Emma Mackey Joins Vicky Krieps, Fiona Shaw in ‘Hot Milk,’ HanWay Films Selling in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Jonathan Glazer’s Nazi drama “The Zone of Interest” has sold into major international territories following its buzzy Cannes world premiere. The film centers on the family of a high-ranking SS official that lives next door to Auschwitz concentration camp. The pic has sold into: Austria and Germany (Leonine), Benelux (Cineart), France (BAC), Greece (Spentzos), Italy (I Wonder), Japan (Happinet Phantom Studios), Scandinavia (SF Studios), Spain (Elastica) and Switzerland (Filmcoopi). In Poland — a significant sales market for the film given it is set there — Gutek has come on board as distributor. (A24 was selling worldwide rights for the film, but did not handle the Polish sale.)

Nanni Moretti returns to the film-within-a-film format with a fitfully funny new comedy that, this time, offers two films-within-a-film (plus a surreal dream sequence). It is, frankly, a relief after 2021’s terrible, soapy melodrama Three Floors, and, at a crisp 96 minutes, so much easier to swallow. In some ways a companion piece to 2015’s Mia Madre, it finds the director putting all his neuroses back on show, pontificating on everything from movie violence to streaming platforms and why wearing slippers onscreen is a fashion no-no that can only be pulled off by Aretha Franklin in The Blues Brothers.

Spanish director Elena Martín Gimeno’s Creatura has won the Europa Cinemas prize as Best European Film at Directors’ Fortnight.

Lise Pedersen Moving towards a more equitable and accountable curation in film programming and selection processes, ethical representation in storytelling and the challenges posed by the lack of awareness and accountability was at the heart of a panel discussion at Cannes Docs, the Cannes Film Market event dedicated to documentary film, on May 20. Panelists included Egyptian director and producer Nada Riyadh, British-Chinese writer and director Paul Sng, Brazilian producer Yolanda Maria Barroso and Swedish producer Malin Hüber; it was moderated by the BFI’s Race Equality Lead Rico Johnson-Sinclair. Opening on a positive note, Riyadh said that, “as an Arab woman,” she welcomed the presence in the official selection at Cannes this year of docs by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (“Four Daughters,” main competition) and Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir (“The Mother of All Lies,” Un Certain Regard), even though “in the real world I still get asked whether I do docs or real films,” she added with a smile.

K.J. Yossman Barbara Neri’s LGBTQIA+ play about a woman who claims to be Tennessee Williams heroine Blanche DuBois is set to be adapted as a feature film, with sales launching at Cannes. Neri has partnered with Ango-American filmmaker Jaclyn Bethany’s BKE Productions for the adaptation. According to the logline, “Unlocking Desire” tells the story of “an institutionalized woman who claims to be Tennessee Williams’ iconic heroine Blanche DuBois and must unravel the tragic circumstances that brought her there.” Nancy Oswein (“Betrayed”) is on board to produce the feature, which is set to shoot on location in New Orleans and Detroit later this summer.

EXCLUSIVE: V Channels And Blairwood Entertainment have formed a partnership to present a slate of genres films collected under the title ‘V Channels Originals’ for world sales at the Cannes market, which ends this week.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days” is a hot property in Cannes, and it’s yet to even premiere. Several buyers are currently circling the Japan-set, music-infused title from master filmmaker Wenders, which bows in competition on Thursday. Sources tell Variety that interested parties so far include Utopia, MUBI, Magnolia, Sideshow and Janus Films and Sony Pictures Classics. Wenders’ “Perfect Days” follows Tokyo toilet cleaner Hirayama, who seems content with his simple life. Outside of his everyday routine, he enjoys his passion for books and, in particular, for music. Over the course of the film, a series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent CAA Media Finance has come on board to handle sales in North America on Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia,” the first film from Sudan to launch from the Cannes Film Festival. CAA will be working in tandem with Egypt-based producer Ali El Arabi’s Ambient Light Films, which holds North American rights for the timely drama that premiered on May 21 in Un Certain Regard. “Goodbye Julia” takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan. It revolves around two women, one from the north, the other from the south, that are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.

Christopher Vourlias A record number of African films are premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival — including two titles in the main competition and four more in Un Certain Regard — promising a robust turnout on the Croisette from a continent that doesn’t often find itself being feted on world cinema’s grandest stage. Perhaps a more noticeable shift, however, has been taking place in and around the Palais des Festivals, where participants at the Cannes Market are opening their arms — and their checkbooks — to an industry just beginning to realize its potential. Witness the delegation of international film financiers, including Creative Wealth Media’s Jason Cloth and Convergent Media Capital’s Michael Cleaver, gathered on a recent, rainy morning to talk shop at a full house at the Pavillon Afriques. Or check the scene at the Palais des Festivals nearby, where three representatives of the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) assembled at the Africa Pavilion (no relation) to discuss the bank’s billion-dollar fund for the cultural sector.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Flawless, XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions have acquired the Cannes Critics’ Week selection “Vincent Must Die” for all English-speaking territories from Goodfellas. Flawless, the pioneering film technology company and a leader in the field of visual translation, recently announced it has launched a partnership with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions to acquire rights to foreign-language films, converting them to English for distribution in relevant markets. Directed by Stéphan Castang, “Vincent Must Die” is written by Mathieu Naert, produced by Thierry Lounas and Claire Bonnefoy, and stars Karim Leklou and Vimala Pons. In the film, an ordinary man finds himself fighting for his life after he goes out one day and is mysteriously attacked by random strangers in the street with the intent to kill him.

