It’s been 30 years since a film from India has been selected in the main competition at Cannes, but that finally changed this year.
Recent editions of Sundance, Tribeca, and Toronto have included riveting and even Oscar-nominated documentaries and features. In fact, Mira Nair’s “Monsoon Wedding” won the Golden Lion at Venice more than two decades ago. Granted, Cannes has recently programmed South Asian gems in other sections, such as the Queer Palm-winning “Joyland” from Pakistan in Un Certain Regard in 2022, or Anurag Kashyap’s “Kennedy” in Midnight last year. But would the South Asian drought in the main competition ever end?
Many were ecstatic last month when “All We Imagine as Light”, Mumbai-based Payal Kapadia’s narrative directorial debut, was announced in the competition lineup alongside legendary Cannes regulars: European heavyweights such as Jacques Audiard and Yorgos Lanthimos, American auteurs David Cronenberg and Paul Schrader, and Asian visionary Jia Zhangke.
Recent editions of Sundance, Tribeca, and Toronto have included riveting and even Oscar-nominated documentaries and features. In fact, Mira Nair’s “Monsoon Wedding” won the Golden Lion at Venice more than two decades ago. Granted, Cannes has recently programmed South Asian gems in other sections, such as the Queer Palm-winning “Joyland” from Pakistan in Un Certain Regard in 2022, or Anurag Kashyap’s “Kennedy” in Midnight last year. But would the South Asian drought in the main competition ever end?
Many were ecstatic last month when “All We Imagine as Light”, Mumbai-based Payal Kapadia’s narrative directorial debut, was announced in the competition lineup alongside legendary Cannes regulars: European heavyweights such as Jacques Audiard and Yorgos Lanthimos, American auteurs David Cronenberg and Paul Schrader, and Asian visionary Jia Zhangke.
- 5/23/2024
- by Ritesh Mehta
- Indiewire
When it comes to the wild success of the film industry in Hungary, which is the largest production hub in continental Europe and second in Europe only to the U.K., film commissioner Csaba Káel is quick to credit a rich cinematic legacy dating back more than 100 years. “There is a huge tradition,” he said. “We have a special film DNA in Hungary.”
The industry’s ongoing success, however, as well as its hopes for the future, is just as reliant on sound policy and investment from the country’s National Film Institute, along with a deep pool of world-class talent that is the envy of industries twice its size.
Those were among the takeaways of a panel during the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film that included Káel, Hungarian producer Ildikó Kemény (“Poor Things”), Hungarian-born and Canadian-based producer Robert Lantos (“Crimes of the Future”), and the U.K.
The industry’s ongoing success, however, as well as its hopes for the future, is just as reliant on sound policy and investment from the country’s National Film Institute, along with a deep pool of world-class talent that is the envy of industries twice its size.
Those were among the takeaways of a panel during the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film that included Káel, Hungarian producer Ildikó Kemény (“Poor Things”), Hungarian-born and Canadian-based producer Robert Lantos (“Crimes of the Future”), and the U.K.
- 5/22/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Rarely in recent decades has the festival circuit been as disrupted as it has in the past 12 months. A confluence of local and global issues — from war to inflation, political unrest to societal shifts — have created a perfect storm for many of these vital cultural platforms, leading to funding shortfalls, staff losses, major PR headaches and in some cases cancellation. Amid shifts in consumer and industry behavior, there are also broader existential questions being asked about the role and potency of festivals.
Since last year’s Cannes, we’ve seen flashpoints or upheaval at Sundance, Berlin, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki, IDFA, El Gouna, Cairo, Busan, Odessa and others. Questions have been hanging over the likes of Venice and Toronto but both have made positive announcements in recent weeks: the former by re-upping Alberto Barbera, the latter by confirming a cash injection to bolster its market.
During this year’s turbulent Berlin Film Festival,...
Since last year’s Cannes, we’ve seen flashpoints or upheaval at Sundance, Berlin, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki, IDFA, El Gouna, Cairo, Busan, Odessa and others. Questions have been hanging over the likes of Venice and Toronto but both have made positive announcements in recent weeks: the former by re-upping Alberto Barbera, the latter by confirming a cash injection to bolster its market.
During this year’s turbulent Berlin Film Festival,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman and Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Sandhya Suri’s fiction feature debut “Santosh,” which bows in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard strand, has unveiled its first clip.
In the film, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh inherit her slain husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of northern India. When an underage girl from one of India’s so-called “lower castes” is murdered, Santosh is pulled into the investigation by charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.
Suri is known for her documentaries “I for India” (2005), which bowed at Sundance, and “Around India with a Movie Camera” (2018) and Toronto-winning and BAFTA nominated fiction short “The Field” (2018). The “Santosh” script, which predates “The Field,” participated in the Sundance lab. “I was researching things about violence against women and trying to make a sort of anatomy of a violence and I couldn’t find a way to do it in documentary. So I found this way into fiction,...
In the film, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh inherit her slain husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of northern India. When an underage girl from one of India’s so-called “lower castes” is murdered, Santosh is pulled into the investigation by charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.
Suri is known for her documentaries “I for India” (2005), which bowed at Sundance, and “Around India with a Movie Camera” (2018) and Toronto-winning and BAFTA nominated fiction short “The Field” (2018). The “Santosh” script, which predates “The Field,” participated in the Sundance lab. “I was researching things about violence against women and trying to make a sort of anatomy of a violence and I couldn’t find a way to do it in documentary. So I found this way into fiction,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Filming in Hungary offers everything from a massive amount of production space and a 20-year strong tax rebate to eight symphony orchestras and thermal baths.
On a panel during the Cannes Film Festival at the Marche du Film, film commissioner Csaba Kael, as well as producers Ildikó Kemeny, Robert Lantos and Mike Goodridge, spoke about the experiences of filming in Hungary.
Kael noted that commercial film production began in the country in the early 1900s. “It is built into our DNA,” he said of filmmaking. Only the U.K. has more film production than Hungary, Kael added. This year, Hungary is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its tax rebate program, which offers films produced in Hungary a 30 percent rebate based on their expenditure.
Lantos, who has been filming in the country since the 1990s prior to the tax credits, said, “Whenever I have a project that needs a European-looking city,...
On a panel during the Cannes Film Festival at the Marche du Film, film commissioner Csaba Kael, as well as producers Ildikó Kemeny, Robert Lantos and Mike Goodridge, spoke about the experiences of filming in Hungary.
Kael noted that commercial film production began in the country in the early 1900s. “It is built into our DNA,” he said of filmmaking. Only the U.K. has more film production than Hungary, Kael added. This year, Hungary is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its tax rebate program, which offers films produced in Hungary a 30 percent rebate based on their expenditure.
Lantos, who has been filming in the country since the 1990s prior to the tax credits, said, “Whenever I have a project that needs a European-looking city,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A selection of UK film funders will take to the stage at the UK pavilion at Cannes tomorrow (Sunday May 19) to explore their national and international ambitions, how they are working to empower emerging talent in a new media landscape, and their approach to creativity and risk.
Taking part is Mia Bays, director, BFI National Lottery Filmmaking Fund; Isabel Davis, executive director, Screen Scotland; Ursula Devine, development executive, Northern Ireland Screen’ Shanida Scotland, co-director and global head of film at Doc Society; Lee Walters, chief executive, Ffilm Cymru Wales; and Denitsa Yordanova, Head of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds.
