Berlin’s European Film Market Publishes Stats For Virtual 2022 Edition

The Sparks Brothers has won Best Music Film at the BandLab NME Awards 2022.The Edgar Wright-directed documentary about the band Sparks beat out Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, Oasis Knebworth 1996 and Questlove’s Summer Of Soul for the win.“We’re so honoured to be given the finger by NME,” Russel Mael said while accepting the award remotely. “Thanks to the great director Edgar Wright and the whole team who made this wonderful film,” he added.His brother Ron Mael, also shared his “thank you”, noting that he was “deeply appreciative of this award” before throwing up a celebratory middle finger.

Last Night In Soho, the nostalgic sinister feature from director Edgar Wright, has won Best Film at the BandLab NME Awards 2022.The film beat out Licorice Pizza, Promising Young Woman, Sound Of Metal, and The Harder They Fall for the award.Ahead of presenting the award, Stath Lets Flats star and creator Jamie Demetriou said: “I’m incredibly hammered from all the rock music!”He added: “When we think of film, we think of storytelling. When I think of film, I think of the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”“Thank you so much, this is such a nice surprise,” director Edgar Wright said on the podium while collecting the award alongside the film’s star Michael Ajao.

Naman Ramachandran The European Film Academy (EFA) has issued an unequivocal condemnation of President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and excluded Russia from the European Film Awards.In a statement released on Tuesday, the EFA said: “The Academy strongly condemns the war started by Russia – Ukraine’s sovereignty and territory must be respected. Putin’s actions are atrocious and totally unacceptable, and we strongly condemn them.”“What concerns us most is the fate of the Ukrainians, and our hearts are with the Ukrainian filmmaking community. We are fully aware that several of our members are fighting with arms against the aggressor.

The European Film Academy (EFA) has joined growing calls in the international cinema community for a boycott of Russian films.

Naman Ramachandran The European Film Academy (EFA) has issued an unequivocal condemnation of President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine after Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa expressed his dissatisfaction with their earlier statement and resigned his EFA membership.On Feb. 24, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the EFA had issued a statement pledging their support to the Ukrainian filmmaking community.

Naman Ramachandran The European Film Academy has pledged support to its members in Ukraine and is looking for practical ways to help them. “We need to immediately move beyond ‘thoughts and prayers’ and start to concentrate on what practical help can be given to our membership and community,” European Film Academy chair and board member of the International Coalition for Film makers at Risk, Mike Downey, told Variety.

The European Film Academy (EFA) has contacted its members in Ukraine pledging support amidst today’s assault on the country by Russian forces.

The Hong Kong Film Festival has been forced to alter plans for its 46th edition due to a spike in local Covid cases caused by the Omicron variant.

The 22nd edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, due to be held March 12 – 22, is moving online in the face of enduring challenges first brought about by the pandemic.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentOnly six months after its 2021 edition, Series Mania will be back with a sprawling selection, including the world premieres of Michael Hirst’s “Billy The Kid” (pictured), the Israeli series “Fire Dance” and rap music-themed French show “Le monde de demain.”Underscoring the large presence of streamers within the roster, Series Mania will kick off with Netflix’s “Standing Up,” a new comedy series from “Call My Agent” creator and showrunner Fanny Herrero; while Disney Plus’ “Oussekine,” about a tragic case of police brutality in France, will close the festival.The lineup boasts 58 series spanning 21 countries. These were chosen from 331 series.

Gojira have rescheduled their upcoming UK and European tour due to COVID-19 restrictions.The French metal titans were supposed to hit the road last month, beginning in Helsinki, with stop-offs in Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, Budapest and other cities throughout January into February and March.However, they’ve announced that they will now kick off their European tour on July 5 in Brussels and conclude it in Milan on July 31 at Carroponte.The UK and Ireland leg of the tour, meanwhile, has moved to 2023 and will begin on February 11 in Dublin and conclude at London’s Alexandra Palace on February 22.Gojira will then play rescheduled shows in Bordeaux, Paris, Luxembourg and Lyon between February 24 and 28, 2023.“We cannot express how much we appreciate your continued patience and support while we worked through last month’s postponement,” the band said in a social media post.“Despite our best efforts to resume touring this month, the continued uncertainty in various territories has left us with no other choice but to reschedule the remaining dates of the tour as well.“In light of this unfortunate news we are pleased to share the rescheduled dates for the entire European Tour below.”A post shared by Gojira Official (@gojiraofficial)Original tickets for the tour – which sees support from special guests Alien Weaponry and Employed To Serve – remain valid.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentLoco Films, the Paris-based world sales and production company, has unveiled the trailer for Yulia Trofimova’s feature debut “The Land of Sasha” which is premiering today at the Berlinale, in the Generation 14plus strand.“The Land of Sahsa” tells the story of an indecisive 18-year-old struggling to pursue his desire to become a painter as his mother urges him to choose a safer career path. The sudden appearance of the boy’s estranged father complicates things further. But when Sasha has an unexpected encounter with an unusual girl called Zhenia, he realizes he has no choice but to finally grow up.“The Land of Sasha” was produced by Katerina Mikhaylova and Konstantin Fam for Moscow-based Vega Film.

