Fortissimo Films

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variety.com/2016/biz/asia/sales-agent-fortissimo-to-close-on-quiet-note-1201839076/


Sales Agent Fortissimo Films to Close on Quiet Note

Hong Kong- and Amsterdam-based sales agent Fortissimo Films is to close its doors after more than 20 years as a pioneer of Asian and art-house cinema.

The company filed for voluntary bankruptcy Tuesday in The Netherlands. The filing was accepted by the court and notification posted. Separate filings need to be made for individual subsidiaries.


The court has appointed an administrator, known as a ‘curator’ according to the Dutch system. The curator will decide the next moves. These could range from a refinancing, to the sale of the company to a third party, or its breakup.


Staff have been informed of the situation by the existing management. The curator is expected to meet with the Amsterdam-based employees this week.

Fortissimo has represented titles by auteurs including Wong Kar-wai, Jim Jarmusch, Peter Greenaway, Tsai Ming-liang, Hal Hartley, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Brillante Mendoza, Tsui Hark and Pen-ek Ratanaruang. Its catalog spans some 300 titles.

With award winners including Berlin Golden Bear recipients “Black Coal, Thin Ice” (2014) and “U-Carmen eKhaylitsha” (2005,) “In The Mood for Love” (Cannes 2000,) “Theeb” (Venice 2014) and the Jennifer Lawrence breakout “Winter’s Bone” (Sundance 2010,) the company has been a regular fixture at festivals and markets for more than two decades.

Its current slate includes: “The Time of Their Lives,” starring Joan Collins and Pauline Collins; fantasy “Valley of the Gods,” with Josh Hartnett and Charlotte Rampling expected to star; drama “The White King” with Jonathan Pryce, Agyness Deyn and Greta Scacchi.

The demise of the company, which was known for good taste and strong marketing, underlines the ongoing fragility of specialist film sales companies. Other sales agents have quietly gone out of business. Still others have diversified into production, TV or into local distribution in order to survive.

Fortissimo was founded in Amsterdam by festival programmers and producers Wouter Barendrecht and Helen Loveridge. Current chairman Michael J. Werner took control of the company following the departure of Loveridge, and the death of Barendrecht in 2009. Although the company kept its legal seat in the Netherlands, along with most of its back office functions, Barendrecht and Werner had already shifted its management base to Hong Kong.

That two-legged structure allowed Fortissimo to keep a close relationship with Asian art-house and emerging talents in Europe and the Middle East. The company also built up an enviable track record in feature documentaries, with its factual catalog including “Capturing the Friedmans,” “Food Inc.,” “Super Size Me,” and the Martin Scorsese-directed Rolling Stones picture “Shine A Light.”

Fortissimo is believed to have been looking for financial support for several years, though though those efforts may have been thwarted by the aftermath of the 2008 ‘Great Financial Crisis.’ More recent changes within the Chinese film industry meant that while there has been a growing volume of available finance, finance was primarily attracted to domestic Chinese and mainstream fare, with relatively little interest in exports of art-house or indie content.

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www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/art-house-pioneer-fortissmo-films-920300

Art-House Pioneer Fortissimo Films Files for Voluntary Bankruptcy

The European-Asian sales agent worked with U.S. auteurs such as Jim Jarmusch, John Cameron Mitchell and Hal Hartley and brought talents such as Wong Kar Wai and Tsui Hark to global audiences.
Fortissimo Films, the Hong Kong- and Amsterdam-based international sales agent, has filed for voluntary bankruptcy in the Netherlands. The move ends what was a pioneering quarter century for the company, which helped bring Asian art house films to the rest of the world and championed indie auteurs around the globe.

The Dutch authorities have appointed an administrator to manage the bankruptcy and further filings will follow for subsidiaries of the group's Amsterdam-based parent company, Fortissimo Holdings.

Fortissimo was hit hard by a shift in the market for classic art house cinema, with fewer buyers and lower prices for all but the biggest indie names. Many of Fortissimo's competitors have shifted to more mainstream fare to stay competitive, but the Dutch company, founded by Wouter Barendrecht and Helen Loveridge in 1991, stayed true to its cutting-edge roots.

Michael Werner, who first joined Fortissimo in 1995, took over as sole chairman when Barendrecht died suddenly in 2009.

Recent successes included Chinese crime drama Black Coal, Thin Ice, winner of the Berlin Film Festival in 2014, and Ira Sachs' Love Is Strange starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina as a recently married gay couple. The latter was a sleeper hit in the U.S., earning $2.26 million for Sony Pictures Classics.

In the end, those modest hits weren't enough to cover Fortissimo's expenses, which included operating costs for its huge library of titles. In addition to its own films, Fortissimo also manages existing libraries on behalf of independent producers and directors, including Wong Kar Wai’s Jet Tone, Killer Films, Hart Sharp Entertainment and helmers Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley and Alex van Warmerdam.