Taking part is Mia Bays, director, BFI National Lottery Filmmaking Fund; Isabel Davis, executive director, Screen Scotland; Ursula Devine, development executive, Northern Ireland Screen’ Shanida Scotland, co-director and global head of film at Doc Society; Lee Walters, chief executive, Ffilm Cymru Wales; and Denitsa Yordanova, Head of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds.
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Mike Goodridge has been on a rare journey. Not many in the industry can boast a CV that includes running a trade publication, an international sales company, a film festival and being the producer of multiple Cannes Film Festival movies.
Goodridge, the former editor of Screen International, CEO of Protagonist, and artistic director of the Macao Film Festival, is on the Croisette this year with Un Certain Regard thriller Santosh. In the UK-Germany-France co-production by filmmaker Sandhya Suri, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh (Shahana Goswami) inherit her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low-caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.
Filming begins this summer in Asia on Good Chaos/Nine Hours production for Netflix The Ballad Of A Small Player, Ed Berger’s...
Goodridge, the former editor of Screen International, CEO of Protagonist, and artistic director of the Macao Film Festival, is on the Croisette this year with Un Certain Regard thriller Santosh. In the UK-Germany-France co-production by filmmaker Sandhya Suri, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh (Shahana Goswami) inherit her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low-caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.
Filming begins this summer in Asia on Good Chaos/Nine Hours production for Netflix The Ballad Of A Small Player, Ed Berger’s...
- 5/16/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Mubi has taken László Nemes’ Orphan on board in a multi-territory deal on the post- World War II Hungarian family drama; Le Pacte will release the film in France.
Charades and New Europe Film Sales are handling sales on the film.
Mubi has acquired all rights in the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Latin America and Turkey.
The Hungarian-language film is the third film by Nemes following Son Of Saul and Sunset. Set in Budapest in 1957 after the uprising against the Communist regime, Orphan follows a young Jewish boy raised by his mother whose world turns upside down...
Charades and New Europe Film Sales are handling sales on the film.
Mubi has acquired all rights in the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Latin America and Turkey.
The Hungarian-language film is the third film by Nemes following Son Of Saul and Sunset. Set in Budapest in 1957 after the uprising against the Communist regime, Orphan follows a young Jewish boy raised by his mother whose world turns upside down...
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Mike Goodridge’s growing UK production company Good Chaos, which is in Cannes with Un Certain Regard title Santosh, has had a minority equity investment from Cameron Lamb’s Paris-based audio platform Alexander.
The investment will give Alexander an opportunity to develop its growing non-fiction IP library, across film and TV formats, while Good Chaos has been able to grow its headcount, operations and production reach.
The companies’ first joint film project is Wife, Witch, Poisoner, Whore, a period thriller based on the Alexander audiobook by Katherine Rundell, and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.
The official synopsis reads: “Beautiful, rich, clever, and determined English noblewoman Frances Howard was a dazzling celebrity at the court of James I. But when the unhappy teenage bride rebelled against the patriarchy of her day, she was put on trial for witchcraft, infidelity and murder – very nearly at the expense of her life.”
Good Chaos is on a roll.
The investment will give Alexander an opportunity to develop its growing non-fiction IP library, across film and TV formats, while Good Chaos has been able to grow its headcount, operations and production reach.
The companies’ first joint film project is Wife, Witch, Poisoner, Whore, a period thriller based on the Alexander audiobook by Katherine Rundell, and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.
The official synopsis reads: “Beautiful, rich, clever, and determined English noblewoman Frances Howard was a dazzling celebrity at the court of James I. But when the unhappy teenage bride rebelled against the patriarchy of her day, she was put on trial for witchcraft, infidelity and murder – very nearly at the expense of her life.”
Good Chaos is on a roll.
- 5/14/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire and Shang Chi: And The Legend Of The Ten Rings star Fala Chen is joining the previously announced Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Tilda Swinton (The Killer) in Netflix and Ed Berger’s (All Quiet On The Western Front) upcoming feature The Ballad of a Small Player, we can reveal.
The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is due to start in Asia this summer.
Rowan Joffe is adapting the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is producing through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films.
The film...
The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is due to start in Asia this summer.
Rowan Joffe is adapting the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is producing through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films.
The film...
- 5/13/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The British Film Institute (BFI) has unveiled the line-up of speakers and events taking place at the Cannes UK Pavilion, including talent talks with Santosh filmmaker Sandhya Suri and Birds and Kinds Of Kindness director of photography Robbie Ryan, as well as panel discussions on the historic UK independent tax credit and a conversation with representatives from UK film funders from across the nations and regions.
Suri will be joined by UK producer Mike Goodridge from Good Chaos and Eva Yates, director of BBC Film, to share the journey behind Suri’s narrative director debut, which plays in Un Certain Regard.
Suri will be joined by UK producer Mike Goodridge from Good Chaos and Eva Yates, director of BBC Film, to share the journey behind Suri’s narrative director debut, which plays in Un Certain Regard.
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Tilda Swinton is joining Colin Farrell in Edward Berger and Netflix‘s The Ballad of a Small Player, we can reveal.
The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is due to start in Asia this summer.
Rowan Joffe is adapting the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is producing through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films.
The film marks the first project under Berger’s creative partnership and global first-look film deal with Netflix, via his company Nine Hours.
Swinton has recently been in production on Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door and has...
The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is due to start in Asia this summer.
Rowan Joffe is adapting the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is producing through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films.
The film marks the first project under Berger’s creative partnership and global first-look film deal with Netflix, via his company Nine Hours.
Swinton has recently been in production on Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door and has...
- 4/30/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Baltasar Kormákur is back directing — but this time it’s not a survival drama, it’s a romance.
The “Adrift” and “Everest” filmmaker directs Focus Features’ “Touch,” based on the bestselling novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson. The film tells a romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents, with one widower trying to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago.
Director Kormákur co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Ólafsson. The original Icelandic novel was published by Ecco/Harper Collins in the U.S. in August 2022. The film was shot in Iceland and Japan.
The ensemble cast is led by Egill Ólafsson, Kōki, Pálmi Kormákur, Masahiro Motoki, Yoko Narahashi, Meg Kubota, and Tatsuya Tagawa, with Charles Nishikawa, Sigurður Ingvarsson, Benedikt Erlingsson, Kieran Buckeridge, Ruth Sheen, María Ellingsen, and Masatoshi Nakamura also starring.
Writer/director Kormákur produces along with Agnes Johansen and Mike Goodridge. Kormákur most recently directed 2022’s “Beast...
The “Adrift” and “Everest” filmmaker directs Focus Features’ “Touch,” based on the bestselling novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson. The film tells a romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents, with one widower trying to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago.
Director Kormákur co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Ólafsson. The original Icelandic novel was published by Ecco/Harper Collins in the U.S. in August 2022. The film was shot in Iceland and Japan.
The ensemble cast is led by Egill Ólafsson, Kōki, Pálmi Kormákur, Masahiro Motoki, Yoko Narahashi, Meg Kubota, and Tatsuya Tagawa, with Charles Nishikawa, Sigurður Ingvarsson, Benedikt Erlingsson, Kieran Buckeridge, Ruth Sheen, María Ellingsen, and Masatoshi Nakamura also starring.
Writer/director Kormákur produces along with Agnes Johansen and Mike Goodridge. Kormákur most recently directed 2022’s “Beast...
