Beta Cinema Sells Swedish Box Office Hit ‘Hammarskjold – Fight for Peace,’ Starring Mikael Persbrandt, Across Europe (EXCLUSIVE)

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been banned from football for four years after doping.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent European giant Beta Film, known for ambitious titles such as “Babylon Berlin” and “The Swarm,” has shared with Variety in exclusivity a first-look picture of 1o-part series “Rise of the Raven,” which it hails as “one of the most epic European TV productions of all time.” “Rise of the Raven” weighs in as a passion project of Hungarian-born and Canada-based producer Robert Lantos, behind “Sunshine,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Barney’s Version,” “Eastern Promises” and “Crimes of the Future.” A highlight at Beta Film’s showcase this Tuesday at the London TV Screenings, “Rise of the Raven” turns on the extraordinary feat of Hungarian army commander Janos Hunyadi, played by discovery Gellért L. Kádár, who in 1456 won a bloody, brutal Battle of Belgrade against a vast Ottoman force twice the size of his troops who were often farm labourers armed with just slings and patriotic fervor. Hunyadi largely halted a full Ottoman expansion in Europe for the next 70 years, allowing its Renaissance to lift off in Italy.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Underscoring the enduring popularity of crime drama, Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, has announced a slew of sales on two titles, led by Showmax Original “Catch Me a Killer,” a true crime drama with “Game of Thrones’” Charlotte Hope playing South Africa’s first and most famous serial killer profiler. Hope also headed “The Spanish Princess,” as Catherine of Aragon. AMR has moreover closed further deals on fiction drama “Scrublands,” a scripted drama about the real reasons for a country town massacre.

Alex Ritman “La Cocina,” the Rooney Mara-starring drama that recently bowed in competition at the Berlinale, has been acquired for most international territories. HanWay Films has closed sales for France (Originals Factory), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Spain (Avalon), Italy (Teodora Film), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Scandinavia (Mis.

Refresh for latest…: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love continued to sing sweet tunes in its sophomore session, adding $15M from 59 international box office markets for a drop of 37% from its above-expectations stellar opening. The overseas cume is now $49.4M for $120.6M worldwide.

Naman Ramachandran Kumar Shahani, one of the pioneers of India’s arthouse parallel cinema movement, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Feb. 24 after a period of illness. He was 83.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Hong Kong director Ray Yeung ‘s “All Shall Be Well” has sold in several key markets following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Represented in international markets by Films Boutique, “All Shall Be Well” is playing in the Panorama section at the Berlinale and is eligible for the Teddy Award.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Black Tea,” Abderrahmane Sissako‘s lushly lensed romance drama set in China, has been bought by major distributors in key territories ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. Gaumont, which co-produced the film, has sold it to Caramel (Spain), Academy two (Italy), Pandora Films (Germany, Austria), Cineart (Benelux), Films4you (Portugal), Provzglyad (CIS), Mozinet (Hungary), Another World Entertainment (Norway), Film Bazar (Denmark), MCF Megacom (Former Yugoslavia, Albania), Filmstop (Latvia, Estonia), MB Taip Toliau (Lithuania), Imovision (Brazil), AV Jet (Taiwan), Falcon (Indonesia), Pathé BC (Sub-Saharan Africa, Maghreb) and New Cinema (Israel).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Berlin Film Festival hosted the 10 young European actors selected for the Shooting Stars program, run by European Film Promotion, at a gala event Monday. The presentation of the Shooting Stars took place prior to the screening of Claire Burger’s “Langue Étrangère,” which plays in competition.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) has launched a new film fund called Big Time Investment to boost production of quality Arabic movies and announced a slate of Egyptian feature films toplined by a biopic of Egyptian icon Umm Kulthum who is considered the Arab world’s greatest singer. Prominent Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, whose epic “Kira and El Gen” about local resistance to British occupation, is recent hit, will direct the film titled “El Set.” Egyptian star Mona Zaki will play Kulthum who from the late 1920s onwards became the first prominent Arab singer to disseminate her work to the masses via the new technologies of the times: radio, the phonograph, cinema and television.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Playtime has had a busy EFM, where it’s locked a raft of major deals on “The Devil’s Bath,” a period psychological thriller in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. “The Devil’s Bath” is directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the Austrian filmmaking duo behind “Goodnight Mommy.” Set in rural Austria in 1750, “The Devil’s Bath” stars Anja Plaschg, the up-and-coming singer and composer known as Soap & Skin. Plaschg plays Agnes, a young married woman who feels oppressed in her husband’s world, which is devoid of emotions and limited to chores and expectations.