Fortissimo's library will be the company's most prized asset as the administrator looks to sell off the company, or parts of it, to new buyers. The group has a strong brand in the indie sphere and its library could draw bidders, though Fortissimo itself has been trying for years to attract an outside investor or buyer for the business.

Over its 25-year run, Fortissimo worked with such indie darlings as Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes), Hal Hartley (Trust), Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and John Cameron Mitchell (Shortbus) and was instrumental in bringing Asian auteurs including Wong (In the Mood for Love), Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Nymph) and Tsui Hark (Seven Swords) to a wider, and more Western, audience. In part, it became a victim of its own success, as Asian studios set up in-house sales teams to handle international sales of their own films.

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Library :


AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 1 of 12, items 1 to 25 of 300.

$9.99 Tatia Rosenthal 2008
16 YEARS OF ALCOHOL Richard Jobson 2002
2046 Wong Kar Wai 2004
ABEL Alex van Warmerdam 1986
ACCUSED (LUCIA DE B.) Paula van der Oest 2014
AGAINST THE CURRENT Peter Callahan 2009
AIR DOLL KORE-EDA Hirokazu (Hirokazu KORE-EDA) 2009
ALIEN GIRL Anton Bormatov 2010
AMBITION Hal Hartley 1991
AN END TO KILLING Wang Ping 2012
ANOTHER ME Isabel Coixet 2013
ANTS ON A SHRIMP Maurice Dekkers 2016
ASHES OF TIME - REDUX Wong Kar Wai 2008
ATLANTIC. Jan-Willem van Ewijk 2014
AUTUMN MOON Clara Law 1992
AWAY WITH WORDS Christopher Doyle 1998
BAD HABITS Simón Bross 2007
BATTLE OF WITS Jacob Cheung Chi Leung 2006
BEAR'S KISS Sergei Bodrov 2002
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Jasmin Dizdar 1999
BEIJING BASTARDS Zhang Yuan 1992
BEIJING FLICKERS Zhang Yuan 2012
BERLIN Julian Schnabel 2006
BEST OF TIMES, THE Chang Tso-chi 2002
BISHONEN Yonfan 1998





Title Director Year
Change page: Page 2 of 12, items 26 to 50 of 300.

BLACK COAL, THIN ICE Yinan DIAO 2014
BLACK WHITE + GRAY James Crump 2007
BLOOD BROTHERS Alexi Tan 2007
BLUE KITE, THE Tian Zhuangzhuang 1993
BLUSH Li Shaohong 1995
BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD Deepa Mehta 2002
BORGMAN Alex van Warmerdam 2013
BREAKING THE WILLOW Yonfan 2003
BREATHE UMPHEFUMLO Mark Dornford-May 2015
BRIDGE, THE Eric Steel 2006
BROKEN SKY Julián Hernández 2006
BUGIS STREET REDUX Yonfan 1995
BURIED SECRETS Raja Amari 2009
BWAKAW Jun Robles Lana 2012
CAIRO 678 Mohamed Diab 2010
CAMERA James Leong 2013
CAMP Todd Graff 2003
CANDY Neil Armfield 2006
CAPTAIN ABU RAED Amin Matalqa 2007
CAPTURING DAD Ryota Nakano 2012
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS Andrew Jarecki 2003
CERTAIN ROMANCE, A Yonfan 1984
CHEVOLUTION Trisha Ziff, Luis Lopez 2008
CHILDREN OF THE PYRE Rajesh S. Jala 2008
CHILDREN OF THE SUN Ran Tal 2007




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 3 of 12, items 51 to 75 of 300.

CHILL OUT Andreas Struck 1999
CHOCOLATE CASE, THE Benthe Forrer 2016
CLOSET MONSTER Stephen Dunn 2015
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES Jim Jarmusch 2003
COLOUR BLOSSOMS Yonfan 2004
COME RAIN, COME SHINE Lee Yoon-ki 2011
CORMAN'S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL Alex Stapleton 2011
COUNTRY WEDDING, A Valdís Óskarsdóttir 2008
CSNY/DÉJÀ VU Bernard Shakey 2007
CURFEW Rashid Masharawi 1993
CUT SLEEVE BOYS Ray Yeung 2006
DANCE, SUBARU! Lee Chi Ngai 2009
DANIEL AND ANA Michel Franco 2009
DARK HARBOR Adam Coleman Howard 1998
DARKNESS IN TALLINN Ilkka Järvi-Laturi 1993
DAY THE SUN TURNED COLD, THE Yim Ho 1994
DELAMU Tian Zhuangzhuang 2004
DESTINY Zhang Wei 2016
DISEURS DE VERITE, LES Karim Traïdia 2000
DISGRACE Steve Jacobs 2008
DJINN Tobe Hooper 2013
DOUBLE FIXATION Yonfan 1987
DREAM HOME Pang Ho-cheung 2010
DRESS, THE Alex van Warmerdam 1996
EAST PALACE, WEST PALACE Zhang Yuan 1996




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 4 of 12, items 76 to 100 of 300.