Smilegate and Amazon Game Studios are working on “an entirely new region of servers in Europe” to accommodate demand for Lost Ark at launch, however many European players are leaving negative reviews on Steam to show their dissatisfaction with the current server state.Yesterday (February 13), Smilegate announced via a blog that it is “working as quickly as possible to set up an entirely new region of servers in Europe.”According to Smilegate, this is a joint expansion between itself and publisher Amazon Game Studios, and it’s “the only way to accommodate more players in Europe.”At the moment, the demand for Lost Ark in Europe is causing players in that region to suffer from lengthy queue times. Many of these players are leaving negative reviews on Steam, with some reviews stating queue times in Europe can be upwards of four hours.“While we understand lengthy queue times may persist, we will need time to ensure everything is set up to be in top shape to help accommodate all players to get in game.

European Film Market has felt lopsided.Sony’s $60 million deal for Tom Hanks’ “A Man Called Otto,” an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestselling Swedish-language novel “A Man Called Ove” — which was made into an Oscar-nominated  Swedish feature — that grabbed headlines early on (Variety understands it boiled down to a bidding war between the studio and Apple), but hasn’t necessarily spawned the usual flurry of deals from Berlin halfway through the festival.One buyer from a major U.K. distributor says the EFM vibe has felt “muted” for a company of its size, with an absence of broad-appeal product available once “Otto” was snapped up by Sony.

Tim Dams One of the highlights of the Berlinale Series Market is the pitch event Co-Pro Series, which looks to match projects with suitable co-producers and financiers.Ten international series projects from Europe, Canada and Latin America have been selected to pitch at this year’s Co-Pro Series, where they will also have the opportunity of meeting one-on-one with potential partners.Taking place over two days (Feb. 15-16), and held online once again due to the pandemic, Co-Pro Series has a track record of showcasing drama projects that have not only gone on to be produced, but that have also achieved success.International hit “Babylon Berlin,” Austrian-German crime series “Freud,” Norwegian-German domestic terrorism drama “Furia,” Icelandic thriller “Blackport” and 1920s-set German drama “Eldorado KaDeWe” have all participated in previous Co-Pro Series pitches.

Afternoon International Insiders. The team is in Berlin and EFM is hotting up. We’ve got the latest from Germany and more so read on.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCannes’ Marché du Film, the world’s biggest film market, is set to change leadership in 2023 with its long-time, charismatic executive director Jerome Paillard due to exit after this year’s edition. Guillaume Esmiol has been named co-executive director for this edition and will fully take over in 2023. Esmiol joined the Marché du Film in 2020 to spearhead the development.

Alissa Simon Film CriticVeteran Swedish documentary maker Magnus Gertten’s “Nelly & Nadine,” a love story that begins in the hell of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, world-premieres in Berlin. Rise and Shine World Sales reps this Panorama title“Nelly & Nadine” is the third film you have made inspired by archival footage showing survivors from German concentration camps arriving in Malmö, Sweden. What motivated you to start this project?  It all started out of curiosity.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAlmost two years since “Parasite” won a handful of Oscars, the impact of COVID has meant that the Korean theatrical sector has been largely unable to capitalize on the trickle-down effect of those wins. Its current malaise stands in contrast to the pandemic windfalls enjoyed by other parts of the Korean entertainment biz — think BTS, Blackpink, “Squid Game” and the latest streaming phenomenon “All of Us Are Dead.”The current year potentially holds great things for Korean film, with nearly all of the country’s top-name directors having completed works, but the prospect remains tantalizingly out of reach.And the longer the hard times continue, the less likely a return to the old normal becomes.