World Movies
Encyclopedia
World Movies is an Australia
n subscription television channel dedicated to foreign films
, available on Foxtel
, Optus TV
and Austar
. The channel features foreign film, documentaries, independent cinema, and interviews with international movie stars.
The channel began broadcasting in October 1995, coinciding with the launch of Foxtel
. It launched on Optus TV in May 1998. In October 2009, free-to-air broadcaster SBS announced it’s intention to buy out the shares of the company’s stockholders, giving it whole ownership of the channel.
World Movies is owned and operated by SBS Subscription TV, a subsidiary of the free-to-air broadcaster SBS. The two have a close working relationship, with films premiering on World Movies 12 months before becoming available on SBS.
In August 2011, World Movies launched a new look, new logo and tagline, Be Moved. It also introduced more simple monthly themes, making it easier for viewers to find their genres of choice.
Notable films have included:
World Movies also reports from international film festivals and broadcasts footage on the ground at events such as Sundance, Cannes and Venice. The channel also broadcasts documentaries and interviews with high-profile members of the foreign film community. Past interviews have included German Director Wim Wenders, Spanish actress Paz Vega, and French star Clotilde Hesme.
Previous examples have included:
25 Films You Must See Before You Die included:
25 Docs You Must See Before You Die: included:
25 Filmmakers You Must See Before You Die included:
In September 2011, World Movies launched a free foreign marathon event at Palace Verona Cinema in Sydney. The event invited guests to attend a marathon of free foreign films at the cinema including the French comedy Amelie.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n subscription television channel dedicated to foreign films
World cinema
World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film...
, available on Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Optus TV
Optus Television
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven...
and Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
. The channel features foreign film, documentaries, independent cinema, and interviews with international movie stars.
The channel began broadcasting in October 1995, coinciding with the launch of Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
. It launched on Optus TV in May 1998. In October 2009, free-to-air broadcaster SBS announced it’s intention to buy out the shares of the company’s stockholders, giving it whole ownership of the channel.
World Movies is owned and operated by SBS Subscription TV, a subsidiary of the free-to-air broadcaster SBS. The two have a close working relationship, with films premiering on World Movies 12 months before becoming available on SBS.
In August 2011, World Movies launched a new look, new logo and tagline, Be Moved. It also introduced more simple monthly themes, making it easier for viewers to find their genres of choice.
Programming
World Movies broadcasts foreign films spoken in over 200 languages and covers all genres of film, including action, adult, vintage foreign film, as well as independent cinema.Notable films have included:
- AmelieAmélieAmélie is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, the film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre...
(France) - a romantic comedy starring Audrey Tautou - VolverVolverVolver is a 2006 Spanish dramatic comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Headed by actress Penélope Cruz, the film features an ensemble cast starring Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, and Chus Lampreave...
(Spain) - a Spanish comedy by Pedro AlmodóvarPedro AlmodóvarPedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular... - Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
(China) - action film directed by Ang Lee - Life Is BeautifulLife Is BeautifulLife Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian, Guido Orefice , who must employ his fertile imagination to help his family during their internment in a Nazi concentration camp.At the 71st Academy Awards in 1999, Benigni won the Academy Award for Best Actor and...
(Italy) - Academy-Award winning drama starring Roberto Benigni - City Of GodCity of GodCity of God may refer to:*the unity between the Holy Roman Empire and the Church in the Middle Ages*City of God , 5th century book by St...
(Brazil) - Brazilian drama set in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro - Breathless (À bout de soufflé) (France) - Jean Luc-Godard's 1960 classic
- Let The Right One InLet the Right One InLet the Right One In , or Let Me In, is a 2004 vampire fiction novel by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. The story centers on the relationship between a 12-year-old boy, Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child, Eli. It takes place in Blackeberg, a working class suburb of Stockholm, in the...
(Sweden) - a Vampire drama set in Sweden
World Movies also reports from international film festivals and broadcasts footage on the ground at events such as Sundance, Cannes and Venice. The channel also broadcasts documentaries and interviews with high-profile members of the foreign film community. Past interviews have included German Director Wim Wenders, Spanish actress Paz Vega, and French star Clotilde Hesme.
25 Films You Must See
The channel also specialises in curated seasons of essential foreign film viewing.Previous examples have included:
25 Films You Must See Before You Die included:
- Metropolis - Germany (1927)
- Women on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownWomen on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a 1988 Spanish black comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas...
- Spain (1988) - City of God - Brazil (2002)
25 Docs You Must See Before You Die: included:
- Dont Look BackDont Look BackDont Look Back is a 1967 documentary film by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in the United Kingdom.In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically...
(1967) - The Last WaltzThe Last WaltzThe Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco...
(1978) - Spellbound (2002)
25 Filmmakers You Must See Before You Die included:
- Wim Wenders: Wings of DesireWings of DesireWings of Desire is a 1987 Franco-German romantic fantasy film directed by Wim Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of the human inhabitants and comfort those who are in distress...
- Guillermo del Toro: The Devil's BackboneThe Devil's BackboneThe Devil's Backbone is a 2001 Spanish-Mexican gothic thriller film written by Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras and David Muñoz, and directed by Guillermo del Toro. It was independently produced by Pedro Almodóvar....
- Akira Kurosawa: YojimboYojimbois a Japanese word for bouncer, or bodyguard. The term may also refer to:* Yojimbo , a 1961 film by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune* Yojimbo , an information organizer for Mac OS X* Yo-Jin-Bo, a visual novel about three yojinbo...
Community Involvement
World Movies aims to promote the importance of foreign film in Australia through partnerships and events. The channel works closely with local foreign film festivals, including the Italian Film Festival, French Film Festival and German Film Festival.In September 2011, World Movies launched a free foreign marathon event at Palace Verona Cinema in Sydney. The event invited guests to attend a marathon of free foreign films at the cinema including the French comedy Amelie.