- 4/24/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
For his third feature (in a row), László Nemes is going back into the history books for his next project set to month into production this June. Set in 1957’s Budapest, Orphan follows a young Jewish boy whose mother has raised him in the hope that his father will return from the camps. These hopes are shattered when a brutish stranger appears on the doorstep to take his family back. Variety reports that the project sees Nemes reteam with cinematographer Mátyás Erdély and his co-writer partner in Clara Royer. Producers onboard include Pioneer Pictures’ Ildiko Kemeny and Ferenc Szale, Good Chaos’ Mike Goodridge and Nemes himself.…...
- 4/24/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Charades and New Europe Films are joining forces to co-sell Oscar-winning Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes’ long-awaited new feature Orphan, as the production gears up to commence shooting in and around Budapest this June.
Orphan will be Nemes’ third film after Sunset, which world premiered in Venice in 2018, and his Oscar-winning breakthrough Son of Saul, which debuted in Cannes in 2015, winning the Grand Prize of the Jury before clinching Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards the following year.
The new film is set in Budapest in 1957, twelve years after the end of WWII and one year after the uprising against the Communist regime.
The story follows a young Jewish boy whose mother has raised him in the hope that his father will return from the camps. These hopes are shattered when a brutish stranger appears on the doorstep to take his family back.
Nemes co-wrote the screenplay with Clara Royer,...
Orphan will be Nemes’ third film after Sunset, which world premiered in Venice in 2018, and his Oscar-winning breakthrough Son of Saul, which debuted in Cannes in 2015, winning the Grand Prize of the Jury before clinching Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards the following year.
The new film is set in Budapest in 1957, twelve years after the end of WWII and one year after the uprising against the Communist regime.
The story follows a young Jewish boy whose mother has raised him in the hope that his father will return from the camps. These hopes are shattered when a brutish stranger appears on the doorstep to take his family back.
Nemes co-wrote the screenplay with Clara Royer,...
- 4/24/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
France’s mk2 Films has boarded Sandhya Suri’s title Santosh ahead of its premiere at Cannes in Un Certain Regard.
The Hindi-language, narrative fiction debut from UK-Indian filmmaker Suri (Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023).
A newly widowed woman inherits her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of a charismatic, feminist inspector. Zwigato and A Suitable Boy’s Shahana Goswami stars.
It is produced by Mike Goodridge and James Bowsher of the UK’s Good Chaos,...
The Hindi-language, narrative fiction debut from UK-Indian filmmaker Suri (Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023).
A newly widowed woman inherits her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of a charismatic, feminist inspector. Zwigato and A Suitable Boy’s Shahana Goswami stars.
It is produced by Mike Goodridge and James Bowsher of the UK’s Good Chaos,...
- 4/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Updated: The Cannes Film Festival will have an admirable UK and Irish presence in 2024, including three films from Dublin, London and Belfast-based production company Element Pictures, Andrea Arnold’s Bird in Competition and features from fresh talents Sandhya Suri and Rungano Nyoni, as well as Sister Midnight in Directors’ Fortnight.
Competition is still proving a tricky spot to land for UK or Irish directors. In 2022, none made the cut, while in 2023, UK filmmakers Ken Loach and Jonathan Glazer made it through with The Old Oak and The Zone Of Interest respectively.
This year, Arnold is flying the flag with her...
Competition is still proving a tricky spot to land for UK or Irish directors. In 2022, none made the cut, while in 2023, UK filmmakers Ken Loach and Jonathan Glazer made it through with The Old Oak and The Zone Of Interest respectively.
This year, Arnold is flying the flag with her...
- 4/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
Deadline is reporting that Colin Farrell is now slated to star in the new project from Edward Berger, the director of the Academy Award-winning All Quiet on the Western Front. Farrell will be the lead in The Ballad of a Small Player, which will be a Netflix original. While Berger directs, Rowan Joffe has adapted a script that is based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge is on board to produce through his Good Chaos banner, as well as Berger through his Nine Hours banner, along with Matthew James Wilkinson. Berger currently has a first-look deal with Netflix, which this movie will be the start of.
The plot synopsis for The Ballad of a Small Player, according to Deadline, reads,
“The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the...
The plot synopsis for The Ballad of a Small Player, according to Deadline, reads,
“The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the...
- 4/10/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Colin Farrell is to star in 'The Ballad of a Small Player'.The 47-year-old actor has boarded the cast of the Netflix picture based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne.Edward Berger is directing the film with Rowan Joffe adapting the script based on Osborne's story.The plot centres on a high-stakes gambler who chooses to lay low in Macau when both his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way, he encounters a kindred spirit who could hold the key to his salvation.Production is set to begin later this year with Berger producing for his Nine Hours banner alongside Mike Goodridge for Good Chaos.The movie marks the first project under Berger's creative partnership with Netflix via his Nine Hours company.Colin previously explained that his main aim as an actor is to "entertain", although he does admit to making some of his movies purely for financial reward.
- 4/10/2024
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
Colin Farrell continues to keep busy, with the Oscar-nominated actor set to star in Edward Berger’s next feature for Netflix.
Farrell will play the lead in The Ballad of a Small Player, which is based on author Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel of the same name. Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) will helm the movie from a script by Rowan Joffe (Before I Go to Sleep). Filming is set to begin this summer in Asia.
The Ballad of a Small Player centers on a high-stakes gambler who is dealing with debts and his questionable past while trying to keep a low profile in Macau when he meets a kindred spirit.
Producers include Berger for Nine Hours, Mike Goodridge for Good Chaos, and Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films. The Ballad of a Small Player is the initial feature under Berger’s first-look deal with Netflix.
Berger directed Netflix...
Farrell will play the lead in The Ballad of a Small Player, which is based on author Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel of the same name. Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) will helm the movie from a script by Rowan Joffe (Before I Go to Sleep). Filming is set to begin this summer in Asia.
The Ballad of a Small Player centers on a high-stakes gambler who is dealing with debts and his questionable past while trying to keep a low profile in Macau when he meets a kindred spirit.
Producers include Berger for Nine Hours, Mike Goodridge for Good Chaos, and Matthew James Wilkinson for Stigma Films. The Ballad of a Small Player is the initial feature under Berger’s first-look deal with Netflix.
Berger directed Netflix...
- 4/9/2024
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Colin Farrell continues to build on a busy dance card as the Oscar-nominated actor is set to star in Netflix’s The Ballad of a Small Player, with Edward Berger directing. Rowan Joffe will adapt the script that is is based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne. Mike Goodridge will produce through his Good Chaos banner along with Berger for his Nine Hours banner as well as Matthew James Wilkinson.
The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is expected to start later this year.
The film marks the first project under Berger’s creative partnership and global first-look film deal with Netflix, via his company Nine Hours.
Farrell has worked of late on both on the...
The story follows a high-stakes gambler who decides to lay low in Macau after his past and debts catch up with him. Along the way he encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. Production is expected to start later this year.
The film marks the first project under Berger’s creative partnership and global first-look film deal with Netflix, via his company Nine Hours.
Farrell has worked of late on both on the...
- 4/9/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
The British producer of Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness has sounded the alarm on the state of the UK’s independent film industry.
This comes as the UK enjoys a boom due to respected British craft skills and tax incentives. The recent box office behemoth Barbie was made at Warner Bros studios near Watford, north London, and those studios are being expanded. Netflix is also planning to expand its studio space at Shepperton, south of London. Such investment from overseas translates into a huge boon for local economies and for training, and bringing new talent into the business.