EISENSTEIN Renny Bartlett 2000
EL GUSTO Safinez Bousbia 2011
ELECTRIC SHADOWS Xiao Jiang 2004
ERA OF VAMPIRES, THE Wellson Chin 2002
ERMO Zhou Xiaowen 1994
EYE IN THE SKY Yau Nai-Hoi 2007
FABULOUS! THE STORY OF QUEER CINEMA Lesli Klainberg, Lisa Ades 2005
FACE Tsai Ming-Liang 2009
FACTORY BOSS Zhang Wei 2014
FELICE... FELICE... Peter Delpeut 1998
FINAL RECIPE Gina Kim 2013
FLIRT Hal Hartley 1995
FOOD, INC. Robert Kenner 2008
FOODIES Charlotte Landelius, Henrik Stockare, Thomas Jackson 2014
FOOTY LEGENDS Khoa Do 2006
FOR A LOST SOLDIER Roeland Kerbosch 1992
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Christopher Guest 2006
FORBIDDEN QUEST, THE Peter Delpeut 1993
FORMULA 17 DJ Chan 2004
FREEDOM'S FURY Colin Keith Gray: The Sibs (Colin Keith Gray) 2006
FRONT COVER Ray Yeung 2015
FULL CIRCLE Zhang Yang 2012
GETTING HOME Zhang Yang 2007
GHADI Amin Dora 2014
GIGANTIC Matt Aselton 2008




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 5 of 12, items 101 to 125 of 300.

GIRL FROM MONDAY, THE Hal Hartley 2005
GO MASTER, THE Tian Zhuangzhuang 2006
GOING HOME Peter Ho-Sun Chan 2002
GOODBYE Mohammad Rasoulof 2011
GOODBYE - TOT ZIENS Heddy Honigmann 1995
GREAT HYPNOTIST, THE Leste Chen 2014
GRIFF THE INVISIBLE Leon Ford 2010
GRIMM Alex van Warmerdam 2003
HAIFA Rashid Masharawi 1996
HAIRDRESSER, THE Doris Dörrie 2010
HEAVY James Mangold 1995
HELP ME EROS Lee Kang-Sheng 2007
HENRY FOOL Hal Hartley 1997
HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO Kim Longinotto 2007
HOME SONG STORIES, THE Tony Ayres 2007
HOUSE OF SAND, THE Andrucha Waddington 2005
HULA GIRLS Lee Sang-il 2006
HUNT ANGELS Alec Morgan 2006
HUSH! Hashiguchi Ryosuke 2001
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE Nathan Rissman 2008
I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE Tsai Ming-Liang 2006
IMMORTAL STORY Yonfan 1986
IN BETWEEN Yonfan, Sylvia CHEUNG, Samson Chiu 1994
INHERITORS, THE Stefan Ruzowitzky 1997
iNUMBER NUMBER Donovan Marsh 2013




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 6 of 12, items 126 to 150 of 300.


INVISIBLE WAVES Pen-ek Ratanaruang 2006
IRON LADIES II, THE Yongyooth Thongkonthun 2003
ISZTAMBUL Török Ferenc 2011
IT'S HARD TO BE NICE Srdan Vuletic 2007
JACKY Brat Ljatifi, Fow Pyng Hu 2000
JAPANESE STORY Sue Brooks 2003
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT: THE RADIANT CHILD Tamra Davis 2010
JEWBOY Tony Krawitz 2005
JIANG HU Wong Ching Po 2004
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI David Gelb 2011
KAMPAI! FOR THE LOVE OF SAKE Mirai Konishi 2015
KISS THE WATER Eric Steel 2013
KOMA Lo Chi Leung 2004
KT Sakamoto Junji 2002
LAILA'S BIRTHDAY Rashid Masharawi 2008
LAST DAYS OF EMMA BLANK, THE Alex van Warmerdam 2009
LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE Pen-ek Ratanaruang 2003
LAST ROMANCE Yonfan 1988
LAST SUMMER Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli 2014
LIFE DURING WARTIME Todd Solondz 2009
LIFE IN SUITCASES, A Peter Greenaway 2005
LIFE THROUGH A LENS Barbara Leibovitz 2006
LIFT DeMane Davis, Khari Streeter 2001
LINSANITY Evan Jackson Leong 2013
LITTLE RED FLOWERS Zhang Yuan 2006




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 7 of 12, items 151 to 175 of 300.


