Movies

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

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

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 &

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MONDAY, Nov. 30 Hiroyuki Sanada Rounds Out ‘Bullet Train’ Cast Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada will join Brad Pitt in Sony Pictures’ “Bullet Train,” based on the Japanese novel “Maria Beetle” in which a train in Tokyo is the setting for battles between criminals. David Leitch is directing, with Kelly McCormick producing through 87North alongside Antoine

Amblin Partners has signed a multi-year film distribution partnership with Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, as well as forged a series of new agreements that will expedite the company’s move into streaming. The pact is in the five-year range, according to insiders, similar to Amblin’s previous deal with the studio, which was inked in 2015. The

Actor Abby Dalton, best known for her role as Julia Cumson in “Falcon Crest,” died last week at the age of 88. The Emmy-nominated star got her start acting in “Rock All Night,” a 1957 film about a group of hostages taken captive by two criminals at a club. She starred as Julie, a singer

“Into the Storm,” directed by Adam Brown, won the Grand Prize at the 2020 Kendal Mountain Film Festival on Sunday. Filmed over a six-year period, the film follows the story of a teenage surfer as he escapes the poverty of a barrio in Lima with the intention of becoming one of the top surfers in

SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for the entirety of Hulu’s “Happiest Season.” Proceed with caution, etc.   Even if you only watched the opening credits of “Happiest Season,” you’d understand how hard the movie works to establish itself as a Christmas movie that both defies tradition and snuggles right up to it. To the tune of the holliest, jolliest song available, illustrations of

“Goonies never say die” is right! The stars of Steven Spielberg’s 1985 cult classic “The Goonies” are reuniting again for a good cause. Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, Martha Plimpton, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Jonathan Ke Quan, Jeff Cohen, Joe Pantoliano and Robert Davi will be participating in a live script reading on Saturday at 8

Robert De Niro, Viola Davis, Al Pacino, Jennifer Lawrence and more Hollywood stars have expressed gratitude to Sen. Chuck Schumer for advocating on behalf of movie theaters and “working to ensure the survival of New York’s critical arts and culture institutions.” Schumer has been a vocal supporter of the bipartisan Save Our Stages act, which would

Topic, the fast-growing streaming service from First Look Media, has acquired North American streaming rights to Anabel Rodriguez Rios’ documentary feature debut, “Once Upon a Time in Venezuela.” The film, which explores the decline of the Venezuelan fishing village of Congo Mirador and, more broadly, the country’s complicated current political and social climate, made its

Paris-based Axxon Films has picked up international rights to Imanol Rayo’s thriller “Death Knell” and Mireia Gabilondo’s comedy “The Hive,” two very different titles set in and produced by Spain’s Basque region. The production, distribution and sales-company is presenting the Spanish pics, both distributed in Spain by Bilbao’s Barton Films, as part of its Ventana

Screenwriter-playwright Christopher Hampton, who won an Oscar for “Dangerous Liaisons” and was Oscar nominated for “Atonement,” has penned a screen version of his one-woman play “A German Life,” about the life of Brunhilde Pomsel, the infamous secretary of Nazi Joseph Goebbels. Maggie Smith is set to reprise the role she played to great acclaim at

“Penguin Bloom,” the Toronto International Film Festival player led by Naomi Watts, has been acquired by Netflix in key territories. The streamer will roll out the film in North America, the U.K., France and select countries in Asia on Jan. 27. Oscar nominee Watts stars in the real-life survival story of Samantha Bloom, an active

Talent agency WME has appointed Cindy Garas as senior VP of human resources. She is starting her new role immediately and will be based in the company’s Beverly Hills office. In her position, Garas will have oversight of human resources at the agency, including teams based in Beverly Hills, London, Nashville, New York, and Sydney.

The Slamdance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodics for the mostly virtual 27th edition of the festival — a number that equals previous editions of the festival. The opening night film, which will screen at a drive-in in Joshua Tree on Feb. 13, is the world

Managers Alexa Daniel and Gerald Lee have joined M88, a full-service representation firm founded by former WME partner Phillip Sun and Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King. Beginning their careers in the talent department at WME, Daniel and Lee work with Michael B. Jordan, Idris Elba, Donald Glover, Naomi Scott, Riz Ahmed, Gemma Chan,

Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian,” Marvel’s “Avengers” films and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” are the top entertainment franchises, according to a new survey from the National Research Group. Beginning in January 2019, NRG, a global insights and strategy firm, conducted more than 350,000 interviews about 700 entertainment franchises to discover which were considered the most bold, inspiring