However, veteran producer Mike Goodridge, who made the recent hit Triangle of Sadness, told the BBC’s Today Programme:
“The industry is essentially on its knees. On the upside, British actors, crew, are working at the highest level, but all for American companies. Theoretically, that’s wonderful, however, on a more philosophical level,...
This comes as the UK enjoys a boom due to respected British craft skills and tax incentives. The recent box office behemoth Barbie was made at Warner Bros studios near Watford, north London, and those studios are being expanded. Netflix is also planning to expand its studio space at Shepperton, south of London. Such investment from overseas translates into a huge boon for local economies and for training, and bringing new talent into the business.
However, veteran producer Mike Goodridge, who made the recent hit Triangle of Sadness, told the BBC’s Today Programme:
“The industry is essentially on its knees. On the upside, British actors, crew, are working at the highest level, but all for American companies. Theoretically, that’s wonderful, however, on a more philosophical level,...
- 2/10/2024
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a new diet trend with sinister intentions, courtesy of Jessica Hausner’s latest dark comedy “Club Zero.”
The film, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, stars Mia Wasikowska as a nefarious teacher who encourages her students to stop eating altogether. The reason? Other than weight loss and pseudo-environmental concerns, it’s a tactic to gain new cult members.
“Club Zero” competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes before going on to become a Best Picture nominee at both the Sitges and Munich International Film Festivals.
The official synopsis reads: “At an international boarding school, an unassuming yet rigorous Miss Novak (Wasikowska) joins the teaching staff to instruct a new class on ‘conscious eating.’ Her impressionable teenage students each have their own reasons for joining the class – to improve fitness, reduce their carbon footprint, or get extra credit. Although early lectures focus on mindful consumption, Miss Novak...
The film, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, stars Mia Wasikowska as a nefarious teacher who encourages her students to stop eating altogether. The reason? Other than weight loss and pseudo-environmental concerns, it’s a tactic to gain new cult members.
“Club Zero” competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes before going on to become a Best Picture nominee at both the Sitges and Munich International Film Festivals.
The official synopsis reads: “At an international boarding school, an unassuming yet rigorous Miss Novak (Wasikowska) joins the teaching staff to instruct a new class on ‘conscious eating.’ Her impressionable teenage students each have their own reasons for joining the class – to improve fitness, reduce their carbon footprint, or get extra credit. Although early lectures focus on mindful consumption, Miss Novak...
- 2/6/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
A Prayer For The Dying from UK-France outfit The Bureau and Good Boy, produced by Jeremy Thomas’s Recorded Picture Company, are among the seven international co-productions to receive backing from the UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf).
In addition, 23 UK screen content businesses have been awarded funds to boost their international activities.
Ukgsf is financed through the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms) and administered by the British Film Institute (BFI). The latest batch of awards sees over £1.3m being allocated through the international co-production strand and over £2m being allocated through the international business development strand.
In addition, 23 UK screen content businesses have been awarded funds to boost their international activities.
Ukgsf is financed through the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms) and administered by the British Film Institute (BFI). The latest batch of awards sees over £1.3m being allocated through the international co-production strand and over £2m being allocated through the international business development strand.
- 1/17/2024
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The queer drama is directed by UK-Finnish director Mikko Makela.
LevelK has boarded international sales rights to UK feature Sebastian ahead of its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance Film Festival this month.
The film is the second feature from UK-Finnish director Mikko Makela. It follows a freelance writer rising through London’s cultural world who finds exhilaration at night as a sex worker under the pseudonym Sebastian.
Ruaridh Mollica leads the cast, alongside Screen Rising Stars Scotland talent Hiftu Quasem and Jonathan Hyde.
September Films will distribute the film in the Netherlands, with Aurora handling distribution for Finland.
LevelK has boarded international sales rights to UK feature Sebastian ahead of its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance Film Festival this month.
The film is the second feature from UK-Finnish director Mikko Makela. It follows a freelance writer rising through London’s cultural world who finds exhilaration at night as a sex worker under the pseudonym Sebastian.
Ruaridh Mollica leads the cast, alongside Screen Rising Stars Scotland talent Hiftu Quasem and Jonathan Hyde.
September Films will distribute the film in the Netherlands, with Aurora handling distribution for Finland.
- 1/15/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
More than 200 key European film professionals have published an open letter expressing their shock and concern over the unexplained, sudden firing of long-time Flanders Image boss Christian De Schutter.
Producer Mike Goodridge at Good Chaos, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) co-founder and head of industry Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen, German Films MD Simone Baumann, Tribeca Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer, Haut et Court Head Of Acquisitions Laure Calliol; Goodfellas Head Of Sales Eva Diederix and Oscar-nominated director Stijn Coninx are among the signatories.
“We the undersigned are professionals in the film industry who are concerned about the termination of employment of our well respected and long-time colleague, Christian De Schutter, from Flanders Image,” they wrote.
They said they had been shocked by both the termination and the manner in which it had been handled by Koen Van Bockstal, CEO of parent body Flanders Audiovisual Fund (Vaf).
“We all learned of De Schutter...
Producer Mike Goodridge at Good Chaos, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) co-founder and head of industry Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen, German Films MD Simone Baumann, Tribeca Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer, Haut et Court Head Of Acquisitions Laure Calliol; Goodfellas Head Of Sales Eva Diederix and Oscar-nominated director Stijn Coninx are among the signatories.
“We the undersigned are professionals in the film industry who are concerned about the termination of employment of our well respected and long-time colleague, Christian De Schutter, from Flanders Image,” they wrote.
They said they had been shocked by both the termination and the manner in which it had been handled by Koen Van Bockstal, CEO of parent body Flanders Audiovisual Fund (Vaf).
“We all learned of De Schutter...
- 1/12/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Focus Features we hear has set a July 12, 2024 limited theatrical release date for Baltasar Kormákur’s romantic-drama Touch.
Universal Pictures International is handling international distribution sans Iceland.
The movie is based on Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson’s bestselling Icelandic novel published by Ecco/Harper Collins in the U.S in August 2022. The movie follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago before his time runs out. The story spans several decades and continents. Ólafsson and Kormákur co-wrote the movie.
Rvk Studios’ Kormákur and Agnes Johansen produced Touch alongside Good Chaos’ Mike Goodridge.
Touch stars Egill Ólafsson, Kōki, Pálmi Kormákur, Masahiro Motoki, Yoko Narahashi, Meg Kubota, Tatsuya Tagawa, Charles Nishikawa, Sigurður Ingvarsson, Starkaður Pétursson, Benedikt Erlingsson, Kieran Buckeridge, Ruth Sheen, María Ellingsen and Masatoshi Nakamura.
Focus Features’ 2024 lineup includes Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s Drive-Away Dolls, the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black,...
Universal Pictures International is handling international distribution sans Iceland.
The movie is based on Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson’s bestselling Icelandic novel published by Ecco/Harper Collins in the U.S in August 2022. The movie follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago before his time runs out. The story spans several decades and continents. Ólafsson and Kormákur co-wrote the movie.
Rvk Studios’ Kormákur and Agnes Johansen produced Touch alongside Good Chaos’ Mike Goodridge.
