Brazil’s controversial hit comedy troupe Porta dos Fundos is gearing up to release its annual Christmas Special, “The Edge of Theocracy,” on Dec. 10. A play on Petra Costa’s Oscar-nominated documentary, “The Edge of Democracy,” a trailer released Nov. 20 on its dedicated YouTube channel lured more than 300,000 views in three days. Porta dos
Movies
It’s time to go to prom. On Thanksgiving, Netflix debuted the first trailer for Ryan Murphy’s movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “The Prom,” set for release on Dec. 11. The 2018 Broadway musical is based on an original concept from Jack Viertel with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. The performance
Claire Denis, the versatile French auteur behind “Chocolat” and “High Life,” is set to direct Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon in “Radioscopie,” a movie set in the French radio world. Denis last directed Binoche and Robert Pattinson in “High Life,” an erotic space odyssey which garnered buzz at Toronto last year. Denis was supposed to
Italian screen legend Franco Nero is having a busy year. “Recon,” the Robert Port-directed World War II thriller in which he stars, opened theatrically on Veteran’s Day in the U.S. as an event release and since then has been playing well online. German courtroom procedural “The Collini Case,” in which Nero has the title role,
Expenditure on screen production in Australia plunged by 18% in the financial year to June 2020, reflecting a near total shutdown of large-scale drama filming from March, due to the impact of the coronavirus and work from home regulations. But, until the virus struck in the fourth (April to June) quarter much of the industry
England has announced a return to the three-tier system after lockdown lifts Dec. 2. A number of cities, including the capital region of London and Liverpool, fall under Tier 2, which means that cinemas can reopen. However, other major urban areas with a high concentration of cinemas, including Greater Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol are in
Grasshopper Film has picked up North American non-theatrical and digital distribution rights to Mo Scarpelli’s “El Father Plays Himself,” as the documentary of the Italian-American director and cinematographer screens at the 33rd IDFA Best of Festivals Selection – after having won a special mention for best international feature at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel. The New
A selection of prominent films that debuted in this year’s real-world festivals Berlin and Venice, or were presented under the so-called ‘Cannes Label 2020,’ make their Southeast Asian premiere over the next week at the 31st Singapore International Film Festival. Among the highlights is the Venice Golden Lion-winning title “Nomadland” directed by Chloe Zhao. The
Music from the past, online abuse, girl and boy racers – plus the inner lives of primary school children were among the subjects tackled by films featured in the IDFA’s Upcoming Catalan Documentaries strand. Designed to showcase projects nearing completion, the online event kicked off with “I Am” – a heartwarming film that traces four
As is customary, the local fare on offer at the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is linguistically and thematically diverse, reflecting the nature of the island city-state. The opening film, Tan Bee Thiam’s “Tiong Bahru Social Club,” is presented in several languages, including English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Malay and Tamil. Inspired by Jacques Tati and
Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV Plus will soon be forced to play a more significant role in the financing of European content when the Audiovisual Media Services Directive officially kicks off on Jan. 1. While each of the European Union’s member states is in the process of exploring ways
Leading documentary specialist Dogwoof has acquired world sales rights to Miguel Eek’s feature debut “The First Woman,” following its world premiere in the First Appearance Competition section of documentary film festival IDFA, which runs Nov. 18-Dec. 6. The film (see trailer here) is an intimate and tender portrait of Eva, a woman who has struggled
Thai producer Soros Sukhum (“By The Time It Gets Dark,” “Concrete Clouds”) was Thursday honored with the FIAPF Award for outstanding achievement in film in the Asia Pacific region. The prize was presented as part of a heavily revamped Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony, at Gold Coast in Australia’s Queensland. The Young Cinema Award was
Film and TV advocacy body Women in Film and TV (WFTV) U.K. has appointed award-winning producer Katie Bailiff as CEO. Bailiff’s credits include Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning “Feltham Sings,” BBC Two’s RTS and Grierson-winning “The Secret History of Our Streets” and BBC Three’s “Abused by My Girlfriend.” For the last two decades, Bailiff has worked at
When a documentary is called “The Meaning of Hitler,” there are two things you know off the bat. One is that the film probably won’t live up to that title — and doesn’t have to, because how could it? The other thing you know is that it’s trying for something audacious, placing itself on the
