Movies

Award-winning US producer and distributor Karin Chien (“Robot Stories,” “Circumstance”), whose latest co-production, “Man in Black,” is one of two films by Chinese director Wang Bing running in Cannes’ official selection, shared her experience with the crowd during a masterclass at Cannes Docs, the Film Market section dedicated to documentary films. “Man in Black” premiered

Netflix landed North American rights for “May December,” a soapy romantic-drama directed by Todd Haynes and starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, which debuted at Cannes Film Festival. It sold for $11 million, marking the first big sale of this year’s festival. Several bidders, including Neon, were in the mix before Netflix emerged victorious. The

On a recent morning in Cannes, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan sat over coffee at the Hotel Martinez and recalled a phone call he received nearly 60 years ago, not long after he’d made a splash on the British folk scene. On the other end of the line was a rising screenwriter and director called Ken Loach.

CO-PRODUCTION “Lioness,” an official Indo-U.K. co-production being made under the 2008 bilateral treaty, will star Aditi Rao Hydari (“Jubilee”) and Paige Sandhu (“Emmerdale”), it was revealed at the Cannes India pavilion on Tuesday. Written and to be directed by Kajri Babbar (“Khoj”), the film is inspired by the research of Peter Bance, the historian who

Current COO Fatima Djoumer has been appointed CEO of the Europa Cinemas network. Djoumer succeeds founder Claude-Eric Poiroux, who is stepping down from his role as general director after 30 years. Poiroux has been awarded the title of honorary president, recognizing his contribution to the creation and development of the network, which now includes more

“Mortal Kombat 2” will follow the example of its 2021 hit predecessor and film in Australia. But production will relocate to Gold Coast, Queensland, from Adelaide in South Australia. The New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures title is based on the iconic video game by Ed Boon and John Tobias. Filming will begin at Village

Joaquin Phoenix is taking it up another notch after Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid,” teaming up with Todd Haynes for an NC-17-rated gay romance film. Haynes spoke to IndieWire at the Cannes Film Festival following the Saturday premiere of his romantic drama “May December,” starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. In the interview, Haynes teased

Leon Ichaso, who directed the Héctor Lavoe biopic “El Cantante,” “Bitter Sugar” and several major TV series, died of a heart attack Monday morning in Los Angeles. He was 74. Ichaso’s sister, Mari Rodriquez Ichaso confirmed the news, writing on Twitter: “My beloved brother Leon Ichaso died today of an unexpected ‘massive heart attack’ in

Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg have reunited to revive “The Color Purple” into a movie musical. After debuting footage for distributors at CinemaCon last month, Warner Bros. has released the first trailer of the new adaptation, directed by Blitz Bazawule and set to premiere in North America on Dec. 25. The film will open internationally

“Club Zero,” a teen-cult thriller from director Jessica Hausner, may have Cannes Film Festival attendees thinking twice about ordering that second croissant on the Croisette. The movie, which preaches the art of “conscious eating” and will definitely force viewers to consider the way they consume food, may be one of the more polarizing titles to

Chicago is about to join the growing list of cities where new soundstage construction will boost the local entertainment economy. The Fields Studios – the city’s first purpose-built and, to date, largest film production complex – will open in the first quarter of 2024. Owned and developed by real estate firm Knickpoint Ventures, the new

Dweck Productions has joined Joel Potrykus’ upcoming dark comedy feature “Vulcanizadora” which will star Joshua Burge. “Vulcanizadora” will be written and directed by Potrykus, marking his fifth feature and fourth collaboration with Burge following “Ape,” “Buzzard” and “Relaxer.” Plot details for the feature have been kept under wraps with production commencing this summer in Michigan.

While the lineup of Cannes Film Market’s newly launched initiative Cannes Investors Circle has remained under wraps, Variety has learned about four of the nine projects which were pitched during the invitation-only event. The initiative was created by the film market’s new executive director Guillaume Esmiol to connect VIP private investors with select filmmakers and

Jessica Hausner, the director of the supremely audacious and disturbing eating-disorder thriller “Club Zero” (yes, I used the words “eating disorder” and “thriller” in the same sentence — that’s the kind of boundary-smashing movie this is), has the potential to be an important filmmaker. Her last movie, “Little Joe” (2019), a sci-fi creep-out about a

The Cannes Film Festival has had its fair share of impressive movie premieres this year, with audiences embracing new films from the likes of Jonathan Glazer, Todd Haynes and and Hirokazu Kore-eda. But even the most sustained standing ovation doesn’t guarantee that a movie will walk away with the Palme d’Or, Cannes’ highest honor. It

At Cannes, Italy’s 102 Distribution is selling thriller “Light Falls,” directed by Phedon Papamichael, the cinematographer on James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Papamichael, who was Oscar nominated for handling the cinematography on Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska” and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” talks to Variety about shooting “Light Falls.”

