Benjamin Cleary: Last News

Ben Croll For the past six years the Annecy Animation Film Festival has looked to entrench VR producers within the global animation community.After launching a dedicated showcase in 2016, introducing a full-on competition in 2019, and keeping the VR component active for two years of hybrid and online-only editions, this year’s return to full force will spotlight eight VR projects in competition, alongside three work-in-progress screenings, a pitch session, and a series of wide-ranging conferences dedicated to future of the medium.“Our program reflects the diversity and richness of VR today,” says XR program head Arnaud Miquel. “Annecy has always been a place of experimentation, and from the moment artists take hold of this medium to do something new, we want to support them and give them visibility.” On the competition side, Jean Bouthors’ scripted short “Kidnapped in Vostok” and Rosa Schillaci’s immersive doc “Affiorare” will world premiere in Annecy, joining lauded projects like Hsin-Chien Huang’s “Samsara,” Benjamin Steiger Levine’s “Marco & Polo Go Round,” and Benjamin Cleary & Michael O’Connor’s “Glimpse” in a tight selection with a clear criteria.“We can consider live action, but there must be a contribution from animation in the artistic development of the work,” Miquel explains.

Ben Croll A Coenesque caper-gone-wrong and an interactive mother-daughter saga told in bite-size form, XR titles “Kidnapped in Vostok” (pictured) and “Rock, Paper, Scissors” are among the 17 projects leading distributor Astrea picked up in a recent bout of acquisitions. Both titles are playing in competition at this year’s NewImages Festival, while other recent Astrea pickups include the Stanislaw Lem inspired short “Cosmogonic,” the award winning interactive film “Glimpse” from Oscar winner Benjamin Cleary and VR designer Michael O’Connor, and all five episodes of the “Missing Pictures” series, in which filmmakers Abel Ferrara, Tsai Ming-Liang, Catherine Hardwicke, Lee Myung-Se and Naomi Kawase reflect on the dream projects they could never get made.

EXCLUSIVE:  WME has inked Oscar winner Benjamin Cleary, whose short film Stutterer won the Oscar in 2016.

Glimpse, an interactive animated film from Swan Song writer-director Benjamin Cleary and Michael O’Connor and featuring the voices of Taron Egerton and Lucy Boynton, and a VR project following Alex Hannold, the subject of the Oscar-winning climbing documentary Free Solo, have won the prizes of the Cannes XR program that is part of Cannes’ Marché du Film.

JP Richards has left his post as Apple’s Head of Film Marketing Strategy, having notified his team of his decision this morning, Deadline can confirm.

EXCLUSIVE: James Morosini, the writer, director and star of the splashy SXSW comedy I Love My Dad, has signed with Anonymous Content for management.

EXCLUSIVE: Julio Peña (Through My Window) has signed with Anonymous Content for management.

Netflix APAC Commissions

K.J. Yossman The Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) has unveiled its Rising Star nominees for 2022.The nominees are writer and director Benjamin Cleary (“Swan Song,” pictured above), writer and director Colm Bairéad  (“An Cailín Ciúin”), actor Hazel Doupe (“You Are Not My Mother”), writer and director Kate Dolan (“You Are Not My Mother”) and actor Sam Keeley (“Kin”).IFTA’s Rising Star award sets out to put “an international spotlight on Irish professionals who have not only honed their crafts in the formative years of their career but have also excelled in their respective fields.” Previous winners have included Saoirse Ronan, Michael Fassbender and Nicola Coughlan.“This prestigious award shines a light on five superb Irish professionals who are proving themselves to be world-class talents, exemplifying high-quality craft, skill and expertise on the world stage,” said Áine Moriarty, chief executive of IFTA.

Naman Ramachandran Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” leads the nominations at the 2022 Irish Film and Television Academy Film and Drama award nominations with 10 nods across categories. “Belfast” is nominated for best film, best director and script for Branagh, with a lead actor nod for Jude Hill, supporting actor recognitions for Ciarán Hinds and Jamie Dornan and a supporting actress nod for Caitríona Balfe, besides craft nominations.

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Jessica Kingdon, who recently earned her first Oscar nomination for Ascension, has signed with Anonymous Content for management.

Mahershala Ali shows off his sharp pinstriped suit on the red carpet next to Awkwafina at the premiere of Swan Song held at TCL Chinese Theatre on Friday (November 12) in Hollywood.

Mahershala Ali first read the script for award-winning filmmaker Benjamin Cleary’s Swan Song, the story grabbed him, pulled him in and wouldn’t let him go. He knew he had to be a part of taking it from page to screen.