EFM Issues ‘Call to Action’ for Diversity and Inclusion in Europe’s Screen Industries at Berlin (EXCLUSIVE)

BTS’ J-Hope is about to release his dream collaboration with his childhood idol.

Bill Murray and star Jeannie Berlin set foot on the red carpet of the 2023 SAG Awards holding hands.Murray and Berlin appeared quite close when they arrived together for Sunday's soiree at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The star wore a black tuxedo with a colorful bow tie, while Berlin sported an all-black suit and shades.Berlin, who portrayed Hadassah Fabelman in the Steven Spielberg film, was there for the film's nomination in the Best Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture category.

EXCLUSIVE: Following bidding wars in multiple territories, A24 has sold Past Lives, probably the year’s most critically acclaimed new film, to a raft of key territories.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Global indie streamer distributor and producer MUBI has acquired all rights in several key European territories to “Passages,” the erotic drama by Ira Sachs that bowed with a splash at Sundance and just had its European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Following the world premiere of “Passages” at Sundance MUBI last month snapped up all rights for the U.S., U.K., Ireland and Latin America to the U.S. indie darling director’s first film shot in France. Now MUBI has acquired additional European territories on “Passages” including for Germany, Austria, Italy, Turkey and Benelux. The Benelux pickup is in partnership with Belgium’s Imagine Film Distribution.

Naman Ramachandran Berlin’s just concluded European Film Market (EFM), which had a physical edition this year after two online editions in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic, has reported “record results” according to the organizers. There were 230 stands and 612 companies from 78 countries and more than 11,500 market participants from 132 countries. Some 773 films were shown in 1,533 screenings, including 647 online screenings and 599 market premieres. The total number of buyers also rose to 1,302. 629 film projects were presented on the new Producers & Project Pages. “After the past two irregular years, we’re pleased to return to the physical in full force, and with a vibrant, bustling and strong market. The exhibition areas at Gropius Bau and the Marriott Hotel were sold out, and the exhibitors reported strong sales and good business. The decision to group all the market happenings together with the Berlinale Series Market and the market screenings at Potsdamer Platz, and to provide the industry with an efficient infrastructure, was extremely well-received by our market participants,” said EFM director Dennis Ruh.

Prime Video has secured the return of Dave Bautista (Knock at the Cabin), Chloe Coleman (Avatar: The Way of Water), Kristen Schaal (What We Do in the Shadows), Ken Jeong (The Afterparty) and others for their My Spy sequel, My Spy: The Eternal City. Among the new additions to the ensemble in the second installment are Anna Faris (Mom), Craig Robinson (The Office) and Flula Borg (Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin).

Naman Ramachandran Classic cult film streamer Cultpix has struck a 31-film deal from three immensely popular franchises with Japan’s Kadokawa Daiei Studio at Berlin’s ongoing European Film Market (EFM). The deal includes 20 Zatoichi films, eight Gamera films and three Daimajin films. The deal is for the Nordic countries initially, but the aim is for wider distribution eventually. In addition, timed with Nikkatsu’s 50th anniversary of their “Roman Poruno” films, Cultpix rediscovered six previously virtually unknown Nikkatsu productions, shot in Sweden between 1971-1973, with everything Japanese apart from the actors and the locations. The screenwriter, director and behind-the-camera talent were all flown in from Japan. The films were to emulate the popular “Swedish sin” films of the time, as there was a market need for them in Japan.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K.’s MetFilm Sales has closed a raft of deals on Becky Hunter’s debut feature documentary “Fashioned Reimagined” at Berlin’s ongoing European Film Market (EFM). The film has sold to Sky (U.K, Germany, Italy) NonStop Entertainment (Scandinavia, Baltics), Avrotros (Netherlands), Flag Co. (Japan), LevelFilm (Canada), Spain (Movistar) and Israel (DBS). “Fashion Reimagined” follows fashion designer Amy Powney of cult label Mother of Pearl, who embarks on a three-year journey to create a sustainable clothing collection from field to finished garment, and transform her entire business. Raised off-the-grid in rural England by activist parents, Powney has always felt uneasy about the devastating environmental impact of her industry. When she wins the Vogue award for the Best Young Designer of the Year, Powney decides to use the prize money to create a sustainable collection and transform her entire business.

Liza Foreman Hot on the tail of a recent slew of pickups and sales, Paris-based sales-producer-distributor Alief has snapped up international rights to the West African folktale “Mami Wata.”   North America rights to the film are represented by Marissa Frobes at CAA Media Finance. Alief is presenting the film to buyers and festival programmers at this week’s European Film Market in Berlin. The first film from a Nigerian-based director to play (and win an award) at Sundance, this visually striking feature took home the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography for Brazilian DP Lílis Soares.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore and India-based Mumba Devi Motion Pictures is screening two films at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) and has unveiled a slate of future titles. The company, headed by producer Sweta Chhabria and producer-director Aditya Kripalani, makes issue-based films focusing on stories that are mostly to do with gender and burning topics like suicide prevention and mental health. The outfit makes it a point to minimize the male gaze by bringing on board heads of department who are all women. Kripalani and Chhabria’s just-completed Singapore-set film “Grand Sugar Daddy,” which has its market premiere at EFM on Feb. 18, follows a 70-year-old widower who is introduced to the world of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies. The film traces his conversations with a Singaporean Chinese woman, an Indian woman and a transgender Malay.

Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone & Kevin Connolly To Star In Dark Comedy ‘Krazy House’Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone, and Kevin Connolly have signed on to star in the dark comedy Krazy House from writer-directors Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil. Production on the pic has just been completed in Amsterdam. The cast is rounded out by Gaite Jansen, Walt Klink, Jan Bijvoet, Chris Peters, and Matti Stooker. Maarten Swart will produce the film for Kaap Holland Film, in a co-production with Haars and van der Kuil. Kaap Holland Film’s Jorn Baars and XYZ’s Todd Brown are executive producers. Splendid Films is handling distribution in the Benelux. XYZ has North American sales rights.

Christopher Vourlias In a day that was in turns hopeful, angry, determined and defiant, industry stakeholders set the stage Thursday in Berlin for a concerted, pan-European push to boost diversity, inclusion and representation in the continent’s screen industries.   The Equity and Inclusion Pathways Seminar, which took place Feb. 16 during the European Film Market, laid out an action plan that the day’s participants said would have a transformative impact on policy frameworks across Europe. “I think there’s an awakening,” said Victoria Thomas, of the Anti-Racism Taskforce for European Film (ARTEF). “We don’t have to explain to people anymore. There’s a general consensus that something needs to be done.”

EXCLUSIVE: The cast of thriller Rich Flu has been set with Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Star Wars: Ahsoka), Rafe Spall (The Big Short), Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Dixie Egerickx (The Secret Garden), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), Cesar Domboy (Outlander), Dayana Esebe (LA Star), and Richard Sammel (3 Days To Kill).

Naman Ramachandran India’s Clapstem Entertainment, led by director-producer Girish Malik and producer Amardeep S. Reen, has completed film “Band of Maharajas,” which is set for a market screening at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM). Malik’s directorial debut, ecological drama “Jal” (2013), was in Busan’s New Currents competition. His sophomore feature, refugee and sports themed “Torbaaz” (2020), headlined by Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, was a Netflix original film. His third film “Band of Maharajas” is the story of three clueless young folk musicians from a remote border village in India who undertake an unplanned and unusual journey to Pakistan that changes their lives and music. The film has the tagline “While countries divide us, music unites us.”

Christopher Vourlias When a rock festival held in Tallinn in the summer of 1988 was shut down by Soviet authorities, thousands of Estonians took to the streets, waving Estonian flags and singing patriotic songs in a bold show of defiance of Soviet rule. By the festival’s final night, some 200,000 people had joined what would later be dubbed the Singing Revolution, a catalyst for the non-violent movement that swept across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the early-‘90s and paved the way for independence. Even under Moscow’s thumb the Baltics demanded to be heard. For decades the three small nations have drawn on their historical, cultural and economic ties to create a sum that’s bigger than its parts, a collaborative spirit that’s also energized the countries’ growing screen industries, which will share the stage as joint Countries in Focus at this year’s European Film Market.

EXCLUSIVE: A hot package has just dropped late in the day at the EFM and has cooked up the first big deal on the ground in Berlin.

K.J. Yossman The Film and TV Charity’s latest report on health and wellbeing in the U.K. screen industry shows improvements are slowly taking place. The Looking Glass Report 2022, which is based on a survey of 2,000 screen industry professionals last year, was published on Thursday and shows 80% of respondents felt there had been a positive change in culture and behavior throughout the U.K. screen industry. According to the report, mental wellbeing scores also improved marginally, from 19.3 to 19.7 on the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (for context, the U.K, average is 23.6) while those reporting poor mental health dropped from 29% to 24%. Meanwhile reports of bullying, harassment, and discrimination dropped from 53% in 2021 to 46% in 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White is set to lead Feast Or Famine, a new feature-length documentary that will profile renowned East London restaurant Angelina and its relentless pursuit of the highest accolade in the culinary world — a Michelin Star.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International New sales agent and financier Architect has come on board to represent international sales on writer-director Laurel Parmet’s Sundance-premiering “The Starling Girl.” The film was acquired for North America by Bleecker Street in a deal negotiated by UTA and WME, and will release in cinemas later this year. Architect will launch international sales at this week’s European Film Market, which runs alongside the Berlin Film Festival. “The Starling Girl” premiered at Sundance to strong reviews, and will screen in the Festival Favourites section at SXSW next month. It stars Eliza Scanlen (“Sharp Objects”), Lewis Pullman (“Top Gun: Maverick”), Jimmi Simpson (“Westworld”), Wrenn Schmidt (“Nope)” and Austin Abrams (“Paper Towns|). The film is produced by Kevin Rowe and Kara Durrett.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Linking two top players on the Spanish TV scene, Barcelona studio Filmax has acquired international sales rights to Spanish comedy “Co-Husbands,” whose backers include Telecinco Cinema, producer of Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” and J.A. Bayona’s The Impossible.” Filmax will unveil a trailer to clients at this week’s Berlin European Film Market, before the film’s release in Spain on March 10.  The second feature from Lucia Alemany (“Innocence”), ”Co-Husbands” toplines “House of Flowers” star Paco León. In a gender flip set-up, it turns on Emilio and Tono who both receive phone calls that their wives are in comas after a ski-resort avalanche. At the hospital admissions desk, they make a startling discovery: their wives are, in fact, the same person … Laura. Forced to wait together until Laura regains consciousness, Emilio and Toni engage in a battle to prove who is her one and only true husband.