LITTLE TONY Alex van Warmerdam 1998
LIVE! Bill Guttentag 2007
LIVING END, THE Gregg ARAKI 2008
LOOK BOTH WAYS Sarah Watt 2005
LOOKING FOR GRACE Sue Brooks 2015
LOST IN PARADISE Vu Ngoc Dang 2011
LOUISE BOURGEOIS: The Spider, The Mistress and The Tangerine Amei Wallach, Marion Cajori 2008
LOVE COMES LATELY Jan Schütte 2007
LOVE HURTS Mijke de Jong 1993
LOVE IS STRANGE Ira Sachs 2014
LOVE LETTER Iwai Shunji (Shunji Iwai) 1995
LYRICAL NITRATE Peter Delpeut 1990
M/OTHER Nobuhiro Suwa 1999
MAD HOT BALLROOM Marilyn Agrelo 2005
MAGONIA Ineke Smits 2001
MAID, THE Kelvin Tong 2005
MAMA Zhang Yuan 1990
MAMA AFRICA Mika Kaurismäki 2011
MAN FROM LONDON, THE Béla Tarr 2007
MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION Hitoshi Yazaki 1991
MARLEY Kevin Macdonald 2012
MIAO MIAO CHENG Hsiao-tse 2008
MIDNIGHT AFTER, THE Fruit Chan 2014
MIDNIGHT DANCERS Mel Chionglo 1994
MILLENNIUM MAMBO Hou Hsiao Hsien 2001




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 8 of 12, items 176 to 200 of 300.


MISHIMA Paul Schrader 1985
MISS LOVELY Ashim Ahluwalia 2012
MOB SISTER Wong Ching Po 2005
MON-RAK TRANSISTOR Pen-ek Ratanaruang 2001
MONSOON SHOOTOUT Amit Kumar 2013
MORE THAN YESTERDAY Laurent Achard 1998
MOTEL CACTUS Park Ki-Yong 1997
MOUNTAIN CRY Larry Yang 2015
MR AVERAGE Pierre-Paul Renders 2006
MY GIRL Adisorn Tresirikasem, Komgrit Threewimol, Nithiwat Tharatorn, Songyos Sugmakanan, Vijja Kojew, Vithaya Thongyuyong 2003
MY JOY Sergei Loznitsa 2010
MYSTERIOUS SKIN Gregg ARAKI 2004
NATIVE DANCER Guka Omarova 2008
NIGHT LISTENER, THE Patrick Stettner 2006
NINA'S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS Pratibha Parmar 2006
NO REGRET Leesong Hee-il 2006
NORTHERNERS, THE Alex van Warmerdam 1992
NORWEGIAN WOOD Tran Anh Hung (Anh Hung Tran) 2010
NOVIA, LA Paula Ortiz 2015
NYMPH Pen-ek Ratanaruang 2009
ON THE EDGE Leïla Kilani 2011
ONE TAKE ONLY Oxide Pang 2002
OVERTURE, THE Itthisoontorn Vichailak 2004
P.O.V. Dennis Bartok 2016
P.S. Dylan Kidd 2004




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 9 of 12, items 201 to 225 of 300.


PARQUE VÍA Enrique Rivero 2008
PARTY MONSTER Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato 2002
PEONY PAVILION Yonfan 2001
PHILEINE SAYS SORRY Robert Jan Westdijk 2003
PLEASURE FACTORY Ekachai Uekrongtham 2007
PLOY Pen-ek Ratanaruang 2007
POLISH BRIDE, THE Karim Traïdia 1998
POSTMAN He Yi (aka He Jianjun) 1995
POSTMAN BLUES Sabu 1997
PRINCE OF TEARS Yonfan 2009
PROMISING MISS BOWIE Yonfan 1990
QUEENS Manuel Gomez Pereira 2005
RAINBOW SONG Naoto Kumazawa 2006
REDEMPTION STREET Miroslav Terzic 2012
REIGN OF ASSASSINS Su Chao-Pin (Chao-Pin Su), John Woo 2010
RIGOR MORTIS Juno Mak 2013
SAINT CLARA Ari Folman, Ori Sivan 1996
SALAAM BOMBAY! Mira Nair 1988
SANDCASTLE Boo Junfeng 2010
SCATTER MY ASHES AT BERGDORF'S Matthew Miele 2013
SCHNEIDER VS. BAX Alex van Warmerdam 2015
SEA SHADOW Nawaf Al Janahi 2011
SERBIS Brillante Mendoza 2008
SERGIO HERMAN: FING PERFECT Willemiek Kluijfhout 2015
SEVEN SWORDS Tsui Hark 2005




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 10 of 12, items 226 to 250 of 300.

