Month: March 2021

IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to Jacques Audiard’s upcoming film “Paris, 13th District” (Les Olympiades) during the virtual European Film Market. The movie was shot in the French capital during the pandemic. Playtime, which represents the film in international markets, has also closed sales in most major territories around the world, including U.K. (Curzon),

Among the live action shorts in contention for this year’s Academy Awards is “White Eye,” Israeli filmmaker Tomer Shushan’s poignant narrative about the thought-to-reaction movements of a Tel Avivian who finds his stolen bicycle in the street. At 20 minutes and in one continuous take, it progresses like a waltz through the choreographed action of

Sales agent M-Appeal has closed further territory deals for Japanese filmmaker Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which just won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Benelux rights have gone to September Film, and StraDa Films has picked the film up in Greece. September Film plans to release the

Barcelona-based Filmax has acquired international sales rights to Costa del Sol-set action thriller “Hombre muerto no sabe vivir” (“A Dead Man Cannot Live”), the feature debut by producer Ezekiel Montes. The Spanish mini-major has also taken local distribution rights to the film, which is scheduled for a summer theatrical release. Produced by Montes at his

Oscar-nominated Richard Linklater, producer Basil Iwanyk and “Shadow In The Cloud” director Roseanne Liang headline the speakers line-up at the Australian International Screen Forum set to take place later this month (March 21-26, 201). The event’s industry program showcases innovative Australian and international content, and features conversations with leading film industry mentors and talent from

Romanian director Radu Jude’s irreverent contemporary satire “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” has won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear for best film. The jury said the film has that “rare and essential quality of a lasting art work. It captures on screen the very content and essence, the mind and body, the values

Atresmedia Cine, one of Spain’s biggest film production companies, has tapped David Pérez Sañudo, writer-director of “Ane,” the country’s biggest first feature breakout of 2020, to write and direct a new movie, an adaptation of Felix García Hernán’s “Cava dos fosas.” Part of Spain’s Buendía Estudios, a 50/50 joint venture between broadcaster Atresmedia and pay

The siren heard over the opening seconds of “A Cop Movie” doesn’t emanate from a car at all, but from an actor, imitating the piercing sound of approaching police with her voice. That’s a fitting fake-out with which to begin Alonso Ruizpalacios’ astoundingly original look at what makes an effective Mexico City cop. Technically, this

The EU’s game-changing Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which is expected to prompt new rules of engagement between producers and streaming giants, is finally in various stages of implementation across Europe. The new rules — for which the formal deadline was January 2021, but there is some leeway — will involve investment obligations and in some

Foresight Unlimited has closed deals for key international territories on Gigi Gaston’s “Nine Bullets.” The adventure thriller, written by Gaston, stars Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”), Sam Worthington (“Avatar” franchise), Barbara Hershey (the “Insidious” films) and Dean Scott Vasquez (“Jack Ryan”). Major territories sold include Australia (Rialto), Benelux (Splendid), the CIS (Top Film), Eastern Europe

Japanese writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi may be known for his deep explorations of women in love, but he never set out to specifically chronicle female intimacy. The filmmaker made his name with 2015’s epic five-hour-long “Happy Hour,” which follows the friendships and lives of four middle-class women in their thirties, followed by the unconventional love story

Fans of “A Quiet Place” will get to see the sequel in theaters earlier than expected. Paramount Pictures has pushed up the release date of “A Quiet Place Part II” by several months, moving the film from Sept. 17 ahead to May 28. It took the spot previously occupied by Mark Wahlberg’s action-thriller “Infinite,” which

After releasing “Borat” in 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen said there had been an assumption that it would be impossible to make a sequel. However, he said his team felt that they had to take a stand when American democracy was fragile. “Under [President] Trump, that kind of dark underbelly of society became mainstream,” Baron Cohen

“Coming 2 America,” the long-awaited sequel to Eddie Murphy’s 1988 “Coming to America,” has released early on Amazon Prime. Originally, the pic was set to drop on the streaming service on Friday. The sequel to John Landis’ hit comedy follows Prince Akeem (Murphy), who is set to become the king of the fictional country of

Boldly going where only men have gone before, “Fear the Walking Dead” co-executive producer Kalinda Vazquez is writing an original “Star Trek” movie for Paramount Pictures, with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot producing. Should the film get a greenlight, Vazquez would be the first woman ever to pen a “Star Trek” feature. There are no details

Though there have been occasions to wish he didn’t write so much of it, nobody writes dialogue quite like Quentin Tarantino. We know that because so very, very many have tried, fueling a whole subgenre of blatant “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” imitations that mercifully began subsiding around the turn of the millennium, but still