American Film Market Relocating To Las Vegas’ Palms Casino Resort

SeriesFest has set its lineup and it now includes the likes of New Amsterdam star Jocko Sims and creator David Schulner, All American’s Nkechi Okoro Carroll and Dr. Death creator Patrick Macmanus.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is set to celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with a retrospective featuring classic titles spawned by the Hollywood studio between the dawn of sound and the late 1950s. The Locarno retro, titled “The Lady With the Torch –– The Centenary of Columbia Pictures,” is being curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht, co-director of Italy’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, which is dedicated to cinematic treasures of the past and organized in partnership with Switzerland’s Cinémathèque Suisse.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Josh O’Connor is in talks to star in Luca Guadagnino’s new drama “Separate Rooms,” an adaptation of the eponymous novel by the late Italian writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli. The story follows an Italian writer named Leo who is mourning the loss of his boyfriend. O’Connor, who stars in Guadagnino’s upcoming tennis love triangle film “Challengers” alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist, is in advanced talks to play Leo in “Separate Rooms,” whose passionate romance with a shy German musician named Thomas is marked by different forms of separation.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paramount+ has boarded “Zorro” (working title), an adventure series starring Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of “The Artist,” as the iconic character of Diego de la Vega. Created by Benjamin Charbit (“Gagarine”) and Noé Debré (“Dheepan”), the anticipated show was bought by Paramount+ for France, the U.K., Italy, Germany and Latin America. In the eight-part series, Dujardin stars opposite well-known Italian comedian Salvatore Ficarra, and French actors, including Audrey Dana, André Dussollier, Eric Elmosnino and Grégory Gadebois.

Another day, another Boeing mishap… Another reason to pick a different plane??

Selome Hailu CBS and Paramount+ Australia have renewed “NCIS Sydney” for a second season. The series, which is the first international iteration of “NCIS,” debuted in November of 2023. It is the fifth series in the franchise, which includes the still-running “NCIS” and “NCIS: Hawai’i” along with “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “NCIS: New Orleans,” which have both concluded.

Lise Pedersen Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has unveiled the program for its 55th edition, which includes 10 first films out of 15 in the main international competition, cementing its reputation as a springboard for emerging talent. The official selection includes 165 films from 50 countries, with gender parity for the second-year running, and no fewer than 88 world premieres, making VdR the place to be in April on the international non-fiction film calendar.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Spinning audiences back to the mid-1970s, UFA Fiction‘s latest period series “Disko 76” is set in a pivotal time in the industrial heartland of West Germany as a new American pop music craze takes over the airwaves and dance floors. The six-part series, which premiered at the recent Berlinale Series Market, continues its international rollout at Series Mania in Lille before bowing on the RTL+ streaming platform on March 28 and on RTL Group channel Nitro on April 1. UFA Fiction quickly won over RTL+ with the idea from former UFA Fiction producer Benjamin Benedict of a family story set in the disco era, says fellow producer Sinah Swyter.

MGM Resorts International is addressing all of the reports that Bruno Mars owes them millions of dollars.

Thania Garcia MGM Resorts came to Bruno Mars‘ defense on Monday after rumors circulated about the Grammy winner’s debt with the casino. In the last week, a report from NewsNation made claims that Mars had racked up over $50 million in gambling debt at MGM. They cited an anonymous source close to the situation that said Mars allegedly made $90 million a year through his residencies at MGM but was using a large chunk of that profit to pay off his gambling debt.

Exhuma (Korean title: Pa-myo) has taken $67.8 million at the Korean box office, having notched more than 9.3 million admissions.

Studiocanal has announced a partnership with French production and sales company WTFilms (What The Films).

Naman Ramachandran Ken Kwek’s acclaimed Singaporean film “#LookAtMe” has secured North American distribution with Buffalo 8. The deal is exclusive for the North American territory and non-exclusive for the rest of the world. The film is a tragicomedy following the family of a teenage YouTuber who posts an irreverent video lampooning a megachurch pastor in defense of his gay twin brother.

Naman Ramachandran Zarrar Kahn‘s acclaimed psychological thriller film “In Flames” has unveiled a trailer ahead of its North American theatrical release. The film bowed at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2023 and played at several global festivals including Toronto, Pingyao and Red Sea, where it won the top prize. It was Pakistan‘s entry to the Oscars’ international category.

American Film Market is moving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The Independent Film & Television Alliance and its board of directors announced Friday that the AFM, its industry flagship event, will relocate to Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for its 45th edition, scheduled for Nov.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A year after announcing the ambitious project, The Philippines ABS-CBN is now in production on new series “The Bagman.” Filming began in Manila on Feb. 25. “The Bagman” is a spin-off from the original, locally-produced digital series “Bagman” that was aimed at the Filipino audience.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Tyla has canceled her upcoming North American tour, citing a longstanding injury that has worsened over time. The South African singer, who rose to prominence last year with her single “Water,” was scheduled to kick off her Tyla Tour on March 21 in Oslo, Norway, with eight international dates on the itinerary before she intended to swing back Stateside.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Bruno Dumont’s “The Empire,” a sci-fi satire starring Anamaria Vartolomei (“Happening”), Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!”), Lyna Khoudri (“The Three Musketeers”) and Fabrice Luchini. “The Empire” just world premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Jury Prize.

After a successful return as a physical event last year, Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart, March 11-14) is taking place again this year against a complicated backdrop, both in terms of market realities and the shifting geopolitics of the region. 

Diego Ramos Bechara editor The National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Netflix have announced the third cohort for their Women of Color Incubator — the finalists were chosen from a pool of over 100 applications. The 2023 class of filmmakers are Sonia Gonzalez (“Heartbreak in Another Tongue”), Michelle Salcedo (“Bye Bye Barbarito”), Jackie! Zhou (“Good Boy Banjo”), Lorena Duran (“Last Day Home”) and Fabiola Andrade (“Natural Selection”). Gonzalez is a Mexican-American writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles.