Danish Colonial Satire ‘Empire’ Wins Nordic Council Film Prize

John Cleese, the comedy veteran star of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, has made a surprising admission – that he once killed a man.

Paul Ridd, a long-term acquisitions exec at Picturehouse Cinemas, has been named director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF).

EXCLUSIVE: Wiip has snapped up rights to Adamtine, a horror graphic novel by award-winner Hannah Berry, to develop for film.

Christopher Vourlias Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal” won the Golden Alexander at the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival on Sunday, marking the first time in 30 years that a Greek film took home the top honors at the country’s longest-running film event. Exarchou’s sophomore feature, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was praised by Variety’s Jessica Kiang as “a poignant portrait of life amid the sequins and the seediness of a Greek resort.” The film follows a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort preparing for the busy tourist season who are forced to wrestle with the dark reality that the show must go on as the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent.

Marta Balaga India Donaldson picked up the Polish Film Institute Award for her upcoming feature “Good One” at the American Film Festival in Wrocław, coming with a $50,000 cash prize for post-production in Poland. “It’s an affirmation of how we have been working and what we have been working towards,” Los Angeles-based Donaldson told Variety after the ceremony. “Good One” – presented during AFF’s industry event U.S.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Toronto-based sales agent Syndicado Film Sales has acquired international rights to Zara Zerny’s feature debut “Echo of You” ahead of its world premiere at Amsterdam’s doc festival IDFA. Through candid, revealing interviews, “Echo of You” presents a group of Danish men and women, all aged 80 plus. With poignant openness and honesty, they share their thoughts on their life partnerships; lost loves who, one way or another, are no longer with them.

Annika Pham Danish IDFA winner Phie Ambo (“Family”) will be attending Amsterdam’s major doc showcase for the 8th time with “Fire, Water, Earth, Air,” bowing at the Forum Pitch alongside 20 other projects. Ahead of their industry pitch Nov.

Falkirk Council's director of Children's Services, Robert Naylor, has retired from his post after nearly 36 years in local government.

EXCLUSIVE: Lone Scherfig‘s The Shift has been renewed for a second season and distributor Beta Film has struck a deal for the first with North American streamer MHz Choice and Australia’s SBS. The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl, who led the first run, is returning as guest.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Casino Royale” Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan actor-director Faouzi Bensaïdi will be celebrated with career achievement awards at the upcoming 20th Marrakech International Film Festival that will run Nov. 24- Dec.

BreAnna Bell The drinks were flowing and the guests were energized with a renewed sense of promise as writers gathered to celebrate their Humanitas wins as well as a new deal with the AMPTP at the Humanitas Prizes Toast on Thursday night. Held almost one month after the WGA ratified its new contract officially ending the summer-long writers strike, this year’s event was moved from its usual hotel ballroom location to Hollywood nightclub Avalon, out of respect for the Local 11 Unite Here hotel workers who remain on strike for fair and livable wages — a cause that all in the room shouted their support for once announced on stage by co-MCs Lennon Parham and Jessica St.

Naman Ramachandran Bangladeshi filmmaker Nuhash Humayun’s “Pett Kata Shaw” won best international feature at the 31st Raindance Film Festival‘s jury awards. British documentary filmmaker Kit Vincent won best U.K.

Swedish director Ruben Östlund has been announced as a guest of honor at the 15th edition of France’s Les Arcs Film Festival, in the role of its Talent Village Ambassador.

Kino Lorber has launched a new subscription streaming outlet, Kino Film Collection.

EXCLUSIVE: James McAvoy (X-Men franchise), Lucas Bravo (Emily In Paris), Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale) and Almudena Amor (The Good Boss) have been set for thriller Turn Up The Sun! which has begun production in the UK under an Equity PACT agreement.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor International sales agency the Playmaker has signed a deal with Blue Finch Film Releasing to distribute the one-shot horror film “Home Sweet Home — Where Evil Lives” in the U.K. and Ireland. Thomas Sieben’s film, which made its world premiere in August at FrightFest in London, has its market premiere at AFM.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent 2023’s American Film Market may be shaping up for “a rather quiet year,” says Martin Moszkowicz, chairman of the executive board at Germany’s Constantin Film. That said, Moszkowicz will stay in Los Angeles for around 10 days. “We have so much business there – and much of it is not related directly to the market,” he says.

Just last month, “Star Wars” fans were treated to the news that Guillermo del Toro was working with Lucasfilm, at least at one point, on a couple of projects, including a solo film about the villainous Jabba the Hutt. Obviously, that was during a time where “Star Wars” was in a state of flux and Lucasfilm was desperately trying to figure out the way of the world under Disney’s ownership.

Miffy Englefield, the former child star of The Holiday, has got us in the mood for the annual viewing of The Holiday this festive season after recreating scenes from the film, and she's now a mother herself. At 24 years old, Miffy, who played Jude Law's daughter, Sophie, in the 2006 classic, is now a proud mom to a little girl named Frankie, born in April 2020. She recently excited her fans by embarking on a countryside home swap, just as in the iconic film, with the help of HomeExchange.com.

With “All The Light We Cannot See” hitting Netflix next week, Shawn Levy is making the press rounds to promote his miniseries. And that gives him a chance to talk about his upcoming projects, too, like “Deadpool 3” and the “Star Wars” project he has in development.