El Tinte de la Fama / The Color of Fame

Foreigners unveil Oscar submissions

Italy, China, Hong Kong, the Palestinian territories, Iceland, Colombia, Venezuela and the Czech Republic have unveiled their films for consideration in the Oscars' foreign-language category ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline.

Helmer Matteo Garrone's Neapolitan crime drama "Gomorra" was unanimously backed by a 15-strong panel of Italian motion picture body Anica.

Based on journalist Roberto Saviano's bestselling nonfiction book, "Gomorra" grabbed the jury prize at Cannes.

It was produced by Domenico Procacci for Fandango in collaboration with RAI Cinema.

China will enter helmer Gun Yu's Olympic documentary "Dream Weavers -- Beijing 2008," marking the first time China has put a docu in for the category.

Pic tells the story of Olympic hopefuls in the run-up to the Games in August, the China Film Bureau said.

Hong Kong has selected the Donnie Yen starrer "Wa pei" ("Painted Skin").

Selection was announced on the website of China Film Group and confirmed by Hong Kong's Motion Picture Industry Assn.

The action-thriller about a vampire-like woman who eats the skin and hearts of her lovers was helmed by Gordon Chan ("The Medallion").

"Salt of This Sea," helmed by Annemarie Jacir, was chosen by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

Story follows a Brooklyn-born woman who travels to Israel and Palestine to claim her family's spiritual and financial heritage.

Pic, which bowed in Cannes, was produced by Gaul's JBA Prods. and Holland's Augustus Film. Pyramid Intl. handles world sales.

Helmer Baltasar Kormakur's "White Night Wedding" is Iceland's entry.

The film, about the imminent wedding of a professor to a young girl, was written by Kormakur and Olafur Egilsson and produced by Kormakur and Agnes Johansen for Blueeyes Prods. Exec producer is Lilja Palmadottir.

International sales agent is Celluloid Dreams.

Colombia's National Council for Arts and Culture has selected helmer Carlos Moreno's "Perro come perro" (Dog Eat Dog).

Drug thriller was the first Colombian film to compete at Sundance. Moreno's feature debut has been picked up by IFC in the U.S.Venezuela also has tapped a newcomer's pic, Alejandro Bellame's "El tinte de la fama" (The Taint of Fame).

Pic was selected by a committee of film industry professionals. Shot seven years ago but only completed recently, pic tracks a young girl who hopes to escape poverty by participating in a Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest.

The Czech Film and Television Academy has chosen "Karamazovs."

Pic, written and helmed by Petr Zelenka, is set in a steel foundry in Poland, where a traveling thesp troupe is mounting a stage play of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic novel "The Brothers Karamazov."

The Academy has invited 96 countries to submit films for foreign-language Oscar consideration. Nominations will be announced Jan. 22, and the 81st awards ceremony takes place on Feb. 22.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117992857.html?categoryId=19&cs=1

Alejandro Bellame Palacios' "The Color of Fame" (El Tinte de la Fama) has been announced as Venezuela's official selection for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards by a committee of the country's film industry professionals. In a deal that will deliver this film to a variety of screens in the US, Los Angeles-based Cinevolve Studios has announced their acquisition of the film from Venezuela's Totem Films. The deal, which encompasses all domestic and international rights for theatrical (excluding Venezuela), home entertainment, television and internet and new media, was negotiated by Arik Treston and Nicole Ballivian, respectively the CEO and President of Cinevolve Studios and Totem Films. Cinevolve plans a limited theatrical release between the fourth quarter of 2008 and and the first quarter 2009, with a home entertainment release to follow.

http://www.indiewire.com/buzz/080928.html#013473

Alejandro Bellame Palacios' The Colour of Fame (El Tinte De La Fama) has been selected as Venezuela's foreign-language Oscar submission from a shortlist of ten.

In related news, Los Angeles-based Cinevolve Studios has acquired all worldwide rights excluding Venezuela and plans a limited theatrical release between now and early 2009.

The Colour of Fame stars Elaiza Gil as a woman who is pressured by her husband to enter a Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest on TV to relieve their financial woes. In the process she suffers an identity crisis that mimics the life of the mythical actress. Alberto Alifa, Johanna Morales, Oscar Molinari and Miguel Ferrari also star.

Cinevolve Studios CEO Arik Treston brokered the deal with Totem Films president Nicole Ballivian.

"It's a closer look at a culture that isn't dissimilar from ours, despite the political tensions between our two countries," Treston said. "Ultimately, we seek films like this to distribute that can illuminate, entertain and educate audiences and bring us all together with the common ground of cinema."

"I wanted to tell the story of a Venezuelan Marilyn Monroe, a local story with a universal appeal that could be understood anywhere," Palacios said. "Through Cinevolve, this film, a metaphor for Venezuela's identity crisis, will have the chance to spread a little bit of our culture to many corners of the world."

Cinevolve Studios was founded in 2007 by a collective of independent film-makers and entertainment industry professionals. Upcoming releases include We Pedal Uphill, a post-9/11 tapestry of American stories set to open later this year, as well as John McKenzie's British farce 12 in a Box.

http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=41168