. His part-documentary, part-predictive science fiction fantasy Into Eternity beckons the viewer deep into a futuristic subterranean abyss where man sheepishly and carefully stores the most dangerous byproduct of his global domination... nuclear waste.

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We Are What We Are (15)

(Jorge Michel Grau, 2010, Mexico) Francisco Barreiro, Alan Chávez, Paulina Gaitán, Carmen Beato. 90 mins

Vampires are so last season, so bring on the cannibals! Why get a shake when you can have a whole Happy Meal? The cannibal lifestyle is by no means glamourised here, but if there is a revival, this could be its Let The Right One In - a downbeat, realist horror in which a father's death forces his flesh-eating family to fend for themselves. We're in for nasty gore and a grimy wallow in Mexico's underclass, but despite a frustrating lack of detail, the setting is ripe for socio-political metaphors and inappropriate comedy.

brilliantlove (18)

(Ashley Horner, 2009, UK) 97 mins

You can tell by that lower-case title how envolope-pushingly edgy this wants to be. And sure enough there's strong sex and hipster protagonists named Manchester and Noon. At heart, though, it's a natural, unashamed...

This week, Jason Solomons meets the creators of the animated feature Chico & Rita: director Fernando Trueba and the graphic artist Javier Mariscal. The story tells of a talented duo – pianist Chico and singer Rita – who find love in pre-revolutionary Havana. Jason discovers Javier and Fernando's combined passion for Cuban music and culture. Guardian Extra is offering limited tickets to a preview of Chico & Rita on November 14.

Plus, Jason talks to director Michael Madsen about his haunting and profound documentary Into Eternity, which explores the logistics of storing nuclear waste for hundreds of thousands of years.

Xan Brooks joins Jason to review some of this week's other releases including the Mexican horror We Are What We Are, which takes the simple family meal to a darker place, Gérard Depardieu pigeons-and-literacy drama My Afternoons With Margueritte, and unconventional British indie romance brilliantlove.

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A transformed festival is now a marketplace for deal-making and fundraising by doc-makers, as some fine films are recognised with awards

This year's Sheffield documentary festival ended with veteran film-makers scratching their heads. Since Doc/Fest was launched 16 years ago, both the festival and the industry it covers have changed beyond recognition.

In its early days, Doc/Fest showcased the output of what was still a structured world in which elite gatekeepers called the shots. This year, 65 films were still shown, including 15 world, five European and 23 British premieres. Yet the emphasis was on networking, tip-swapping, deal-making and fundraising by the film-makers themselves, all of whom were grappling with a world ever more in flux.

During recent years, the number of industry delegates to Doc/Fest has increased four-fold: this year it stood at around 2,000. In Sheffield's fabled MeetMarket, 175 power-brokers haggled over 64 projects with film-makers from 22 countries; a thousand meetings were...

… and there's more nuclear armageddon thrills to come in Countdown To Zero

Call me paranoid, but there's something vaguely, menacingly apocalyptic about the forthcoming cinema schedules. In upcoming documentary Countdown To Zero we learn of internationally co-ordinated attempts to round up every last loose nuclear bomb on the planet (hence the tick-tick-tick title), in order to keep them away from people anxious to detonate one. It's a kind of "sensible adults save universe" scenario, filled with major-league, top-table talking heads like Gorby, Musharraf, his satanic midgetcy Lord Blair Of The Neverending Darkness, and old Mr Blood-Of-a-Generation-On-His-Hands, 1960s Us secretary of defence Bob McNamara.

That's an awful lot of tyrants and war criminals for a peacenik-sounding movie about securing loose nukes, but the presence of former spy Valerie Plame Wilson adds a touch of glamour, modernity and – I dunno – humanity, to an otherwise thoroughly unnerving documentary. At the very least, you...