Movies

Spain’s Basque Country, an ever-evolving film hub, continues to see a consolidation of talent driven by an animation boom alongside an increase in the production of ambitious genre cinema, marked by the colossal success of recent projects on streaming platforms and pick-ups by labs and festivals. As San Sebastian unspools, the sequel to “The Platform,”

Frenetic and high-flying ‘90s rock emblem Mauricio Aznar trades his position as enigmatic frontman of Zaragoza’s Más Birras for a journey towards the soul of his craft in Spanish writer-director Javier Macipe’s highly-anticipated second feature, “The Blue Star” (“La Estrella Azul”) saw its world premiere in the New Directors strand of the San Sebastian Film

European production-distribution giant Studiocanal is teaming with Spain’s Mr. Fields and Friends and Bambú, both led by producer Ramón Campos, on dramatic comedy “Rondallas,” written-directed by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo (“BlueDarkAlmostBlack,” “Cousinhood,” “Seventeen”). Sánchez Arévalo, one of Spain’s foremost crossover filmmakers, is coming back with “Rondallas” to a movie project oriented to classic cinema theater exhibition

Film Factory Entertainment has swooped on international sales rights to “Marco,” the next film from Basque filmmaking trio Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga.  Their latest follows a high caliber run consisting of 2014 San Sebastian competition player “Flowers,”  2017’s San Sebastian Special Jury Prize winner “Giant,” and lockdown hit “The Endless Trench”

A salute to Basque cinema, the 71st edition of the San Sebastian Festival has once again unfurled its Zinemira section, a brainchild conceived in collaboration with the Basque government’s Department of Culture. Serving as more than just a showcase, Zinemira comes wrapped in the financial backing of sponsors Irizar and EiTB, with collaborative support from

In his staggering 2012 film “Our Children,” Belgian writer-director Joachim Lafosse turned an unthinkable true-life tragedy — the story of a mentally ailing mother who, one hitherto ordinary afternoon, single-handedly murdered all five of her children — into deeply compassionate drama, focusing not on the lurid whats of the event, but its more intimate, less

At this year’s Annecy, the most important animation festival in the world, Basque animations were out in force.  With a diverse showcase ranging from the nostalgic cartoon charm of “Conej Steps Out” by student outfit Funnie Fantasies, to UniKo’s tantalising taster excerpts for feminist story “Sultana’s Dream” by Isabel Herguera and the short “Body of

Ryuji Otsuka and Huang Ji, the husband and wife, Japanese-Chinese directing duo behind “Stonewalling” and “Egg and Stone” have secured multi-national backing for their upcoming fourth film project “A Woman Builds.” The film will depict a Chinese woman forced to live apart from her Japanese husband and their daughter during the pandemic and learning to

It’s time to take a trip back to everyone’s favorite Halloween store.   AMC Network has officially licensed the rights for David Poag’s “Spirit Halloween: The Movie” to stream on its streaming service Shudder. The film will creep its way onto the streamer on Oct. 2 just in time for spooky season. “Spirit Halloween” follows the

A Touch More, the production company founded by world-renowned athletes Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, has announced the hiring of industry veteran Camille Bernier-Green as its head of development. Last December, Variety exclusively revealed that Bird, a five-time Olympic gold medalist and basketball legend, and Rapinoe, a two-time FIFA World Cup-winning soccer superstar, would expand

The WGA West will extend health care benefits through year’s end to members who were facing an Oct. 1 expiration of coverage because of the strike. The extension was worked out as a part of the tentative contract agreement reached Sunday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which will bring an end

Incendiary Spanish director Isabel Coixet (“The Secret Life of Words”) heads to San Sebastian for the international premiere of her latest drama “Un Amor,” a take on devouring love starring Laia Costa (“Lullaby”) and Hovik Keuchkerian (“Money Heist”) that sets Coixet up to compete on the festival’s main stage for the first time.  “Un Amor” is

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Guy Ritchie’s “The Covenant,” after releasing in theaters in April, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The wartime thriller is also available to rent for $5.99 or buy for $19.99. Not an Amazon

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “Gran Turismo” is the latest video game movie from PlayStation Productions and it’s available to stream as a digital purchase on Amazon Prime Video on September 26. Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story

Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis has given a new update about her husband’s life with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Heming Willis appeared on the Monday morning episode of “Today” to bring awareness to the disease during World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness week. Anchor Hoda Kotb spoke with her about how her family’s life has changed since

If Tom Hanks is America’s Dad, then Will Smith is the cool big brother. Smith has been a favorite of audiences and awards voters during his impressive three-decade career. He’s explored multiple genres, such as drama (“The Pursuit of Happyness”), comedy (“Hitch”), action (“Bad Boys”), science-fiction (“Independence Day”), horror (“I Am Legend”) and animation (“Spies in Disguise”). 