Touch stars Egill Ólafsson, Kōki, Pálmi Kormákur, Masahiro Motoki, Yoko Narahashi, Meg Kubota, Tatsuya Tagawa, Charles Nishikawa, Sigurður Ingvarsson, Starkaður Pétursson, Benedikt Erlingsson, Kieran Buckeridge, Ruth Sheen, María Ellingsen and Masatoshi Nakamura.
Focus Features’ 2024 lineup includes Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s Drive-Away Dolls, the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black,...
- 12/14/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
British-Indian filmmaker Suri is a Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023.
Sandhya Suri’s UK-European co-production Santosh has wrapped production in India.
The Hindi-language film is the narrative feature debut of Suri, a Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023. It is produced by Mike Goodridge and James Bowsher of the UK’s Good Chaos, France’s Balthazar de Ganay and Alan McAlex of India’s Suitable Pictures.
The co-producers are Razor Film in Germany and Haut et Court in France. Haut Et Court Distribution will release Santosh in France.
Backers are the British Film Institute, BBC Film., Zdf/Arte and Cnc.
Suri directed...
Sandhya Suri’s UK-European co-production Santosh has wrapped production in India.
The Hindi-language film is the narrative feature debut of Suri, a Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023. It is produced by Mike Goodridge and James Bowsher of the UK’s Good Chaos, France’s Balthazar de Ganay and Alan McAlex of India’s Suitable Pictures.
The co-producers are Razor Film in Germany and Haut et Court in France. Haut Et Court Distribution will release Santosh in France.
Backers are the British Film Institute, BBC Film., Zdf/Arte and Cnc.
Suri directed...
- 12/14/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The pioneering French-Iranian producer and sales agent leaves behind a long-lasting legacy
Pioneering producer and celebrated Celluloid Dreams founder Hengameh Panahi died on November 5 following a long illness, sending shockwaves of sadness throughout the international film community and leaving a long-lasting legacy of both championing auteur cinema and shaking up the status quo in her wake.
The revered French-Iranian industry executive was known for finding and following emerging directors and accompanying their films to festival glory and international acclaim. Her career spanned four decades and more than 800 films.
She worked alongside iconic directors from across the globe including Jacques Audiard,...
Pioneering producer and celebrated Celluloid Dreams founder Hengameh Panahi died on November 5 following a long illness, sending shockwaves of sadness throughout the international film community and leaving a long-lasting legacy of both championing auteur cinema and shaking up the status quo in her wake.
The revered French-Iranian industry executive was known for finding and following emerging directors and accompanying their films to festival glory and international acclaim. Her career spanned four decades and more than 800 films.
She worked alongside iconic directors from across the globe including Jacques Audiard,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Carole Baraton was speaking as part of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff) industry programme.
Founder and CEO of French sales outfit Charades Carole Baraton has given her honest opinion of the financial incentives for those working in independent film, stating: “There’s no money in the independent film industry.”
“We are lucky we have passionate people, or we would be starving,” she said in a response to an audience question about discrepancies between salaries of those working in sales for markets outside of the film industry, compared to lower incomes for those within independent film sales, during a talk...
Founder and CEO of French sales outfit Charades Carole Baraton has given her honest opinion of the financial incentives for those working in independent film, stating: “There’s no money in the independent film industry.”
“We are lucky we have passionate people, or we would be starving,” she said in a response to an audience question about discrepancies between salaries of those working in sales for markets outside of the film industry, compared to lower incomes for those within independent film sales, during a talk...
- 10/9/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The Creatives – the Fremantle-backed alliance of 10 leading production companies – have shared the results of the first edition of “The Creative Connection” at the Venice Film Festival.
The companies – which include Lemming Film (Locarno premiere “Sweet Dreams”), Versus Production (Venice’s “Through the Night”), Maipo Film (“Elling”), Razor Film, Komplizen Film (“Spencer”), Spiro (“Foxtrot”), Unité (“Salem”), Haut et Court (“Perfect Days”), Masha (“No Man’s Land”) and Good Chaos (“Triangle of Sadness”) – invited writers and producers to join forces over the course of three workshops.
“Some of [the writers] were surprised we are actually normal people,” joked Haut et Court’s Carole Scotta during a panel at the Venice Production Bridge on Sunday. “We want to create a safe space for the writers to be able to work freely.”
Called “Inspiration,” “Brainstorming” – a series of experimental exercises led by Le Groupe Ouest – and “Collaboration,” the workshops took place in France, Greece and Germany. They...
The companies – which include Lemming Film (Locarno premiere “Sweet Dreams”), Versus Production (Venice’s “Through the Night”), Maipo Film (“Elling”), Razor Film, Komplizen Film (“Spencer”), Spiro (“Foxtrot”), Unité (“Salem”), Haut et Court (“Perfect Days”), Masha (“No Man’s Land”) and Good Chaos (“Triangle of Sadness”) – invited writers and producers to join forces over the course of three workshops.
“Some of [the writers] were surprised we are actually normal people,” joked Haut et Court’s Carole Scotta during a panel at the Venice Production Bridge on Sunday. “We want to create a safe space for the writers to be able to work freely.”
Called “Inspiration,” “Brainstorming” – a series of experimental exercises led by Le Groupe Ouest – and “Collaboration,” the workshops took place in France, Greece and Germany. They...
- 9/3/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
In Sudabeh Mortezai’s provocative fifth feature, “Europa,” the Vienna-based director follows ambitious executive Beate from Europa, a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkans by seemingly promoting philanthropy and investment in underdeveloped areas. What Europa actually needs is to buy land from the locals in a remote Albanian valley. The film plays in Competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Mortezai can’t exactly pinpoint the genesis of “Europa” to a specific idea or moment, but says it’s rather an amalgamation of observations she’s made over time and her own interest in the general state of our world. “I’ve been observing or experiencing a disconnect between the ideals we have. And Europe is not just a continent. It’s a promise of human rights, of specific values,” she says. “And when you see a disconnect between that and many aspects like income, social inequality, economic inequality,...
Mortezai can’t exactly pinpoint the genesis of “Europa” to a specific idea or moment, but says it’s rather an amalgamation of observations she’s made over time and her own interest in the general state of our world. “I’ve been observing or experiencing a disconnect between the ideals we have. And Europe is not just a continent. It’s a promise of human rights, of specific values,” she says. “And when you see a disconnect between that and many aspects like income, social inequality, economic inequality,...
- 8/11/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
TV documentary “Barbie Uncovered” and an adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey” starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are among the latest projects awarded by the U.K. Global Screen Fund.
On “Barbie Uncovered,” an unofficial majority U.K. co-production with New Zealand, the U.K. producers are Ross Wilson from Rw Productions and Alan Clements from Two Media Rivers who will co-produce with New Zealand’s Daniel Story and Cass Avery from Augusto. It will be directed by Eddie Hutton-Mills and focuses on the unknown history of the global icon Barbie and the dramatic and dark story behind the creation of the world’s most famous doll.
On “The Odyssey” adaptation “The Return,” a minority U.K. co-production with Italy, Greece and France made under the European Convention, the U.K. producers are James Clayton and Uberto Pasolini from Red Wave Films who will co‐produce with Italy’s...
On “Barbie Uncovered,” an unofficial majority U.K. co-production with New Zealand, the U.K. producers are Ross Wilson from Rw Productions and Alan Clements from Two Media Rivers who will co-produce with New Zealand’s Daniel Story and Cass Avery from Augusto. It will be directed by Eddie Hutton-Mills and focuses on the unknown history of the global icon Barbie and the dramatic and dark story behind the creation of the world’s most famous doll.