SHANGHAI DREAMS Wang Xiaoshuai 2005
SHINE A LIGHT Martin Scorsese 2008
SHIP OF THESEUS Anand Gandhi 2012
SHOCK LABYRINTH - EXTREME, THE Takashi Shimizu 2010
SHORTBUS John Cameron Mitchell 2006
SIDDHARTH Richie Mehta 2013
SILENCES OF THE PALACE, THE Moufida Tlatli 1994
SILENT SONATA Janez Burger 2010
SILK Su Chao-Pin (Chao-Pin Su) 2006
SIMON Eddy Terstall 2004
SIMON KILLER Antonio Campos 2012
SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY Sydney Pollack 2005
SLACKER Richard Linklater 1991
SLEEP DEALER Alex Rivera 2008
SNOW CAKE Marc Evans 2006
SO CLOSE TO PARADISE Wang Xiaoshuai 1998
SOMERSAULT Cate Shortland 2004
SON OF A LION Benjamin Gilmour 2007
SONG OF SPARROWS, THE Majid Majidi 2008
SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME Chloé Zhao 2015
SOUNDS OF SAND Marion Hänsel 2006
SPELLBOUND Jeffrey Blitz 2003
SPRINGTIME IN A SMALL TOWN Tian Zhuangzhuang 2002
STOCKHOLM MY LOVE Mark Cousins 2016
STORY OF ROSE Yonfan 1985




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 11 of 12, items 251 to 275 of 300.

SUBURBAN MAYHEM Paul Goldman 2006
SUIT, THE Bakhtiyar Khudoinazarov 2003
SUNFLOWER Zhang Yang 2005
SUNSET SONG Terence Davies 2015
SUPER SIZE ME Morgan Spurlock 2004
SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY Apichatpong Weerasethakul 2006
TAXIDERMIA György Pálfi 2006
TEMPO Stefan Ruzowitzky 1996
TERRA NOVA Paul Middleditch 1998
THEEB Naji Abu Nowar 2014
THEORY OF ACHIEVEMENT Hal Hartley 1991
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED Kirby Dick 2006
THOMAS IN LOVE Pierre-Paul Renders 2000
THOUSAND MONTHS, A Faouzi Bensaïdi 2003
TIME OF THEIR LIVES, THE Roger Goldby 2016
TO THE STARRY ISLAND Park Kwang-su 1994
TOKYO SONATA Kiyoshi Kurosawa 2008
TORMENTED Takashi Shimizu 2011
TOTALLY F***ED UP Gregg ARAKI 1993
TOUCH OF THE LIGHT CHANG Jung-Chi 2012
TRUST Hal Hartley 1990
TULSE LUPER - THE TV SERIES Peter Greenaway 2004
TULSE LUPER SUITCASES, THE Peter Greenaway 2003
TWELVE AND HOLDING Michael Cuesta 2005
U-CARMEN eKHAYELITSHA Mark Dornford-May 2005




AVAILABLE FILM TITLES

Title Director Year
Change page: Page 12 of 12, items 276 to 300 of 300.

UNA NOCHE Lucy Mulloy 2012
UNFINISHED SKY Peter Duncan 2007
UNFRIEND Joselito Altarejos 2014
VALLEY OF THE GODS Lech Majewski 2017
VAMPIRE Iwai Shunji (Shunji Iwai) 2011
WAITER Alex van Warmerdam 2006
WALKING ON WATER Tony Ayres 2002
WARRIOR AND THE WOLF, THE Tian Zhuangzhuang 2009
WASTED ON THE YOUNG Ben C. Lucas 2010
WELCOME BACK, MR MCDONALD Kôki Mitani 1997
WETLANDS Guy Édoin 2011
WHAT MAISIE KNEW David Siegel, Scott McGehee 2012
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? Tsai Ming-Liang 2001
WHEN THE ROAD BENDS...Tales of a Gypsy Caravan Jasmine Dellal 2006
WHITE FROG Quentin Lee 2012
WHITE KING, THE Alex Helfrecht, Jörg Tittel 2016
WINTER'S BONE Debra Granik 2010
WOODEN CAMERA, THE Ntshaveni Wa Luruli 2004
WOODEN MAN'S BRIDE, THE Huang Jianxin 1993
XANDA Marco Mak 2003
YELLOW FLOWERS ON THE GREEN GRASS Victor Vu 2015
YES NURSE! NO NURSE! Pieter Kramer 2002
YOSSI AND JAGGER Eytan Fox 2003
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME Kenneth Lonergan 2000
ZERO PATIENCE John Greyson 1993

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Upcoming ?




