Month: December 2020

Oscar-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and Grammy-winning composer A.R.Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) has provided further details of his recently announced role as the ambassador of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Breakthrough India initiative. “As ambassador, my role is to help BAFTA to recognize breakthrough talent across the breadth of the Indian film industry

“The Diam Diam Era Too,” the sequel to current release “The Diam Diam Era” by Singapore superstar Jack Neo, and period thriller “Precious is the Night” are among the upcoming releases from regional mini-conglomerate MM2 Entertainment. The company revealed a host of titles for 2020-21 release at the ongoing Asian Television Forum, which is part

Vadim Perelman’s “Persian Lessons” will represent Belarus in the best international feature film race at the 2021 Oscars, Variety has learned. The WWII drama, which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, stars Nahuel Perez Biscayart (“Beats Per Minute”) as a Belgian Jew who narrowly avoids execution by a Nazi firing squad when

Filming has begun in North Wales locations on Film4 and British Film Institute-backed feature film “Brian & Charles,” cowritten by and starring David Earl (“After Life”). The project began life as an acclaimed 2017 short of the same name directed by Jim Archer (“The Young Offenders”). Archer makes his feature directorial debut with “Brian &

From princesses addicted to smart magic to wolf dogs wary of fake legends, putting a new spin on old tales was the prevailing theme at Ventana Sur’s New Spanish Animation showcase on Monday. A collaboration between Spanish animation festival Weird Market, Ventana Sur’s Animation! and Spanish film agency ICAA, the best-of-Spain online showcase included two

Argentina’s Sebastian Schindel is venturing into unfamiliar territory with romcom-spy adventure hybrid “Mienteme” (“Lie to Me”), which he plans to shoot next year. “Although most of my filmography falls into the “psychological thriller” genre, with a strong social context, what excites me most about making films is the possibility of exploring and experimenting in new

Justin Kurzel has assembled a high-profile cast to shoot “Nitram,” a feature film about a mass murder. He has also reteamed with writer Shawn Grant, who previously delivered the screenplay for Kurzel’s incendiary feature debut, 2011’s “The Snowtown Murders.” The picture is now shooting and will play in theaters and screen as an original show

Achieving a rare double this year – selection for both the Mar del Plata Festival and Ventana Sur’s pix-in-post competitions – Malena Solarz’s “Album for the Youth” marks the first solo feature of a director who tackles one of the most common of debut themes – a coming of age tale – but begs to

Javier Krause, co-founder of Argentina’s Rispo Films and long one of the country’s key sales agents, has crossed the Atlantic and started Kafilms, a new Swiss production company where he is taking the reins to create new content for international audiences, including two new Italian co-productions which Krause has announced in exclusivity with Variety. Joined

Berlin-based Picture Tree International has picked up global sales rights to Mexican director Raúl López Echeverría’s feature debut, the socially conscious soccer comedy “Domingo,” and will introduce the film, in final postproduction, to buyers at Latin American film market Ventana Sur this week. The film tells the story of Domingo, a man of 55 living

Following Chile’s most successful theatrical release of 2020 and high-profile streaming premieres in Latin America and the U.S. as an Amazon Prime Video Exclusive, Argentina’s Meikincine, sales agents on this year’s Argentine Oscar submission “The Sleepwalkers,” has sold Chilean political thriller “Jailbreak Pact” to Swift Productions in France and SBS in Australia. Recent deals struck

Los Angeles’ Union Station, a frequented COVID-19 testing site, will shut down on Dec. 1 for the filming purposes of “He’s All That,” Variety has confirmed. On Monday night, homeless outreach and advocacy organization Ktown for All tweeted a screenshot of an email from Curative — the company that runs the testing site — canceling an

Outfest’s holiday fundraiser “’Twas the Night Before Give-Mas” on Monday night featured appearances by prominent LGBTQIA+ leaders and creatives, including Wilson Cruz, Margaret Cho, Charlie Carver, Candis Cayne, Alexandra Billings and “Veneno” star Jedet. The evening helped raise funds for Outfest initiatives, including OutSet, a joint collaboration with the Los Angeles LGBT Center that empowers

SAG-AFTRA has commended New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York Legislature for signing a law protecting members from “deep fake” sexually explicit material and prohibiting the exploitation of one’s name, image and voice after they pass away. The performers union said Monday that the law protects the images and voices of SAG-AFTRA members

Peter Dinklage will star in a reboot of “The Toxic Avenger” for Legendary, Variety has confirmed. Macon Blair will write and direct what is described as a contemporary reimagining of Troma Entertainment’s 1984 hit of the same name. Dinklage will play Toxie, the superhero around which the film centers. Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz will serve as

Film co-productions are on the rise in South East Asia, but their growth brings tricky choices for producers. Leading practitioners Monday shone a useful light on how to navigate the often tricky paths of co-productions at a Singapore International Film Festival panel discussion. The film festival is part of the ongoing Singapore Media Festival. Co-productions

Charles Rivkin, the chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, was paid $3.1 million in salary and bonus in 2019, a 37% jump from the prior year. Rivkin’s salary was revealed in the organization’s annual tax filing. According to the document, Rivkin was paid $2 million in base salary plus $1.1 million in bonus