On “The Odyssey” adaptation “The Return,” a minority U.K. co-production with Italy, Greece and France made under the European Convention, the U.K. producers are James Clayton and Uberto Pasolini from Red Wave Films who will co‐produce with Italy’s...
- 7/25/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The film’s backers include Film4 and Mike Goodridge’s Good Chaos.
Paris-based Memento International has snapped up international rights for Sudabeh Mortezai’s third fiction feature Europa that is set to world premiere in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival in August.
The film, shot mostly in English, follows an ambitious executive working at the titular Europa, a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkan region, ostensibly with philanthropic development ambitions. Things don’t go as planned when the executive is challenged by a stubborn and spiritual farmer who refuses to budge from his ancestors’ land.
Europa is...
Paris-based Memento International has snapped up international rights for Sudabeh Mortezai’s third fiction feature Europa that is set to world premiere in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival in August.
The film, shot mostly in English, follows an ambitious executive working at the titular Europa, a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkan region, ostensibly with philanthropic development ambitions. Things don’t go as planned when the executive is challenged by a stubborn and spiritual farmer who refuses to budge from his ancestors’ land.
Europa is...
- 7/20/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
13 titles have received funding in the latest round from the £7m per year UK Global Screen Fund.
A raft of UK Cannes titles are among the 13 features to receive awards given out by the British Film Institute (BFI) in the latest round of funding from the £7m per year UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf), supporting international opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector.
These include Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero, on which Good Chaos’ Mike Goodridge is the UK producer and will receive the award; Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex, with the funding going to Emily Leo...
A raft of UK Cannes titles are among the 13 features to receive awards given out by the British Film Institute (BFI) in the latest round of funding from the £7m per year UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf), supporting international opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector.
These include Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero, on which Good Chaos’ Mike Goodridge is the UK producer and will receive the award; Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex, with the funding going to Emily Leo...
- 7/7/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
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 producers boasting a stellar track records. Curated by experts such as Medici’s Tamara Tatishvili, Arte Cinema’s Rémi Burah and financier Serge Hayat, the nine projects are budgeted between €2 million and €12 million. Among these are “Dracula: The Second Coming” directed by Radu Jude; “Rivo Alto,” directed by Clément Cogitore (“The Wakhan Front”) and produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond at Kazak Productions (“Titane”); “The Girl” directed by Marina Ziolkowski (“But You Look So Good”) and produced by Philippe Gompel (“Cherry”) at Manny Films; and “The Birthday Party” directed by Miguel Angel Jimenez (“Chaika”) and...
The initiative was created by the film market’s new executive director Guillaume Esmiol to connect VIP private investors with select filmmakers and producers boasting a stellar track records. Curated by experts such as Medici’s Tamara Tatishvili, Arte Cinema’s Rémi Burah and financier Serge Hayat, the nine projects are budgeted between €2 million and €12 million. Among these are “Dracula: The Second Coming” directed by Radu Jude; “Rivo Alto,” directed by Clément Cogitore (“The Wakhan Front”) and produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond at Kazak Productions (“Titane”); “The Girl” directed by Marina Ziolkowski (“But You Look So Good”) and produced by Philippe Gompel (“Cherry”) at Manny Films; and “The Birthday Party” directed by Miguel Angel Jimenez (“Chaika”) and...
- 5/22/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Panellists cite slowdown in streamer investment and difficulties in attracting audiences to cinemas.
The Cannes Marche’s inaugural Investors Circle saw international producers and financiers debate the future of independent theatrical film at a time when streamers are curtailing investment in production.
Club Zero and Triangle Of Sadness producer, Mike Goodridge of Good Chaos, formerly CEO of UK sales agent Protagonist Pictures, said that streamers are retrenching.
“That massive wave of money that came into the business, in the late teens [pre-2020], it’s massively slowed down… we all know the troubles they are going through on a corporate, subscription level.
The Cannes Marche’s inaugural Investors Circle saw international producers and financiers debate the future of independent theatrical film at a time when streamers are curtailing investment in production.
Club Zero and Triangle Of Sadness producer, Mike Goodridge of Good Chaos, formerly CEO of UK sales agent Protagonist Pictures, said that streamers are retrenching.
“That massive wave of money that came into the business, in the late teens [pre-2020], it’s massively slowed down… we all know the troubles they are going through on a corporate, subscription level.
- 5/22/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
No sales company is attached yet but Scandinavian Film Distribution has pre-bought Scandinavian rights.
Danish filmmaker Jeppe Ronde is now midway through the shoot for his new feature Acts Of Love, which is shooting in Jutland, Denmark. The Danish-language drama will tell the story of a young woman living in a religious community whose orderly life is interrupted when a man from her past visits, forcing them to confront their unresolved trauma.
The cast features Jonas Holst Schmidt (Copenhagen Does Not Exist), Cecilie Lassen (Walk With Me) and Ann Eleonora Jørgensen (Italian for Beginners). The seven-week shoot kicked off on...
Danish filmmaker Jeppe Ronde is now midway through the shoot for his new feature Acts Of Love, which is shooting in Jutland, Denmark. The Danish-language drama will tell the story of a young woman living in a religious community whose orderly life is interrupted when a man from her past visits, forcing them to confront their unresolved trauma.
The cast features Jonas Holst Schmidt (Copenhagen Does Not Exist), Cecilie Lassen (Walk With Me) and Ann Eleonora Jørgensen (Italian for Beginners). The seven-week shoot kicked off on...
- 5/19/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Paris-based sales company Charades has finalized a raft of deals with international buyers for its upcoming comedy Northern Comfort, which debuted at SXSW in March.
The pic, directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, has sold to Rezo (France), September Films (Benelux), Kismet (Australia & Nz), Vertigo (Spain), I Wonder (Italy), Pris Audiovisual (Portugal), M2 (Poland), Cirko Films (Hungary), Aerofilms, Transilvania (Romania), Megacom (ex-Yugoslavia), Volga (Cis & Baltics), New Cinema (Israel), Falcon (Lebanon & Gulf), Avjet (Taiwan), and Pictureworks (India).
Elsewhere, Scanbox has rights in Scandinavia, Sena has rights in Iceland, Weltkino in Germany and Switzerland, with Netflix taking SVOD rights in the UK.
Co-written by Sigurdsson with Halldor Laxness Halldorsson and Tobias Munthe, the pic is billed as a “dark comedy” and stars Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall, Sverrir Gudnason, Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney.
Synopsis reads: A special forces veteran, an uptight property developer, an influencer with half a million followers,...
The pic, directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, has sold to Rezo (France), September Films (Benelux), Kismet (Australia & Nz), Vertigo (Spain), I Wonder (Italy), Pris Audiovisual (Portugal), M2 (Poland), Cirko Films (Hungary), Aerofilms, Transilvania (Romania), Megacom (ex-Yugoslavia), Volga (Cis & Baltics), New Cinema (Israel), Falcon (Lebanon & Gulf), Avjet (Taiwan), and Pictureworks (India).
Elsewhere, Scanbox has rights in Scandinavia, Sena has rights in Iceland, Weltkino in Germany and Switzerland, with Netflix taking SVOD rights in the UK.
Co-written by Sigurdsson with Halldor Laxness Halldorsson and Tobias Munthe, the pic is billed as a “dark comedy” and stars Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall, Sverrir Gudnason, Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney.
