Berlin’s EFM Boss Reveals Size Of U.S. & Asia Contingents, Talks Growing Importance Of TV

NCT Dream have announced US and Europe dates for their ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ world tour, and added new shows in Asia – find the full list of dates below.On Wednesday (February 15) the NCT sub-unit unveiled a poster revealing a fresh slate of tour dates alongside shows that had already been announced. The world tour will touch down in 22 cities with 32 performances, the group later confirmed on Twitter.NCT Dream kicked off their ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ tour in Japan last year.

Naman Ramachandran Chris O’Dowd (“Puffin Rock”), Amy Huberman (“Derry Girls”), Beth McCafferty and Eva Whittaker (“Wolfwalkers”) lead the voice cast of “Puffin Rock and the New Friends,” the film based on the TV series “Puffin Rock.” Following their collaboration on Oscar nominees “Song of the Sea” and “The Breadwinner,” WestEnd Films is teaming again with Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and Northern Ireland’s Dog Ears on the film and is launching sales at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM), where first footage will be shown to buyers. “Puffin Rock and the New Friends” sees Oona, Baba, May and Mossy joined by a new characters Isabelle, Phoenix and Marvin. When the last Little Egg of the season disappears under mysterious circumstances, Oona and her new friends race against time to bring the Little Egg home before a big storm hits Puffin Rock and puts the entire island in danger.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter The European Film Market kicks off Feb. 16 with a wide assortment of films from sellers around the world. Below is a healthy selection of what’s on offer for buyers. Director: Alex Winter Key cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad, Anthony Carrigan Synopsis: A sister and brother, Megan and Nathan are barely hanging on and their lives are completely upended when they discover a dead body, long buried in their parent’s basement, sending them down a rabbit hole of crime and murder. Producers: Alex Winter, Scott Kroopf, Russell Hollander Sales: Rocket Science (international); CAA Media Finance (domestic)  Director: Jess Varley  Key cast: Emma Roberts, Laurence Fishburne  Producers: Brad Fuller, Eric B. Fleischman, Cameron Fuller  Synopsis: When astronaut Sam Walker (Roberts) returns from her first space mission, she’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General William Harris (Fishburne) arranges for her to be placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth. Sales: Highland Film Group (international); CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group (domestic) 

EXCLUSIVE: Kiefer Sutherland (24) is set to star in action-thriller The Winter Kills from director John Stalberg, Jr. (Crypto).  

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Actor-director Marco D’Amore, who played the ruthless central character Ciro Di Marzio on the Italian mob show “Gomorrah,” is directing “Caracas” a Naples-set drama in which he stars opposite Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty,” “Strangeness”). “Caracas” is a co-production between Picomedia, Mad Entertainment and Vision Distribution, which will release the film in Italy. Vision Distribution’s international unit, headed by veteran sales agent Catia Rossi, is launching sales on the film at Berlin’s upcoming European Film Market. In “Caracas,” which is based on writer Ermanno Rea’s novel “Napoli Ferroviaria,” Servillo plays Giordano Fonte, a Neapolitan author of international fame who returns to his hometown after many years. There he intersects with a former acquaintance nicknamed Caracas, a man originally from Venezuela who, having been a Neo-fascist skinhead, is now in the process of converting to Islam.

Christopher Vourlias The European Film Market (EFM) is hosting a day-long event on diversity, equity and inclusion on Feb. 16, bringing together a host of industry stakeholders in an effort to set the agenda for better representation — both on and off screen — in Europe’s film and television industries. The Equity and Inclusion Pathways Seminar will bring together roughly 100 industry professionals from 21 countries, representing both their respective media industries as well as regional and pan-European organizations and advocacy groups working toward greater diversity and inclusion. By bringing European decision-makers and advocacy bodies together at the same table, the organizers hope to introduce “sustainable, lasting change” to Europe’s screen industries by “bring[ing] about better policy-making, measures and initiatives regarding inclusion, equity and accessibility,” according to Faysal Omer, head of EFM Producers.

EXCLUSIVE: Australia-based Bronte Pictures has signed a sales deal with Archstone Entertainment for three new projects, which will be launched at this week’s EFM in Berlin.

EXCLUSIVE: Pirates Of The Caribbean and Carnival Row star Orlando Bloom is attached to play a boxer who comes out of retirement in psychological thriller The Cut, which The Exchange is launching ahead of the EFM in Berlin.

EXCLUSIVE: 12 Years A Slave and Brokeback Mountain outfit River Road Entertainment has joined Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd’s feature Unicorns as producer and financier.

EXCLUSIVE: Woody Allen’s latest film is heading to the EFM market in Berlin with WestEnd Films, we can reveal.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here. The Berlinale is nearly upon us and plenty has been going down in the film and TV world this week. Read on.

Liam Neeson is set to reteam with director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) on upcoming thriller The Riker’s Ghost, we can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: Athens-based audiovisual group Tanweer is expanding its business into world sales of local language content, kicking off with an augural slate at the EFM.

WestEnd Films has acquired world rights to Untitled Judo, a political thriller co-directed by Guy Nattiv (Skin, Golda) and actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Holy Spider).

EXCLUSIVE: German distributor-producer DCM, whose releases have included Spencer, Moonlight and The Artist, is teaming up with Berlin-based producer Flute Film on a film version of Édouard Louis’ acclaimed 2016 novel History Of Violence.

EXCLUSIVE: Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho is teaming with ZQ Entertainment to produce God’s Country — a new genre film starring Scream VI’s Melissa Barrera, which will mark the American directorial debut of Egor Abramenko (Sputnik).

Actor-turned-filmmaker Alex Winter (Showbiz Kids) has set the murder mystery The Adults, starring Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld), Josh Gad (Avenue 5) and Anthony Carrigan (Barry), as his next project behind the camera, with plans to also act in the pic.

Taipei-based international sales company Distribution Workshop will be selling Lunar New Year hit Hidden Blade, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Wong Ching-po’s highly-anticipated new film, The Pig, The Snake And The Pigeon, at the upcoming European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin. 

A “globetrotting” college boss racked up over twenty foreign trips before backing a redundancy scheme for staff.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here. It’s Oscar noms week, and we’d be rude not to bring you the latest headlines and analysis from the Academy and beyond. Read on.