P.O.V.
Post-Production
by Dennis Bartok

Paralyzed after a terrible accident, Dana struggles to regain her life and family when she encounters a malevolent ghost in her hospital room.
read more

STOCKHOLM MY LOVE
Post-Production
by Mark Cousins

Alva, a passionate Swedish architect who is fascinated by the way buildings can influence lives, is tragically haunted by an event in her past.
read more

TIME OF THEIR LIVES, THE
In Production
by Roger Goldby

It's never too late to hit the road.
read more

VALLEY OF THE GODS
Pre-Production
by Lech Majewski

read more

WHITE KING, THE
In Production
by Alex Helfrecht, Jörg Tittel

The hardest thing to break is the human spirit
read more

CHOCOLATE CASE, THE
Completed
by Benthe Forrer

THE CHOCOLATE CASE is a story about three young journalists who want to put an end to child slavery in the cocoa industry.

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deadline.com/2016/08/fortissimo-enters-into-bankruptcy-after-25-year-run-1201804933/

Fortissimo Films Enters Into Bankruptcy After 25-Year Run

Fortissimo Films, the sales agent that has been in business since 1991 and has offices in Hong Kong, London, Amsterdam and Beijing, is entering into bankruptcy, Deadline has confirmed. The company has built up a library of films over the years including Shine A Light from Martin Scorsese, Mystery Train and Coffee And Cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch, Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express and documentaries including Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me, Sydney Pollack’s Sketches Of Frank Gehry, Julian Schnabel’s Berlin, Andrew Jarecki’s Capturing The Friedmans, Robert Kenner’s Food Inc. and Tamra Davis’ Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, to name only a few of the hundreds of titles it has represented.

The company was founded by Wouter Barendrecht and Helen Loveridge in 1991 but really took off when American Michael Werner joined the company four years later. He headed up the company after Barendrecht’s death in 2009. (Loveridge exited the company in 2000). Werner, an American who specialized in the Asia-Pacific region, became a partner in the company and is well-known in international sales circles. He was a producer (exec or co) on such films as John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus, Patrick Stettner’s The Night Listener, the Dutch-American drama Mysterious Skin, and Tian Zhuangzhuang‘s Springtime In A Small Town, among others.

The company, which blazed a path for Asian and art house film, filed for bankruptcy yesterday in Amsterdam. When reached by Deadline, Werner (who lives in Hong Kong) had no comment.

The filing was first reported by sister publication Variety.

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www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fortissimo-bankruptcy-indie-industry-reacts-920860

Fortissimo Bankruptcy: Indie Film Industry Reacts With Shock and Sadness

The 25-year-old art house veteran filed for insolvency protection Wednesday.
The independent film industry is reeling from Wednesday's announcement that sales group Fortissimo Films has filed for bankruptcy protection.

A 25-year veteran of the indie film scene, Fortissimo was a pioneer of the art house world and is credited with bringing many underground talents to a wider, global audience. In particular, the company was a pioneer in the Asian indie scene, handling films from such talents as Wong Kar Wai (In the Mood for Love), Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Nymph) and Tsui Hark (Seven Swords).

“With Fortissimo closing, it is like loosing an arm or a leg in the industry,” Rikke Ennis, CEO of Danish sales group TrustNordisk, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “(That such) brave and competent people who have done an amazing job for so many films, especially Asian films, will no longer be present in the industry...just shows what a challenge the film business is facing.”

Others agree. “The space for art house films has become very compressed, very small,” says Diao Yinan, the writer-director of Black Coal, Thin Ice, the indie Chinese crime drama that was championed by Fortissimo and went on to win the 2014 Berlin Film Festival and become a sleeper hit. “Their leaving means competition in the film industry is very cruel and fierce...as a director or filmmaker, we have to adjust ourselves, [decide] how to adapt to it and maintain our own style and the original intention of making interesting films.”



Fortissimo stayed true to the cutting-edge approach it pioneered from the start when Wouter Barendrecht and Helen Loveridge founded the company in 1991, and under Michael Werner, who joined Fortissimo in 1995 and took over as sole chairman when Barendrecht died suddenly in 2009. Until the end, the company eschewed mainstream titles for films with a distinctive voice, tirelessly promoting new talents.

But the company was unable to adapt to the collapse of the art house market in the past decade as public television in Europe started buying fewer indie films and art house exhibitors struggled to survive. Underlining the challenges, Britain's indie distributor Metrodome, another art house darling, filed for bankruptcy protection the same day as Fortissimo.

"It feels like the end of an era,” says Yukie Kito, producer of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata, which Fortissimo co-produced and which won both the jury prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival and the best film honor at the Asian Film Awards in 2008. “I think I worked with them at the best time. They gave as much support to Kiyoshi as any creative filmmaker could ask for. They gave us creative feedback, but didn't try to control him or me. (But) the market has changed so much with the rise of streaming services, and it's difficult to see quality Asian films at the cinema around the world."

