In today’s Global Bulletin, DJ Khaled signs on to host the MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021, Foxtel snags “The Drew Barrymore Show” in Australia and “SAS: Who Dares Wins” gets a Swedish adaptation.
AWARDS
Grammy-winning producer, DJ and record exec DJ Khaled will host the MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 (MAMA), broadcasting globally for the first time on MTV Feb. 20. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Khaled will host the virtual ceremony from his home in Miami.
MAMA Kampala 2021 features 20 awards handed out to celebrate the best in African talent over the past year. In addition to more general prizes: best male artist, female artist, song and collaboration, the MAMAs will recognize work from Portuguese and French-speaking Africa with the introduction of the Best Lusophone and Best Francophone categories. Other new awards include the MAMA Generation Change Award, Best Fan Base, Alone Together Best Lockdown Performance and Personality of the Year.
“MTV has always been a great partner, so I jumped at the opportunity to host this year’s MAMAs,” said DJ Khaled. “I can’t wait to celebrate the incredible music that comes out of Africa, which has inspired me throughout my career.”
DISTRIBUTION
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group and Australian pay-TV leader Foxtel have struck a deal for the local rights to “The Drew Barrymore Show.” It will begin playing from Feb. 1 on Foxtel’s Fox Arena and On Demand.
The first episode available under the new deal will feature a “Charlie’s Angels” reunion with Barrymore meeting up with guests Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, nearly 20 years since the blockbuster film premiered. The show is produced and distributed domestically by CBS Media Ventures Television, with Barrymore, Chris Miller, Ember Truesdell and Jason Kurtz as executive producers.
FORMAT
Sweden’s Jarowskij, a Banijay Nordic company, is bringing Banijay Rights format “SAS: Who Dares Wins” to Swedish network TV4.
Described as one of the “toughest shows on television,” the series puts 18 civilian contestants through a Special Forces training camp, with four hardnosed former instructors pushing them every step of the way.
The U.K. original was produced by Minnow Films and has now been adapted in six markets including the U.K., U.S., France, Australia and Denmark, where three seasons have already aired, and a celebrity version is on the way from Mastiff Denmark.
FESTIVALS
London’s BFI Future Film Festival has announced the program of 45 short films selected for this year’s 14th edition, unspooling Feb. 18-21. Each film will be available to stream in the U.K. on BFI Player for the duration of the festival and is eligible for the Feb. 21 awards ceremony presented with support from Netflix.
Netflix is this year’s main sponsor and will also hand out the Best Documentary Award, which includes a year of mentoring with Jonny Taylor, the company’s original documentaries commissioner.
Blackmagic Design, manufactures of state-of-the-art creative video technologies, has also joined the festival as an official partner and will support this year’s New Talent Award and host several Davinci Resolve training workshops.
Awards will be distributed across ten categories with more than £10,000 ($13,660) in prizes up for grabs. This year’s event is available to filmmakers aged 16-25 and presented free of charge with support from Julia and Hans Rausing. The festival’s events program will be made public on Jan. 29.
RECOGNITION
Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, the French Minister of Culture, has announced that San Sebastian Film Festival director José Luis Rebordinos will receive the honorary title of Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic). The French Order of Arts and Letters recognizes “eminent artists and writers, as well as people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.”
Rebordinos’ close ties to the French film Industry are evident not only in his role at San Sebastian, where France regularly contributes a significant portion of the festival’s programming, but in his work abroad, such as co-organizing the Proyecta co-production forum at Latin American film market Ventana Sur, a Cannes Film Market initiative.
“Both myself and the festival consider French filmmaking to be among the most important in the world. I would like to express my gratitude for this recognition. I feel honored to receive it and confirm my efforts to keep French cinema at the forefront as a guiding light in our country,” said Rebordinos.