It could certainly be argued that 1971 was the year that David Bowie became David Bowie: He recorded and released his first brilliant album, “Hunky Dory”; wrote, recorded and conceived most of the “Ziggy Stardust” album and larger-than-life persona that would lead him to stardom; and teamed up with the manager, the label and band
The cap on India’s filming incentives, which were revealed at Cannes in March, could dramatically rise if necessary, the country’s top film bureaucrat has revealed. Currently, the Indian federal government reimburses up to 30% of qualifying production expenditure to a maximum of INR20 million ($244,000). An additional 5% to a maximum of INR5 million ($61,100)
Serge Bromberg, the former artistic director of Annecy International Animation Festival, is facing a four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Bromberg was put on trial earlier this week at the Court of Creteil, near Paris, due to his role in a fire involving nitrate film reels that caused two deaths in August 2020 during a heatwave,
Buenos Aires-based Meikincine Entertainment has acquired international sales rights to Sabrina Campos’ first feature, Argentine drama “Ven a mi casa esta Navidad” (“Come to My Place This Christmas”). In post, the film is produced by Juan Pablo Miller at Tarea Fina, the Buenos Aires outfit whose hallmark of exacting, carefully crafted movies which break out
“Argonuts,” a Disney-style family animated feature from “The Jungle Bunch” team, TAT Productions, has lured leading distributors in major markets. Rolling off the American Film Market, Gregoire Melin’s sales banner Kinology has closed a raft of deals with the U.K. (Studiocanal), Germany and Austria (Plaion), Latin America (California Filmes), Australia and New Zealand (Icon Film
Carlos Saura’s “Walls Can Talk,” Alex de la Iglesia’s “Four’s a Crowd” and Alex Murrull and Dani de la Orden’s “The Final Game” head as market premieres the most major addition to this year’s Cannes-backed Ventana Sur, Spanish Screenings on Tour, Spanish cinema’s biggest international industry platform ever. Since 2009, when Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur
Elena Trapé, whose character-driven ensemble pieces “Blog” and “The Distances” marked her out as a talent to watch, is attached to direct “Gwendolyne, Diary of a Fan,” (“Gwendolyne, Diario de Una Fan”), one of two series being brought onto the market at Ventana Sur’s Spanish Screenings by Barcelona-based Coming Soon Films. Screenplay for “Gewndlyne” is
Made on a modest budget of INR160 million ($1.96 million), “Kantara” (or ‘Mystical Forest’) has been one of the biggest sleeper hits in the world this year. Its director-producer and star Rishab Shetty attributes its success to the film’s local flavor. Released in September, the Kannada language film has accumulated a worldwide box office gross
Oh Yeong-su, the Korean actor who recently won a Golden Globe for his performance in hit series “Squid Game,” has been indicted on sexual misconduct charges. He was released without detention. Prosecutors in Suwon, near Seoul, revealed on Friday that they had charged Oh a day earlier. The 78-year-old Oh is alleged to have inappropriately
Veteran Rome-based distribution and production exec Thomas J. Ciampa, who in June exited WarnerMedia where he was Italy, Spain and Portugal country manager, is joining prominent Italian producer Marco Belardi’s expanding Bamboo Production shingle as its chief of international operations. Ciampa, who worked at Warner Bros. in Italy for 25 years in various guises, in
Double Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund has been named new Honorary President of Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival, the biggest movie event in Scandinavia.. The “Triangle of Sadness” helmer will act as an advisor for the Swedish fest and “leave his artistic imprint on the festival program,” promised the organizers. That includes the upcoming 46th edition, starting in
Variety sat down with TorinoFilmLab’s managing director, Mercedes Fernandez Alonso, to talk through this year’s rich program of industry initiatives and its commitment to support new and established creative talents through TFL Italia and TFL Meeting. “TFL Italia aims to create a bridge between Italian and international professionals. […] This year, we are offering two
Kris Wu, the Chinese-Canadian music and acting star, was sentenced to a 13-year jail term by a Chinese court on Friday. He was found guilty of rape and group licentiousness. The court said that he will be deported after serving his sentence, according to state-controlled media. Wu (full name Wu Yifan) was arrested and formally
Jazz producer and executive Zev Feldman has long had the nickname of “the jazz detective” for his penchant for finding previously unreleased tapes from the genre’s greats to put out as high-profile archival releases. Now he’s putting that moniker to use for his own label, Jazz Detective Records, which will make its debut on Record
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 8, episode 10, of “The Masked Singer,” “Battle of the Semi-Finals,” which aired Nov. 24 on Fox. Two episodes in one week? “The Masked Singer” returned on Thanksgiving night for its semi-finals (and what appeared to be another subtle jab at host