Not long after the Miami episode of Netflix’s hit show “’Street Food: USA” dropped, its Emmy-nominated director Mariano Carranza received an Instagram message. It was from Gastón Acurio, Peru’s preeminent chef-restaurateur of Astrid & Gastón fame, but Carranza thought it was a prank. It turned out to be the man himself. His request: “Could Carranza

Shares of major media companies fluctuated on news that studios and streamers have reached a tentative agreement with the writers’ union on a new contract, potentially ending a strike that started in May. There are also hopes that a possible deal with the Writers Guild of America could set the stage for a similar pact

French multi-hyphenate Lou Doillon, who is Jane Birkin’s daughter, is set to star in Italian comedy “Quasi a casa” directed by Carolina Pavone, a former assistant director on several Nanni Moretti films. Shooting is underway in Rome on the sophisticated comedy, in which Doillon — a model, actor and singer-songwriter, like her half-sister Charlotte Gainsbourg

In a sprawling new profile with GQ, director Martin Scorsese discussed comic book and franchise culture, a topic which he has spoken out about at length in the past. When asked about those blockbusters, Scorsese said that their omnipresence could be negative to audiences who aren’t well-versed in other types of film. “The danger there

Martin Scorsese, Greta Gerwig and Emerald Fennell are among the filmmakers delivering screen talks at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, alongside Andrew Haigh, Lulu Wang and Kitty Green. Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, is a headline gala at the festival. He will be in

The 2023 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion, the project market that accompanies the Golden Horse film festival and awards in Taiwan in November, has laid out a huge 64-title selection for its 2023 edition. These include 39 film projects at various stages of development and financing; a further seven works in progress; and the 18-previously

SAN SEBASTIAN — MediaInvest, a new E.U. equity tool managed by the European Investment Fund, which targets the audiovisual industry with €400 million ($424 million) over 2022-27, has made its first deal: An equity agreement with France’s Logical Content Ventures, part of Logical Pictures. InvestEU CCS Guarantee has closed three debt financing agreements, with Spain’s

Canadian investment group Letko Brousseau & Associates and Imax Corporation have clashed over July’s proposed move to take private Imax China, which currently has a separate share listing in Hong Kong. Letko, which owns some 1.7% of Imax China shares, on Friday announced that it will vote against the proposal. It argues that the offer

Sophia Loren is recovering from emergency surgery for a fractured hip following a fall on Sunday in her home in Geneva, Switzerland. Italy’s most famous living movie star, who turned 89 on Sept. 20, suffered several fractures after accidentally falling at home on Sunday morning, according to multiple reports. On Sunday afternoon, “Sophia was operated

Neo Sora’s concert documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus,” a standout at the Venice Film Festival, has sold for theatrical distribution in North America to Janus Films ahead of its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The theatrical release will be followed by a Blu-ray Disc release on the “Janus Contemporaries” label. This

Spanish film-TV’s good and great joined illustrious international figures to sketch out a roadmap for Europe’s film-TV future at a Conference on Sunday at San Sebastian. Hosted by Spain’s government, coinciding with its E.U. Council Presidency, the event delivered a bullish vote of confidence in film, TV and audiovisual in general. Such confidence is natural

Spain’s Onza Distribution, with offices in Madrid and Miami, has seized international rights to mini-series “Allende, the Thousand Days,” released this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Chile’s first socialist president, Salvador Allende, and sadly, the military coup that kickstarted general Augusto Pinochet’s brutal regime.  Lead produced by Chile’s Parox (“Invisible

Neo Sora’s concert documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus,” a standout at the Venice Film Festival, has sold for theatrical distribution in North America to Janus Films ahead of its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The theatrical release will be followed by a Blu-ray Disc release on the “Janus Contemporaries” label. This

Barcelona-born director Carla Simón, whose sophomore film “Alcarràs” clinched the 72nd Berlinale Golden Bear last year, received the 2023 National Cinematography Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by Spain’s Ministry of Culture.  On hand to present the award in a ceremony held at the San Sebastian Film Festival was Miguel Iceta, Spain’s Minister of Culture