Kristin Scott Thomas starrer “Two Tickets to Greece” has been picked up by Parkland Entertainment for U.K. and Ireland distribution, Variety can confirm. Directed by Marc Fitoussi (“Call My Agent”) the French comedy stars Scott Thomas alongside Olivia Côte (“My Donkey”) and “Call My Agent’s” Laure Calamy. Set in present-day Paris and Greece, “Two Tickets

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Donna Summer is to this day considered the Queen of Disco thanks to her chart-topping hits throughout the 1970s, famous for her commanding stage presence, dramatic makeup and voluptuous curls. But a new documentary

FilmRise, the New York-based film and TV studio and streaming network, and Canal+ Docs have boarded “Missing From Fire Trail Road,” Sabrina Van Tassel (“The State of Texas vs. Melissa“)’s long-gestated documentary film about the crimes against indigenous women. “Missing From Fire Trail Road” sheds light on the case of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, a Native-American

U.S. writer and political advocate Dane Waters and “Superpower” co-director Aaron Kaufman announced the launch of a new global nonprofit group, Humanity for Freedom, Monday in Cannes. The organization is dedicated to the fight against authoritarian governments through educational and advocacy work. The group’s global kick-off event, 72 Hours for Freedom, will feature screenings around

Kirsten Niehuus, CEO at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, which funds films and TV series production in the Berlin region, and Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, which promotes and supports the release of German films abroad, welcomed a wide array of guests to their garden party at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. Three Medienboard-funded films

After 10 years as Cinedigm, the streaming and content distribution company is adopting a new moniker: Cineverse. According to the company, which announced the name change Monday, the Cineverse rebranding “is an important step forward” in its “evolution into a streaming content and technology company — focused on transforming the way people discover and interact

When his agent first suggested that Karim Aïnouz direct an adaptation of Elizabeth Fremantle’s “Queen’s Gambit,” a historical novel about Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, he thought she was joking. The Brazilian director of “The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão” wasn’t a natural choice to bring 16th century England to

 Zoljargal Purevdash’s “If Only I Could Hibernate,” the first Mongolian film to be shown in Cannes’ official selection, marks another important step for the industry that’s ready to make some moves.  “Things are looking up,” observes the director, mentioning the newly established Mongolian National Film Council and Mongolian Film Fund. “Mongolia just introduced its new film law [which came into force

Norwegian distributor Fjong Film has picked up Hilmar Oddson’s award-winning Icelandic dark comedy “Driving Mum.” While French-U.K. sales and production company Alief has already sold the film widely in Europe, the Norwegian deal marks its first sale in Scandinavia. The Tallinn Black Nights Grand Prix winner, a theatrical hit in Iceland and Estonia, follows aimless

Baby Atómica, a new Costa Rican-U.S. film production company, has launched at the Cannes Film Market’s new genre-focused Fantastic Pavilion with a number of film projects already in development. The Los Angeles-based shingle, founded by Costa Rican producers Miguel and Dennis Gómez, who previously ran Atómica Films in San José, and Jesy Odio, likewise a

Harvest Moon, the film that was last year selected as Mongolia’s Oscars contender, has secured distribution deals in Europe and Asia through sales agent Asian Shadows. Directed by Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, as an adaptation of a novel by T. Bum-Erdene, the narrative tells of the encounter between a man, who unexpectedly returns from the big city

Newcomer Docs-by-the-Sea, the international documentary Labs and Forum for creative doc projects from Asia, will present and works-in-progress showcase for the first time at the Marché du Film’s Cannes Docs.  Featuring four films in late production stage, the showcase is highly necessary, argues its curator, Gugi Gumilang, the executive director of In-Docs, the non-profit org

“Fast & Furious 10” (aka “Fast X”) drove off with the top prize at the South Korean box office on its opening weekend. It earned $4.99 million between Friday and Saturday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). And over its full five-day run, from a Wednesday

One of the grand paradoxes of Jean-Luc Godard is that he was a radical, an outlier, a filmmaker who guarded his purity and always looked askance at “the system,” yet because the nature of filmmaking is that it requires a lot of money, and is connected to fame, and produces images that can spread with