Refresh for latest…: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love brought folks together around the world in its opening frame, singing up a sweet estimated $80M global bow. After coming on strong in early overseas play this week, and as audiences turned a deaf ear to critics, the international box office portion of that is $29M, landing well ahead of expectations.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Focus Features has bought international rights to Brady Corbet‘s “The Brutalist,” starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce and Joe Alwyn, Variety has learned. Corbet, who sits on the Berlinale jury, penned the film with Mona Fastvold (“The World to Come”), a Swedish filmmaker who is also his wife. The film charts 30 years in the lives of visionary architect László Toth and his wife, Erzsébet, who flee post-war Europe in 1947 and witness the birth of modern America.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Highland Film Group has locked key territory deals for sci-fi thriller “The Astronaut” from “A Quiet Place” producer Brad Fuller Pic stars Kate Mara (“A Teacher”), Laurence Fishburne (“John Wick” films) and Gabriel Luna (“Terminator: Dark Fate”). The film wrapped shooting late last year in Ireland. “The Astronaut” has sold to Signature Entertainment for the U.K., Capelight Pictures for Germany, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, DeAPlaneta for Spain, Spentzos Film for Greece, Cinemania Group for former Yugoslavia, Shoval Film Production for Israel, Falcon Films for the Middle East, Filmfinity for South Africa and Roadshow Films for Australia and New Zealand.

Holly Jones Buenos Aires-based sales outfit FilmSharks has closed major territories on dark comedy “Lobo Feroz,” from director Gustavo Hernández (“La Casa Muda”), and on “The Forgotten Killings,” the latest from Ines Paris (“Miguel and William”). Produced by Uruguay’s Mother Superior and Spains’ Bowfinger Intl. Pictures, “Lobo Feroz” is a remake of Israeli film “Big Bad Wolves” from Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy — which is the Country of Focus at this year’s European Film Market in Berlin — is flourishing in terms of production activity just as its box office grosses start to pick up. Yet there’s room for improvement in terms of the number of titles that are able to break out internationally. The Cinema Italiano output currently stands at over 350 movies a year, including co-productions, which is up compared with pre-pandemic levels.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent A new film industry superclass is emerging in Spain: movies powered or co-backed by its streaming giants. Perhaps the biggest example, Netflix Spain’s Andes flight disaster “Society of the Snow,” scored two Academy Award nominations last month. Now, in the run-up to Berlin, London-based Film Constellation has acquired most world sales rights to “The Captive,” from Oscar winner Alejandro Amenábar (“The Sea Inside”) and Mod Producciones, a $15 million period adventure epic on the literary makings of “Quixote”author Miguel de Cervantes, held to ransom in a Moorish corsair jail.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Upscale crossover sales agent Latido Films has acquired international sales rights to “Re-creation,” directed by legendary Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan, whose “In the Name of the Father” won a Berlin Golden Bear in 1994. Starring Vicky Krieps, a Cannes’ Un Certain Regard winner for “Corsage,” the docu-drama is co-written and co-directed by Irish artist and filmmaker David Merriman (“Rock Against Homelessness”). It will be unveiled to buyers at the European Film Market.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content has closed major deals on “Niki,” a biopic of French-American artist Niki de Saint-Phalle. “Niki” marks the feature debut of popular French actor Céline Sallette and stars Charlotte Le Bon (“The Walk” “Saint-Laurent”) as de Saint-Phalle. Pulsar closed deals with Neue Visionen (Germany), Movies Inspired (Italy), Paradiso (Benelux), Praessens (Switzerland), Vercine (Spain), Magic Films (CIS), Best Films (Baltics), Shaw (Singapour), Sky Digi (Taiwan) and Immovision (Brazil).

Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love had offshore audiences getting together and feeling more than alright in Wednesday international box office play. Beginning overseas release yesterday, the Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed biopic grossed $4.9M across 10 markets, several of them giving the story of the reggae icon No. 1 status and the biggest or second-biggest launch day ever for a music biopic — in Jamaica, it scored the biggest opening day of all time.