Synopsis reads: A special forces veteran, an uptight property developer, an influencer with half a million followers,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Market
The Cannes Film Market has launched Cannes Investors Circle, which will commence with a keynote introduction by Liesl Copland, Participant’s executive VP, content and platform strategy, who will offer her perspective on the modern media landscape. The initiative will also feature a panel discussion titled Navigating Film Finance in a Changing World that aims to offer insights on global financing and market trends in 2023 and beyond. The panelists will include Elisa Alvares, finance expert at Jacaranda Consultants; Rikke Ennis, CEO of REinvent Studios; Emilie Georges, co-founder and CEO of Paradise City; Mike Goodridge, U.K. producer at Good Chaos who is also presenting Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero” in the festival’s official competition; with film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell moderating.
The event will also include an invitation-only session where VIP private investors will listen to pitches of nine new global film projects at the investment stage. The...
The Cannes Film Market has launched Cannes Investors Circle, which will commence with a keynote introduction by Liesl Copland, Participant’s executive VP, content and platform strategy, who will offer her perspective on the modern media landscape. The initiative will also feature a panel discussion titled Navigating Film Finance in a Changing World that aims to offer insights on global financing and market trends in 2023 and beyond. The panelists will include Elisa Alvares, finance expert at Jacaranda Consultants; Rikke Ennis, CEO of REinvent Studios; Emilie Georges, co-founder and CEO of Paradise City; Mike Goodridge, U.K. producer at Good Chaos who is also presenting Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero” in the festival’s official competition; with film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell moderating.
The event will also include an invitation-only session where VIP private investors will listen to pitches of nine new global film projects at the investment stage. The...
- 5/9/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film has unveiled a new exclusive event, bannered the Cannes Investors Circle, aimed at connecting high-caliber, global feature film projects with private investors.
Unfolding May 21 at the market’s new Plage de Palmes beachfront venue, the afternoon event will present nine in-development projects with international potential to a select group of no-more than 50 private investors.
Details of the projects are under wraps, but the market has revealed they are budgeted at up to $13 million (12 million euros) and involve producers and directors who have previously won the Cannes Palme d’Or or Berlin’s Golden Bear.
Participant Executive Vice President, Content and Platform Strategy Liesl Copland, will kick off the meeting with a keynote fireside conversation, offering her unique perspective on the modern media landscape, which will be open to all market badge-holders.
The entertainment industry veteran took up her newly-created role at...
Unfolding May 21 at the market’s new Plage de Palmes beachfront venue, the afternoon event will present nine in-development projects with international potential to a select group of no-more than 50 private investors.
Details of the projects are under wraps, but the market has revealed they are budgeted at up to $13 million (12 million euros) and involve producers and directors who have previously won the Cannes Palme d’Or or Berlin’s Golden Bear.
Participant Executive Vice President, Content and Platform Strategy Liesl Copland, will kick off the meeting with a keynote fireside conversation, offering her unique perspective on the modern media landscape, which will be open to all market badge-holders.
The entertainment industry veteran took up her newly-created role at...
- 5/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
First Look
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has released a first look image of its new comedy series, “Big Mood” (working title), produced by Fremantle‘s Dancing Ledge Productions. The six-part series explores the intricacies of female friendship when confronted with the complexities of serious mental illness.
Starring in the show are Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West. Joining the ensemble cast are Niamh Cusack, Eamon Farren, Luke Fetherston, Kate Fleetwood, Rob Gilbert, Rebecca Lowman, Sally Phillips, Ukweli Roach, and Amalia Vitale. The cast also includes Olu Adaeze, Max Bennett, Skylar Betteridge, David Bedella, Tim Downie, Ron Donachie, Sarah Durham, Lara Grace Ilori, Neil Edmond, Amy Gledhill, Maddie Grace Jepson, Tom Rhys Harries, Layla-Belle Matthews, Simon Meacock, David Mumeni, David Newman, Freya Parker, Shuna Snow, Sid Sagar, Stephen Sobal, Lottie Tolhurst, Isobel Thom and Robin Weaver.
Joanna Page, best known for her roles in “Love Actually” and “Gavin and Stacey,” will make a guest appearance,...
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has released a first look image of its new comedy series, “Big Mood” (working title), produced by Fremantle‘s Dancing Ledge Productions. The six-part series explores the intricacies of female friendship when confronted with the complexities of serious mental illness.
Starring in the show are Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West. Joining the ensemble cast are Niamh Cusack, Eamon Farren, Luke Fetherston, Kate Fleetwood, Rob Gilbert, Rebecca Lowman, Sally Phillips, Ukweli Roach, and Amalia Vitale. The cast also includes Olu Adaeze, Max Bennett, Skylar Betteridge, David Bedella, Tim Downie, Ron Donachie, Sarah Durham, Lara Grace Ilori, Neil Edmond, Amy Gledhill, Maddie Grace Jepson, Tom Rhys Harries, Layla-Belle Matthews, Simon Meacock, David Mumeni, David Newman, Freya Parker, Shuna Snow, Sid Sagar, Stephen Sobal, Lottie Tolhurst, Isobel Thom and Robin Weaver.
Joanna Page, best known for her roles in “Love Actually” and “Gavin and Stacey,” will make a guest appearance,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Titles include Ken Loach’s ‘The Old Oak’ and Molly Manning Walker’s ‘How To Have Sex’.
The Cannes Film Festival will have a strong UK presence in 2023, with directors Ken Loach, Molly Manning Walker, Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer all heading to the Croisette, plus a peppering of heavyweight UK-produced titles in Official Selection. It follows the 2022 Competition in which no films by UK directors made the cut.
Two-time Palme d’Or winner Loach is in competition, as expected, with The Old Oak. Loach’s 15th film at the French festival focuses on the arrival of Syrian refugees to a once thriving,...
The Cannes Film Festival will have a strong UK presence in 2023, with directors Ken Loach, Molly Manning Walker, Steve McQueen and Jonathan Glazer all heading to the Croisette, plus a peppering of heavyweight UK-produced titles in Official Selection. It follows the 2022 Competition in which no films by UK directors made the cut.
Two-time Palme d’Or winner Loach is in competition, as expected, with The Old Oak. Loach’s 15th film at the French festival focuses on the arrival of Syrian refugees to a once thriving,...
- 4/13/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Oscar nominated-pic “Triangle of Sadness” gives viewers a glimpse into the lives of the super-rich but one of the companies behind the film appears to be less fortunate when it comes to money matters.
Triangle of Sadness Limited, an Spv set up in the U.K. by the film’s producers Philippe Bober and Mike Goodridge to manage the U.K. financing of the film, is set to be liquidated following insolvency proceedings earlier this month.
According to documents filed at U.K. business registrar Companies House, a petition to shut down the company was filed with the London High Court by Hmrc, the British version of the Inland Revenue.
A source said that Hmrc took action because the company’s external accountancy firm, Shipleys, had fallen behind on filing its Vat returns. Triangle of Sadness Limited is also 18 months late in filing separate Companies House accounts.
Triangle of Sadness...
Triangle of Sadness Limited, an Spv set up in the U.K. by the film’s producers Philippe Bober and Mike Goodridge to manage the U.K. financing of the film, is set to be liquidated following insolvency proceedings earlier this month.
According to documents filed at U.K. business registrar Companies House, a petition to shut down the company was filed with the London High Court by Hmrc, the British version of the Inland Revenue.
