Federation Studios Taps Former TF1 Head Of Drama; Blue Ant Int’l Boss Exits; Keshet Int’l Hires Paramount & Armoza Execs- Global Briefs

Anne de Galard and Eric Garnet’s Paris-based animation company, GO-N Productions, has been acquired by Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan’s fast-growing Federation Studios (formerly known as Federation Entertainment). 

EXCLUSIVE: Stanley Nelson’s Firelight Films and Hulu have set Julianna Brannum (Now I Lay Me Down), Ivan MacDonald (Breaking the Silence) and Juan Carlos Dávila Santiago (When Reggaeton Was a Crime) as the first filmmakers to benefit from their new Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund. Through the initiative, each will be awarded $25,000 to develop their original documentary feature or limited series for a first look by the companies.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK Jewish Film Festival (November 9 – 22) has revealed its lineup of 2023 gala screenings and premieres, including special presentations of the Anthony Hopkins pic One Life and Mario Bellochi’s Cannes competition title Kidnapped. 

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Jane Lynch, having been summoned for jury duty this week, is happy she hasn’t been called into court today. Instead, when she pops up over Zoom on Wednesday afternoon, she’s bundled up in a grey zip-up sweatshirt in her Montecito home — cozy, unbothered and ready to talk about her new Lego campaign, launching Thursday morning.

Jonathan Glazer’s Cannes-winning Holocaust drama The Zone Of Interest has been selected as the UK’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.

People with money in a current account at any one of several high street banks are being urged to check their savings rate as they could potentially be missing out on higher returns due to low interest rates. Several banks are currently offering rates of over five per cent, so if your current savings rate is less than three per cent, it could be time to ditch and switch to get the most out of your money.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Bosnian director and screenwriter Danis Tanović, whose “No Man’s Land” won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, has been selected as the president of the Official Competition Jury at the 45th edition of the Cairo Film Festival. As well as the Oscar, “No Man’s Land” won best screenplay at Cannes in 2001.

After months of speculation, Conde Nast confirmed this morning that Chioma Nnadi, the current editor of US Vogue’s website, has been tapped to replace Edward Enninful as the head of British Vogue.

Cast your mind back to I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here's 2020's series and you'll likely remember Jessica Plummer.The actress, who was voted out seventh on day 17, also appeared on EastEnders as Chantelle Atkins from 2019–2020, and was a member of Brit girl group Neon Jungle. You'll probably also know Jess for her incredible hair.The 30 year old mostly keeps her curls looking voluminous and defined, but she's just stunned fans with a beauty makeover that gives her whole appearance a very different look.

Warner Bros. Discovery Germany boss Hannes Heyelmann has become the latest to exit from Gerhard Zeiler’s international team.

Queer Eye ? Well, that kind of depends on the level of your parasocial relationship with this particular group of coworkers.On September 14, the emotional makeover series's culture specialist appeared on drama-monger Andy Cohen's to promote his daytime talk show Karamo when he got unexpectedly candid about avocado—sorry, food and wine—expert recent bachelor party. "I wasn't invited," Brown told Cohen.For those not caught up on the Queer Eye gang's personal lives, Porowski is engaged to his boyfriend of three years, Kevin Harrington.

EXCLUSIVE: eOne’s long-serving President of International Distribution, Stuart Baxter, is leaving ahead of the Yellowjackets and The Rookie studio ahead of its $500M sale to Lionsgate, we can reveal.

Belgium has selected Omen, the debut feature from rapper-turned-filmmaker Baloji, as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle has acquired the global distribution rights for epilepsy-themed feature documentary “Sisters Interrupted.” Directed by Caroline Sharp, the film reveals the hidden world of epilepsy – a life-threatening seizure condition that affects 50 million people worldwide. It follows British sisters Chelsea and Tamsin Leyland as they both battle forms of epilepsy and together fight for access to a treatment that could save both their lives. Chelsea lives in New York and has gained access to medical cannabis against her neurologist’s recommendations, resulting in her being seizure-free for six years.

Another senior Amazon Studios UK executive is exiting for the indie production sector.

Alissa Simon Film Critic A classically crafted feature debut from veteran TV director James Hawes (“Black Mirror”), “One Life” intercuts two eras 50 years apart in the long life of humble British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton (1909-2015), referred to by some as “the British Schindler.” The biopic serves as a testament to the power of good, with a prestige cast including a fine, understated Anthony Hopkins as the reflective, older Winton, still haunted by the tragic end to his plan to save European child refugees, and Johnny Flynn as his energetic younger self, who embodies the belief that that if something is not impossible, then there must be a way to do it. Although the film as a whole struggles to match the poignancy of its finale, a re-creation of a famous 1988 clip from the British TV program “That’s Life!,” it nevertheless serves as an urgent reminder of the importance of individual action at a time when the world refugee crisis is at a scale not seen since the Second World War.

EXCLUSIVE: Johnny Flynn spent several days studying Anthony Hopkins’ every gesture on the set of the film One Life, in which both portray the same man, Sir Nicholas “Nicky” Winton, a London stockbroker responsible for helping 669 children flee to safety from the Nazis in World War II.

the viral YouTube video of an old man learning on live TV that the studio audience around him is made up of people he rescued from the Nazis as children. If you haven’t, give it a watch.

Mariana Downing, representing the province of Sánchez Ramírez, was officially crowned the Miss Dominican Republic Universe 2023. The 27-year-old half-Dominican and half-British beauty pageant will now travel to El Salvador and try to win a second Miss Universe title for the Caribbean island.

When Big Brother made its debut in 2000 on Channel 4, the show marked the start of a new genre of TV. It promised contestants the chance to take part in a “social experiment”, and involved hopefuls entering a custom-built house where viewers at home could watch their every move. Over the course of 18 years and 19 series, the reality show turned competitors such as Alison Hammond, Jade Goody and Adele Roberts into household names, with the series three finale amassing an impressive 9.9 million viewers.