“Fortissimo greatly contributed to the promotion and distribution of Chinese-language art house films to the world,” says Chinese director Zhang Yang, who had six films represented by Fortissimo, including 1999's Shower. “We need more companies like Fortissimo to survive and help distribute art house films. I believe that the demand for the export of international art house cinema is still there.”



Ennis of TrustNordisk, whose talent roster includes the likes of Lars von Trier and Susanne Bier, also argues that there is still a viable market for art house movies, but that the indie industry needs “a serious game changer soon if we are not to see more cases like (Fortissimo) soon.”

Ennis argues that it has become too expensive to launch small indie films in the traditional manner and that, so far, no effective streaming alternative has been found for titles outside the mainstream. “And then of course, piracy is not helping,” she adds.

Kito sees hope with the growth of the Chinese market, that, alongside the blockbusters, there could soon be room “for the kind of films Fortissimo was involved with...(if only) they could have hung on.”

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

variety.com/2016/voices/columns/movie-lovers-support-independent-films-1201871957/



In Wake of Fortissimo, Metrodome Closures, Movie Lovers Need to Get Creative to Support Indie Films


Last month, Fortissimo Films and Metrodome Group shuttered their doors. As a veteran of the independent film industry, I can’t let the closing of two art-house darlings go unnoticed.

This story first appeared in the September 27, 2016 issue of Variety. Subscribe today.
After three decades in film, I never expected these companies to fold, much less on the same day. If companies like these falter, how will filmmakers distribute films that can inspire audiences? There are no easy answers, but I’m hoping our industry figures it out.


Fortissimo and Metrodome gave us films that changed lives, told stories about humanity, and inspired filmmakers. Fortissimo and Metrodome pioneered Asian and art-house cinema sales and distribution, respectively, and played a pivotal role in bringing talent such as Wong Kar-wai and Olivier Assayas to a global audience. Sadly, their closing proves that having taste and an outstanding catalog isn’t enough anymore.


Hong Kong- and Amsterdam-based Fortissimo Films was founded in 1991. In addition to Wong Kar-wai, Fortissimo launched the careers of Brillante Mendoza and Tsai Ming-liang. The company’s library includes works like “Mystery Train,” “In the Mood for Love,” “Chungking Express,” “Seven Swords,” “Coffee and Cigarettes,” and documentaries
such as Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me,” Martin Scorsese’s “Shine a Light,” and Andrew Jarecki’s “Capturing the Friedmans.”

Similarly, Metrodome launched in 1995, and distributed art-house films by Lars von Trier, Lukas Moodysson, and Thomas Vinterberg. Metrodome has distributed titles such as “Monster,” “The Falling,” “The Counterfeiters,” and “The Secret in Their Eyes,” as well as Ben Wheatley’s debut “Down Terrace” and Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha.”

Indie films don’t generate profit like they used to because audiences don’t seek them out as previous generations did. The fate of Fortissimo and Metrodome might be a sign of things to come. For example, the Weinstein Co., a cornerstone of independent film, laid off 50 people over the past year. Indie studio Broad Green Pictures, which released “I Smile Back” and “99 Houses,”
laid off five people in July and announced it would be focusing on movies with broader appeal.

However, I have to believe that it’s not all gloom and doom; there are still ways to bring meaningful films to audiences. But the business is changing and we need to get more creative. Independent distributor Abramorama is focusing on films with a loyal, built-in audience — films that Richard Abramowitz, its president, defines as “tribal.” Just last month, it worked with Distribber, a service that lets creatives upload to distribution platforms such as iTunes. Of working with Abramorama, Distribber CEO Nick Soares said, “Our goals are aligned — maximizing visibility for great films and economic vibrancy for filmmakers.”

Streaming is another revenue source. This year, Amazon and Netflix bought 12 films at Sundance. Some of these filmmakers may shorten or completely forgo the traditional 90-day theatrical release, but, in the process, they may have the potential to reach a wider audience.

Independent film is facing unprecedented circumstances, especially when the filmmakers are new and haven’t established themselves. Creative solutions exist, and if pursued, we might be in for a renaissance. However, as the monetary value of films diminishes, something must be done so that new voices are heard.

What can we do?

We — audiences, fans, creatives — can support indie filmmakers and distributors by watching their films and posting reviews online when we discover movies we love. The films are there — submissions to film festivals have reached an all-time high — and we can help audiences fall in love with independent cinema. Fans must demand that these films get distributed, through either traditional channels or internet platforms.

Separately, it’s important that the next generation receives support from veteran filmmakers themselves, who at some point in their lives, were also filling out festival applications to get their careers started. We had stars in our eyes once, too — it’s time for us to pay it forward.