It began, we must suppose, with the letters. Director Catarina Vasconcelos’ grandfather Henrique was a Portuguese sailor gone for long, homesick periods from his children and his wife, Triz. They wrote letters back and forth, but Henrique ordered the correspondence burned upon his death. His children, all grown with children of their own, reluctantly complied,
As Native American Heritage Month comes to a close, it’s important to highlight some of the great actors and actresses that have contributed to the medium of film but failed to get recognition from the Academy in its 92-year history. In 2019, “Hostiles” actor Wes Studi was given an honorary award for career achievement, making
Johnny Depp has been denied permission to appeal his U.K. libel case against tabloid The Sun. In a ruling last week that was made public on Wednesday, Judge Andrew Nicol dismissed the actor’s application for appeal, noting that he didn’t believe it had a “reasonable prospect of success.” Earlier this month, the same judge ruled
Faizon Love filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Universal of race discrimination when it cut him out of the poster for the 2009 film “Couples Retreat.” The film featured four couples who go to a resort to repair their relationships. Love and his co-star, Kali Hawk, played the only non-white couple, and they were removed
UPDATED: Local government officials have decided against pulling the plug on overnight location filming in Los Angeles and instead urged producers to avoid doing so for the next month due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles had issued the ban earlier Wednesday but then backtracked a few
Romania’s official Oscar entry for international feature, “Collective,” marks the first time the country has submitted a documentary to the Oscars. Alexander Nanau’s story follows the 2015 fire at the Colectiv nightclub which killed 64 people and injured hundreds. Released on-demand Nov. 20 and in select theaters, Nanau’s trail takes him from the deadly fire
The U.K. government has set up a pilot Global Screen Fund of £7 million ($9.3 million) to partially replace funds disbursed from Creative Europe’s MEDIA program, which will cease once Brexit comes into effect at the end of the year. U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced the fund on Wednesday as part of
The world took to social media on Wednesday to mourn the death of Argentine soccer player Diego Armando Maradona, among the greatest soccer players of all time, whose career skyrocketed in Italy where he played for A.C. Napoli starting in the mid-1980s. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted, “The entire world mourns the loss of
When Darcy C. Scanlin was hired as the production designer of “Uncle Frank,” she had a very good idea of what writer and director Alan Ball wanted. All she had to do was read the script. Scanlin tells Variety that the pages were full of notes describing every location in exacting detail. “It actually gives
Jamie Dornan was in lockdown with his family when he received a fan letter that was more than a little creepy. The star of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movies was sent “a collage of photographs of a kid,” with a note about his most famous role. “Someone saying that it was my kid, and
It was a call that took Diane Keaton by surprise. Three decades after “Godfather Part III” opened to middling reviews and box office grosses, Francis Ford Coppola returned to the editing bay to tinker with a film that was largely dismissed as a disappointment. Coppola shuffled scenes around, changed music cues, and affixed a new
“The Truffle Hunters” is a stark contrast to many of this year’s acclaimed documentaries. Pandemics, wars and political failures are far away from the film’s secretive, enveloping look at the elderly men and their dogs who track down the rare, delicious and staggeringly expensive white fungi in the forests of Northern Italy. Environmental stresses and
Disneyland shut down, production has been halted worldwide and “Succession” Season 3 is extremely delayed. But even in this dumpster fire of a year, the Variety staff manages to find ways to be grateful. Below, read what the writers, editors and reporters at Variety are thankful for in entertainment this Thanksgiving. Carey Mulligan in “Promising
The Transgender Film Center, a new nonprofit organization established to support transgender filmmakers with resources and opportunities for their projects, announced its first initiative, the Transgender Film Center’s Trailblazer Grant. The grant will provide start-up and completion funds to qualifying narrative or documentary projects written, directed or produced by trans creators. The grant is open
This is the winter of discontent for Hollywood workers, as no level of seniority has been spared from the wave of mass layoffs. Warner Bros. has been shaken by two rounds of layoffs and a wholesale restructuring that have ushered out veterans with decades of service to the Hollywood studio. NBCUniversal has rewired the structure of its