Beloved Indian actor Anupam Kher (“The Silver Linings Playbook,” “New Amsterdam”) has had a tremendous 2022 on screen. This year’s credits include three successful Indian films – “Kashmir Files”, “Karthikeya 2” and “Uunchai” – but now the familiar face says he is ready to return behind the camera. Speaking to Variety on the side-lines of
Gabrielle Union is receiving the best reviews of her career in A24’s “The Inspection” — showing it’s never too late to make your mark on Hollywood. “I thought it was late for me,” she tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I’m being treated like the ingenue I probably should have been treated as after ‘Bad Boys
Apurva Chandra, Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Ministry, on Thursday confirmed plans to create a national streaming platform within the National Film Development Corporation website. The move is an integral part of plans to promote India as a global content hub. “We are planning to do that on the website so that not just NFDC co-produced
A veteran of several short and documentary subjects, Anshul Tiwari’s narrative feature “Before Life After Death” has its world premiere in the Panorama strand of the Singapore International Film Festival. In the film, a rebellious female student and a reticent middle-aged gynecologist, both of Indian origin, strike up an unlikely bond as they each confront
More than a decade after his feature directorial debut “The Days” (2008) filmmaker Boi Kwong is back in the director’s chair with Singapore crime thriller “Geylang.” The film premiered at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and will have its Southeast Asia premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival in the Panorama strand. In the
Prolific Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua and filmmakers John Clang and Lavender Chang are reuniting after “A Love Unknown” (2020), which Clang directed and Chang shot. This time around, they have teamed for “Absent Smile,” co-directed by Chang and Clang, which is world premiering at the Singapore International Film Festival. Clang is based in New York and
Organizers of the 33rd edition of the Singapore International Film Festival are naturally keen to prove that the event is as nearly as possible back to normal after two years of COVID turbulence. Thong Kay Wee, in his first full year as program director, has also been keen to put his mark on the lineup.
Singaporean filmmaker Lei Yuan Bin’s latest subject is local Opera Tang, who has made a mark on the local drag scene since debuting in 2020. Through vignettes of Tang’s life, the film, which plays in the Singapore International Film Festival’s Singapore Panorama strand, chronicles the performer’s queer journey: from coming-out as a fledgling drag queen,
National Geographic Channel has acquired Elizabeth Unger’s wildlife-crime documentary feature “Tigre Gente” in Latin America, where the film will premiere on April 22 as part of the channel’s Earth Day lineup. Limonero Films has acquired the film for distribution outside Latin America. “Tigre Gente,” which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2021, is produced by
WARNING: This story contains spoilers from the first two episodes of “Criminal Minds: Evolution,” now streaming on Paramount+. It’s been nearly three years since “Criminal Minds” ended, but a lot has changed within the BAU. When the new show begins, Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) is no longer at the unit, and is living her best life.
Dubai-based Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired all Middle East and North Africa rights to Oman-set drama “The Falconer,” co-directed by Adam Sjöberg and starring Seanne Winslow. The movie has been billed as the first international feature film shot entirely in the sultanate. “Falconer” is a tale of two teenagers from different worlds, one a
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” continued to rule over the Thanksgiving holiday box office. Faced with only token opposition, the superhero sequel picked up $10 million on Wednesday. The Marvel and Disney release is on pace to earn roughly $63 million over the five-day period, easily topping the competition. Another Disney movie, “Strange World,” is bombing,
Tom Cruise revived movie theaters with the blockbuster hit “Top Gun: Maverick,” Taylor Swift broke the internet (and Ticketmaster) with her “Midnights” album and “Eras” tour and Michelle Yeoh proved that Marvel wasn’t the only one with a multiverse up its sleeve with “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Here is what the Variety staff is
Bangladesh feature film “Agantuk” (aka “The Stranger”) by Biplob Sarkar was Thursday named as unanimous winner of the Prasad DI award, conferred by the Film Bazaar Recommends jury in Goa, India to film in the Viewing Room section. Viewing Room is a component within Film Bazaar that presents films from India and South Asia, which
Singapore actors Sheila Sim, Sunny Pang and Shane Mardjuki, were among the special guests who graced the gala opening of the 33rd Singapore International Film Festival, at speciality arthouse cinema Projector Picturehouse. The trio headline Boi Kwong’s “Geylang,” a breathless, full-throttle crime thriller set in Singapore’s infamous red-light district. The film is being screened in