Ruth Vitale, who has held top executive posts at indie film outfits including Paramount Classics, Fine Line Features, and New Line Cinema, is CEO of CreativeFuture, a nonprofit coalition of 450 companies and organizations and more than 75,000 creative individuals devoted to promoting the value of creativity in the digital age. #StandCreative

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/can-china-save-struggling-european-art-house-973988

Can China Save the Struggling European Art House?

As the global market for specialty titles shrinks, Euro producers are increasingly eyeing access to the Middle Kingdom. Says one insider: "It will be the biggest market anywhere."
When Chinese neo-noir Black Coal, Thin Ice won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear in 2014, the global art house community got a glimpse of a tantalizing future soon to come. The gritty indie, directed by Diao Yinan, grossed $16.5 million upon its release in mainland China following the festival — a total previously inconceivable for an art house title in the Middle Kingdom’s unabashedly commercial theatrical market.

Since then, the development of the Chinese indie sector has only accelerated, as emerging Chinese talents and European art house veterans have come to view cross-border collaboration as the key to a vibrant shared future.

"The population in China is so huge, even if we get a very small slice, it will be the biggest art house market anywhere," says Yang Cheng, producer of two Chinese films showing in Berlin this year, competition title Have a Nice Day and Ghost in the Mountains, screening in the Panorama sidebar.

The global art house sector has seen its share of struggles recently. Just before the Toronto Film Festival, the twin bankruptcy filings of Fortissimo Films and U.K. distributor Metrodome Group cast a shadow over the indie film industry. The rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon have decimated the DVD sales that were the backbone of their business. But the ascension of the Chinese market could present a lifeline.

In November, the Chinese government threw support behind art cinema with the establishment of the National Arthouse Film Alliance, an indie film circuit managed by the China Film Archive, with support from commercial cinema chains. Eventually, the circuit plans to show a mix of low-budget Chinese films and imported art house fare. Once government film import arrangements have been ironed out, the organization should offer international art house auteurs an avenue for participating in the historic rise of the Chinese film market, which until now mostly has benefited Chinese and Hollywood blockbusters.

“There are just 100 screens in the project so far, so there’s not that much money in it yet — but it’s a very promising start,” says Gao Yitian, producer of The Villain, an edgy indie mystery directed by Xin Youku.

China’s streaming giants also are beginning to show an appetite for indie fare. Zhang Dalei’s The Summer Is Gone, which won the best picture award at the Taipei Golden Horse awards late last year, recently was acquired by SVOD powerhouse iQiyi for a healthy $400,000.

While censorship remains a challenge, the government covets the cultural cache of awards overseas — which makes recognition from Europe’s historic film festivals vital to directors hoping to break through.

“Participation in festivals is very important to getting attention,” says Gao. “If you win an award, your film will be everywhere in the Chinese media.”

Hollywood and European film veterans increasingly are investing in Sino-European ties. Last August, international film and TV studio IM Global launched a new venture designed to help Chinese producers and financiers gain international exposure for their projects at overseas festivals. Named Go Global, the business also is shopping its services from the opposite direction, offering representation to Western festival directors who would like to gain a foothold in China's diversifying market. European association Bridging the Dragon also is developing projects suitable for co-production with China, while cultivating a community of Sino-European film producers. The group will hold its third annual panel discussion series in Berlin on Feb. 15.

The Chinese-European future of the art house is perhaps nowhere so striking as in the fate of Dutch sales outfit Fortissimo Films. A pioneer in bridging the European and Asian markets, the company was renowned for introducing the work of Asian auteurs such as Wong Kar Wai and Park Chan-wook to European audiences.

Sources in Berlin tell THR that China's Hehe Pictures Corporation, which co-financed and released Chinese mega hit The Mermaid, is now circling the insolvent sales group. Pending Chinese government approval, Hehe hopes to acquire and relaunch Fortissimo ahead of Cannes this year. The new Fortissimo is understood to already be scouting for senior sales and acquisitions executives and will be looking to expand into production. If the deal goes through, it will be the first direct investment by a Chinese media company into the European arthouse business.

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

variety.com/2017/biz/global/fortissimo-poised-to-be-revived-1201982630/

Berlinale: Fortissimo Films Poised to Be Revived

Fortissimo Films, the Amsterdam- and Hong Kong-based sales company that filed for bankruptcy in August last year, may be refloated.

For the past few months, the company has been controlled by a court-appointed administrator in the Netherlands.

Now it appears that a small consortium, including Chinese production and investment firm Hehe Pictures, are preparing to revive the firm as a sales and production combine.


Former chairman, Michael J. Werner is not involved in the initiative. Nor is London-based former executive Nicole Mackey. She has taken a position as head of sales at Hanway Films.