Fantastic Fest Film ‘The Other Laurens’ Finds North American Distribution (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Broadcasters in France, Germany and Italy have joined forces on “The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure,” a family adventure series which will be produced under the Alliance, a partnership formed in 2018 by leading European pubcasters to finance ambitious, internationally-driven series. Commissioned by France Télévisions, ZDF and RAI, “The Emperor’s Stone: The Search of La Buse’s Treasure” won the call for projects launched in 2022 by the Alliance.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ayelet Arnin, a 22-year news editor who worked at Israel’s main broadcaster Kan, was among the 200 civilians killed by Hamas terrorists while attending a rave party in the country’s southern region on Saturday. Arnin, who was reportedly an American citizen, was reported dead by her friend who was with her at the party and informed her parents. Kan News Division spokesman Elon Baruch said in a statement Wednesday, “The Israel Broadcasting Corporation is saddened by the murder of our friend, Ayelet Arnin, an employee of the corporation, a sub-editor in the news division, in an attack by Hamas terrorists in the south.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bille August, the two-time Palme d’Or winning director of “Pelle the Conqueror,” is directing a sprawling English language series adapted from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel “The Count of Monte Cristo” starring an international cast led by Sam Claflin (“Peaky Blinders”). “The Count of Monte Cristo” marks the first series which is entirely produced within Mediawan and represented by its distribution arm Mediawan Rights.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France TV Distribution has enlisted a raft of major distributors worldwide for “Sugar and Stars,” a movie starring Riadh Belaïche, a social media influencer-turned-actor. The inspirational drama is based on the true story of Yazid Ichemrahem, an underdog who became a famous pastry chef.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sean Penn, whose Volodymyr Zelenskyy documentary “Superpower” recently launched on Paramount+, will be on the iconic stage of Cannes’s Grand Auditorium later this month — but it won’t be for a movie. The Oscar winner is set to attend Mipcom, the international TV conference, alongside Matthew Fox (“Lost”) and Kick Gurry (“Edge of Tomorrow”) to discuss their wartime satire series “C*A*U*G*H*T” as part of a Media Mastermind Keynote on Oct. 18.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French actor Gerard Depardieu, who is indicted on rape and sexual assault charges in connection to a 2018 case, has published an open letter claiming he’s “neither a rapist, nor a predator.” In the brief letter, published in Le Figaro newspaper on Oct. 1, Depardieu alluded to the allegations of rape and sexual assault tied to a 2018 lawsuit filed by Charlotte Arnould, whose parents are old friends of his. Without naming Arnould, Depardieu says “a woman came to (his) home a first time, lightly, and willingly stepped into (his) bedroom.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Andrey Zvyagintsev, the two-time Oscar-nominated Russian filmmaker of “Loveless” and “Leviathan,” will next direct “Jupiter,” a politically-minded movie set to shoot in Spain and France next spring. The movie will tell the story of a Russian oligarch’s reckoning with the harsh reality of his family’s future.

Arlo Parks has announced a handful of new North American tour dates for next year in support of her LP ‘My Soft Machine‘.Kicking off the first night of the tour at The Observatory North Park in San Diego on February 29, 2024, Parks will then make her way across the US. Other stops include Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Toronto, Nashville, Brooklyn, and more.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Woodstock Film Festival has added Tony Goldwyn’s comedy drama “Ezra,” starring Bobby Cannavale and Robert De Niro to its 2023 lineup.In the film, which made its world premiere earlier this month at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, Cannavale stars as Max, a stand up comic who after recently blowing up his career and marriage is living with his father Stan (De Niro).

Naman Ramachandran Crime thriller “The Last Stop in Yuma County” has unveiled its first clip. The debut feature from writer-director Francis Galluppi will bow at Austin’s Fantastic Fest before heading to Sitges. XYZ Films and UTA are co-representing North American sales.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Dominic Cooper (“Mamma Mia”) and Sarah Gadon (“A Dangerous Method”) are co-starring in “Cry From The Sea,” a Canadian-Irish movie directed by cinematographer-turned-helmer Vic Sarin (“Cold Comfort”). The movie, which is currently shooting, is represented in international markets by Cinema Management Group, with WME and Laura Rister handling U.S.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Prime Video and Gaumont (“Intouchables”) are teaming up on an uplifting mother-son drama tackling disability, directed by Ken Scott (“Starbuck”), and starring French actors Leïla Bekhti (“All Your Faces”) and Jonathan Cohen (“Sentinelle”). Scott penned and will be directing the film which is titled “Ma mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan” and is based on Roland Perez’s novel by the same name. The project is the first theatrical film that Amazon Prime Video is co-financing as part of the French decree that kicked off in July 2021 and stems from the implementation of the European Commission’s legislation called Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS).

Following up on his two acclaimed horror directorial efforts, “Before The Fall” and his entrée into Hollywood with the “Rings” franchise, Spanish director F. Javier Gutiérrez returns to Spain and takes us on the disturbing journey of a man who loses everything to evil with “The Wait” (“La Espera”).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier will next direct “Sentimental Value,” a family drama starring Renate Reinsve, who won best actress in Cannes for her role in Trier’s Oscar-nominated 2021 film “The Worst Person of the World.” “Sentimental Value” will follow Nora (Reinsve), an actor, and her sister Agnes, who are grieving the loss of their mother while their father Gustav reappears in their lives after a long absence. Gustav, a once-celebrated filmmaker, has written a script for a comeback movie and offered the main part to his daughter Nora, but she categorically refuses the role.

Morocco has submitted Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother Of All Lies as its candidate for Best International Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Natalie Portman may be an outspoken feminist and co-founder of a female-driven soccer club (Angel City FC), but she isn’t a believer in the so-called “female gaze.” In an interview with Vanity Fair France for the magazine’s 10-year anniversary issue, conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Portman argued that “to say that a female director has a particular gaze is reductive of women’s individuality and points of view.” The Harvard-educated actor also said that gender isn’t a factor when she chooses projects. “Female directors should have the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The political backlash surrounding Agnieszka Holland’s Venice Special Jury Prize-winning refugee drama “Green Border” hasn’t kept the movie from being a hot seller. The film explores the injustice and terror perpetrated at the Polish-Belarusian border from the perspective of refugees, Polish activists and border guards.

Adam Sandler will launch a 25-city North American tour next month, the comedian and Live Nation announced today.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based leading distribution company ARP Selection has bought a pair of U.S. indie gems from the fall festival circuit, Shane Atkinson’s feature debut “LaRoy” and Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla.” “LaRoy,” a neo-noir Western comedy with Coen brothers influences, just won three major prizes at the Deauville Film Festival, including the Grand Prize, Audience Award and Critics Prize; while “Priscilla” world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won best actress for Cailee Spaeny.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While at the Deauville American Film Festival to present “May December,” Todd Haynes spoke to Variety, during a one-on-one interview at the Royal Hotel, about bringing Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore together in a film for the first time, provoking audiences and pushing against American conservatism. Haynes, who is attending Deauville with his producers Christine Vachon and Sophie Mas, also teased his next directorial effort starring Joaquin Phoenix, a “sexually explicit” movie telling a “love story between two men set in the 30s.” Loosely based on the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who had an affair with her 6th grade student, “May December” has already earned awards buzz since world premiering in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was bought by Netflix. In France, the movie will be released by ARP Selection in January.