Bre Tiesi is ready to welcome viewers into her world. ET's Brice Sander spoke with 's newest star, and she opened up about joining Netflix's hit reality series.«I think I feel pretty good,» she said ahead of the show's season 6 premiere. "… I live my life outwardly and proud.

Hong Sang-soo shows no signs of slowing down, does he? After two feature films a year for the past two years, the South Korean director will do it again in 2023, with his 30th film, “In Our Day,” ready to close the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25. Hong’s latest comes after “In Water” premiered at the Berlinale in February to universal acclaim.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Paris-based company Indie Sales has closed further sales on “Richard the Stork 2,” and expects to sell the last remaining territories during the Cannes Film Market. The film, also known as “Richard the Stork and the Mystery of the Great Jewel,” is a follow up to “Richard the Stork” (released in North America as “A Stork’s Journey”), which was widely distributed in 155 countries and grossed more than $20 million worldwide. Indie Sales, which sold Oscar nominee “My Life as a Zucchini” to more than 80 territories, is increasingly focusing on acquiring big budget animation.

Marta Balaga Cannes Blood Window Showcase is readying to send a shiver down Cannes’ spine, presenting eight upcoming films – in pre and post-production – on Friday. “Since 2014, our idea has always been to give greater visibility to the projects that have gone through Blood Window at Ventana Sur,” says the head of the program Javier. C. Fernández, calling the event “a celebration for the Latin American genre film community.” Presented titles will include “When Evil Lurks” by Demián Rugna, “Mitra, Turn off the Light to See” by Diego Bellochio, Diego Kartaszewicz’s “Buzzing,” Joseph Diaz’s “Bloody Mary,” “The Collector,” directed by Facundo Escudero Salinas and “Chuzalongo” by Diego Ortuño. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan,” “The Shrouds”) and Caterina Murino (“Casino Royal”) will show off their acting range in “The Opera!,” an €11 million film starring famed opera singers Mariam Battistelli andRame Lahaj. Pulsar Content is repping the hot project which is produced by Showlab and RAI Cinema, with Dolce&Gabbana on board to co-produce and design the costumes. “The Opera!” is based on a modern version of the famous Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and will be directed by longtime opera partners Davide Livermore and Paolo Gep Cucco who are the only ones to have presented the world premiere of La Scala four times in a row. The movie, teased by Pulsar at the Cannes Market, showcases different musical references spanning from opera, pop and electro.

“Aren’t girls who care for nothing ready for anything?” and “What good is innocence if others harbor guilty desires for you?” In a way, the movie came out of another Cannes premiere in which a different female director and American actor took the story of the 18th century French court and twisted it. In 2006, Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” played at the festival with Kirsten Dunst as the doomed queen.

Brie Larson was taken aback when asked if she’ll see Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.The actor, who is a juror at this year’s festival, was asked during a press conference whether she’ll see the film which opens the festival today (May 16). While she’s a juror, Larson doesn’t have to see Jeanne du Barry, directed by Maïwenn, because it’s playing out of competition.In response to the question (via Variety), Larson replied: “You’re asking me that? I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically.”When her position as a “vocal advocate for Time’s Up and MeToo” is raised, Larson replied: “You’ll see, I guess, if I will see it.

EXCLUSIVE: New Europe Film Sales has unveiled fresh deals for Danish director Ulaa Salim’s sci-fi drama Eternal.

Naman Ramachandran Juno-winning and Grammy-nominated Canadian pop singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes’ original song “Something Big” will feature on the soundtrack of upcoming 3D animated family feature, “Butterfly Tale.” Montreal and Madrid-based international sales and distribution company Pink Parrot Media will represent the film at the upcoming Cannes film market. “Butterfly Tale” is set along the diverse, picturesque, and ever-changing backdrop of the great Monarch butterfly migration. It tells the tale of Patrick, a gutsy and loveable yet inept, one-winged butterfly who stows away in a milkweed trailer in order to be part of the journey of a lifetime. With his best friend, a goofy caterpillar named Marty, and Jennifer, a butterfly who is afraid of heights, Patrick becomes an unlikely hero. But first, he must face his fear, embrace his uniqueness and triumph over adversity while battling changing weather patterns, humans and three evil birds bent on revenge.

Another day, another intriguing thriller hits the Cannes market. Deadline reports that HanWay Films has a thriller about the dangers of AI on the Croisette with Elizabeth Banks and John C.