Growing up in a part of Texas he calls “Selena country,” Jaime Dávila inevitably became a lifelong fan of the singer-songwriter. Thus, the Campanario Entertainment president’s role as exec producer of a new series about Selena’s life, family and career has been a long time coming. But Selena’s life is not a story untold. Indeed,
Paris-based MPM Premium has picked up “The Pink Cloud,” a banner title that’s part of a slate of first features from a new generation of young female Brazilian directors. The films are set to become one of the talking points of next week’s Ventana Sur. A sci-fi thriller from writer-director Luli Gerbase shot in 2019
(SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on if you have not watched the fifth episode of season 2 of Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian.”) “The Mandalorian” teed up the arrival of Ahsoka Tano two episodes ago and judging from the speed and cameo size of the show thus far, viewers would have been forgiven for thinking we
Inspired by the model of record labels, veteran industry photographer Cam Kirk — known for his work with Gucci Mane, Migos, Rae Sremmurd, Lil Yachty and others — launched a “label” for photographers last year called Collective Gallery, which provides signees with a monetary advance and the support to execute projects. The company aims to
In the 24 days since Election Day, Twitter has added warnings labels to 200 of President Trump’s tweets or posts he has retweeted (and counting) indicating that they contain false, disputed or misleading info. Overall since polls closed Nov. 3, about 30% of Trump’s posts on Twitter have been flagged by Twitter as containing or
Some filmmakers can take years finding the right subject for their documentary, but in the case of Diane Sara Bouzgarrou and Thomas Jenkoe, the directors of “The Last Hillbilly” – which plays Friday in IDFA’s Competition for First Appearance – theirs just walked up and introduced himself. The French director couple from Lille were eating
Soccer legend Diego Maradona did not have to die because he’s the victim of “criminal idiocy” … so claims his lawyer. Attorney Matias Morla says it took upwards of a half-hour for an ambulance to arrive at Diego’s Buenos Aires home Wednesday … where he had suffered a heart attack. Prosecutors appear to be looking
The final episode of “Live From My Den,” the weekly series hailing from Variety and Artists Den, features indie folk band The Head and the Heart as they perform songs from their latest album “Living Mirage: The Complete Recordings,” a special edition vinyl of which will be released on Record Store Day Friday (Nov. 27).
Record Store Day’s little-sis adjunct, the Black Friday edition, typically only includes about a third the amount of titles as the main event in April. But since the said big kahuna got put off and split between three “RSD Drops” weekends in August, September and October, this weekend’s Black Friday spinoff doesn’t feel so minimal
The Federal Communications Commission will soon shift to Democratic control, and speculation has already begun about who will assume the chairmanship under the Biden administration. Jessica Rosenworcel, the senior Democrat on the commission, is widely considered to be one of the leading candidates to succeed Ajit Pai in the powerful regulatory post. She has been
Paris-based company Alba Films has acquired French distribution rights to Sabrina Van Tassel’s timely social justice documentary “The State of Texas vs. Melissa.” The documentary premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and recently made its U.K. debut at the Raindance Film Festival where it won the best documentary award. FilmRise holds theatrical and digital
Hit variety TV show “China’s Got Talent” has been renewed for a seventh season and will be produced by Shanghai Canxing Culture and Media for Star China Media. The “Got Talent” property was created by Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, with the international rights represented by Fremantle. The two companies are the format’s co-owners. “ ‘China’s
In today’s Global Bulletin, streamers face potential content quotas in Australia, Leonine hires former Red Arrow exec Nina Etspueler, Channel 4 commissions a second Diana doc and Tallinn’s industry section announces its winners. QUOTA Global platforms facing imminent local production quotas across Europe could be looking at a similar situation in Australia, where new proposed
London-based sales outfit Jinga Films has announced deals on a raft of Latin American genre titles during the American Film Market, securing sales across Europe, Asia and the U.S. Sales come in the run-up to next week’s Ventana Sur market where genre is one of its main focuses, thanks to a dedicated Blood Window genre
U.K.-based distribution company Alief has secured global sales and remake rights for “Nocturna,” sides A and B, from writer-director Gonzalo Calzada. The British distributors have also shared with Variety an exclusive trailer from the film’s upcoming marketing campaign, set to kick off on Dec. 1 at the multi-city Ventana Sur market. The “Nocturna” films are