A source said that Hmrc took action because the company’s external accountancy firm, Shipleys, had fallen behind on filing its Vat returns. Triangle of Sadness Limited is also 18 months late in filing separate Companies House accounts.
Triangle of Sadness...
- 3/29/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Charades has boarded “Northern Comfort,” an Icelandic black comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (“Under the Tree”) which is world premiering at SXSW.
The well-established sales company has unveiled an exclusive clip for the film ahead of its world premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section.
“Northern Comfort” follows a bunch of phobic flyers, including a middle-aged property developer, a couple of twenty-something influencers and a former Sas-serviceman turned crime-novelist in his 60’s. Seeking to overcome their fear of flying, they embark on a high-end therapeutic course on a flight whose final destination is Iceland. But the experience ends up being a complete nightmare. When the group finally steps onto solid ground, their anxiety levels are off the charts and the idea of taking a flight back home to London becomes an unbearable prospect. As their intended flight is repeatedly delayed, they end up in a remote luxury ‘wellness’ hotel somewhere in the bleak,...
The well-established sales company has unveiled an exclusive clip for the film ahead of its world premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section.
“Northern Comfort” follows a bunch of phobic flyers, including a middle-aged property developer, a couple of twenty-something influencers and a former Sas-serviceman turned crime-novelist in his 60’s. Seeking to overcome their fear of flying, they embark on a high-end therapeutic course on a flight whose final destination is Iceland. But the experience ends up being a complete nightmare. When the group finally steps onto solid ground, their anxiety levels are off the charts and the idea of taking a flight back home to London becomes an unbearable prospect. As their intended flight is repeatedly delayed, they end up in a remote luxury ‘wellness’ hotel somewhere in the bleak,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Film also stars Mathieu Demy, Elsa Zylberstein and Sidse Babett Knudsen.
Coproduction Office has added members to Club Zero with multiple buyers snapping up Jessica Hausner’s psychological drama at the EFM.
The ensemble film set at an elite boarding school sold to Bac Films in France, Klockworx in Japan, Academy Two in Italy, Karma in Spain, September Films in Benelux, Camera in Denmark, Praesens Film in Switzerland, Bio Paradis in Iceland, Alambique in Portugal, Ama Films in Greece, New Horizons in Poland, Vertigo in Hungary, Independenta in Romania, Filmstop Inspiration in the Baltic countries and Front Row in the Middle East.
Coproduction Office has added members to Club Zero with multiple buyers snapping up Jessica Hausner’s psychological drama at the EFM.
The ensemble film set at an elite boarding school sold to Bac Films in France, Klockworx in Japan, Academy Two in Italy, Karma in Spain, September Films in Benelux, Camera in Denmark, Praesens Film in Switzerland, Bio Paradis in Iceland, Alambique in Portugal, Ama Films in Greece, New Horizons in Poland, Vertigo in Hungary, Independenta in Romania, Filmstop Inspiration in the Baltic countries and Front Row in the Middle East.
- 2/28/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Lionsgate is teaming up with Stage 6 Films, Subzero Film Entertainment, and Good Chaos to give the World War II action movie Sisu, a Finnish production, a theatrical release in the United States on April 28th – and with that date just a couple months away, a trailer for Sisu has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.
Written and directed by Jalmari Helander, who previously brought us the 2010 fantasy horror film Rare Exports and the 2014 Samuel L. Jackson action movie Big Game, Sisu has the following synopsis: During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector (Jorma Tommila) crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means:...
Written and directed by Jalmari Helander, who previously brought us the 2010 fantasy horror film Rare Exports and the 2014 Samuel L. Jackson action movie Big Game, Sisu has the following synopsis: During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector (Jorma Tommila) crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means:...
- 2/22/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
“Parsing the difference between movies, TV and streamers – it’s becoming really difficult.”
Producers should make the most of collapsing boundaries between feature film and television content, according to Killer Films producer Christine Vachon, speaking today (February 18) in Berlin.
Speaking on a European Film Market industry sessions talk titled ‘Producers Embracing New Horizons’, Vachon said, “To start parsing the difference between movies, TV and streamers – it’s becoming really difficult. I don’t know what makes something television anymore.”
Vachon has produced two films at this year’s Berlinale – Rebecca Miller’s opening title She Came To Me, and Celine Song...
Producers should make the most of collapsing boundaries between feature film and television content, according to Killer Films producer Christine Vachon, speaking today (February 18) in Berlin.
Speaking on a European Film Market industry sessions talk titled ‘Producers Embracing New Horizons’, Vachon said, “To start parsing the difference between movies, TV and streamers – it’s becoming really difficult. I don’t know what makes something television anymore.”
Vachon has produced two films at this year’s Berlinale – Rebecca Miller’s opening title She Came To Me, and Celine Song...
- 2/18/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Scripts to be showcased to industry guests on February 23.
Bafta has selected three winners of the Rocliffe New Writing Competition for film, the platform for aspiring screenwriters looking to take their career to the next level.
Florence Hyde, Paddy Browne and Ben Hyland have been selected from more than 400 entries for the showcase, which runs twice a year.
Their scripts will be showcased online to Bafta’s industry guests on February 23, with an extract from each script performed by actors. They will then receive feedback from guests including Rose Garnett, former BBC Film director who is now working at A24 Films; Andrew Orr,...
Bafta has selected three winners of the Rocliffe New Writing Competition for film, the platform for aspiring screenwriters looking to take their career to the next level.
Florence Hyde, Paddy Browne and Ben Hyland have been selected from more than 400 entries for the showcase, which runs twice a year.
Their scripts will be showcased online to Bafta’s industry guests on February 23, with an extract from each script performed by actors. They will then receive feedback from guests including Rose Garnett, former BBC Film director who is now working at A24 Films; Andrew Orr,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Wild Bunch International (Wbi) has boarded sales on buzzy Portuguese director, artist and producer Gabriel Abrantes’ upcoming English-language feature Amelia’s Children.
The film is among half a dozen new titles being launched by Wbi at the EFM, alongside a raft of previously announced upcoming films, including Cannes hopefuls such as Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Monster.
The company is also handling Berlinale Competition selections, Philippe Garrel’s The Plough and Makoto Shinkai’s hotly awaited anime Suzume, and the Panorama title Heroic, which world premiered at Sundance.
Abrante’s psychological thriller Amelia’s Children is his solo feature debut and his first feature since his 2018 Cannes Critics’ Week winner Diamantino (co-directed with Daniel Schmidt).
The film reunites him with its star Carloto Cotta. Other key cast members are Brigette Lundy-Paine (Atypical) and Alba Baptiste (Warrior Nun).
Cotta plays a man whose search for his biological family leads him and his...
The film is among half a dozen new titles being launched by Wbi at the EFM, alongside a raft of previously announced upcoming films, including Cannes hopefuls such as Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Monster.
The company is also handling Berlinale Competition selections, Philippe Garrel’s The Plough and Makoto Shinkai’s hotly awaited anime Suzume, and the Panorama title Heroic, which world premiered at Sundance.
Abrante’s psychological thriller Amelia’s Children is his solo feature debut and his first feature since his 2018 Cannes Critics’ Week winner Diamantino (co-directed with Daniel Schmidt).
The film reunites him with its star Carloto Cotta. Other key cast members are Brigette Lundy-Paine (Atypical) and Alba Baptiste (Warrior Nun).
Cotta plays a man whose search for his biological family leads him and his...
- 2/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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