One of EnergaCamerimage Film Festival’s most closely watched sections in a world where streaming shows rule the roost is the First Look TV Pilots Competition and this year’s winner, the Amazon Original “Hunters,” kept veteran cinematographer Frederick Elmes on his toes, he says. Elmes, with more than 60 director of photography credits spanning five decades,
The 28th EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival this year found itself – like many fests worldwide – saddled with sobering restrictions, in this case added to the already daunting agenda of getting the globally feted cinematography event fully up to speed only a year after moving back to its original location in Torun, Poland. Festival director
After the year that 2020 was, Mariah Carey knows “this Christmas we could all use a little magic.” Well, it’s not quite Dec. 25 yet, but Carey and Apple TV Plus are making good on that delivery already, releasing a trailer for their upcoming holiday special collaboration, “Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special.” The trailer, which
Looking for an awesome Black Friday deal to feed your streaming habit? Here’s a summary of the best limited-time discounts and special offers from a range of services, retailers and device makers for the 2020 holiday shopping season. Streaming Services CBS All Access: Get one month free of either the $5.99/month (with ads) or $9.99/month
Simone Bitton, a Paris-based, French-Moroccan director whose work has primarily concentrated on the history and cultures of North Africa and the Middle East, makes her debut in the Masters section at IDFA—arguably the most prestigious of the documentary festival’s strands—with the world premiere of “Ziyara.” Bitton herself has mixed feelings about the accolade, as she
Hong Kong has picked youth drama “Better Days” as the territory’s contender for the Academy Awards’ best international feature film race. The announcement was made on Friday by the Hong Kong Film Producers Association. Directed by Derek Tsang, and adapted from the novel “Young and Beautiful,” the China-Hong Kong co-production tells the story of a
Music legends Van Morrison and Eric Clapton have announced a new single, “Stand and Deliver,” in support of Morrison’s Save Live Music campaign. The blues track was written by Morrison and is performed by Clapton. Morrison, best known for songs like “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Domino” and “Wild Night,” as well as seminal albums “Moondance” and
In 1968, idealistic Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa founded an independent micro nation on a tiny island he built on a platform supported by steel pylons off the coast of Rimini, Italy, outside Italian territorial waters. He named the platform — which had its own bar/restaurant, post office and radio station — the Republic of Rose
Chinese action film “The Rescue” has pulled forward its local and international release plans. It will now go out in a plum pre-Christmas slot on Dec. 18 in mainland China, North America and major English-language territories. The $80 million tentpole is directed by Hong Kong’s Dante Lam, who previously delivered a slew of other muscular
Two British legends are joining forces for a BBC special this December. Idris Elba will sit down with Paul McCartney for a BBC One and BBC Music special that will join the broadcaster’s holiday schedule. The 60-minute program, which will be recorded in London in the coming weeks, will see Elba interview McCartney about his
Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard’s “Thirteen Lives,” based on the 2018 Thai caves rescue mission, will start filming in March in Queensland, Australia. Australia will provide A$13 million ($9.6 million) to MGM and Imagine Entertainment towards the production, with Queenland’s Gold Coast hinterland doubling up for Thailand. Produced by Oscar-winner Brian Grazer, P.J. van Sandwijk, Gabrielle
Inspiration can strike at any time, but for first-time director Natalija Yefimkina it came from an unlikely source. “In the garage, I found everything,” says the 37-year-old, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian now based in Germany. Presented in IDFA’s Best of Fests strand, following its debut at the Berlin Film Festival and more recent AFM screening, her
With six films from Morocco in this year’s program, documentary festival IDFA put a spotlight on the North African country’s documentary film scene and its artists. For those wanting an introduction to the cinematic history of Morocco, an excellent place to start is “Before the Dying of the Light,” the latest film from cinema historian
Taylor Swift’s music has always been the most interesting thing about Taylor Swift, and she’s rarely more interesting than when she’s talking about her music. You would think this would be obvious, considering she’s one of the defining singer-songwriters of her generation, but for large portions of her decade and a half career, the conversations
“Jurassic World: Dominion,” “War of the Worlds,” “First Day: On Set” and “The Pursuit of Love” were among the productions commended at the 2020 Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) Innovation Awards on Thursday. Presented in association with Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the awards recognize the achievements of PGGB members working in film and high-end