Global Bulletin: Jerusalem Film Fest Cancels Summer Edition, Plans for December

Jamie Lang BBC Two has commissioned “Brain in Gear,” a new comedy series produced by BBC Studios, based on the eponymous 2019 BAFTA-nominated BBC short from creator Gbemisola Ikumelo.In the short, Ikumelo plays Remi, an anxious single woman living alone — except for the voices in her head.

Jamie Lang Cineworld will begin reopening its cinemas in England with a lineup featuring a special 4DX screening program that includes four films projected for the first time in the chain’s exclusive multi-sensory 4DX extreme cinema format.Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” Chris Columbus’ “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” Alfonso Cuarón’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” will get Cineworld’s 4DX treatment in 24 cinemas across England.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorIn an introduction to the Venice Film Festival lineup announced this morning in Rome, Alberto Barbera, commented, “The winter of our dismay turned into a springtime of anxiety, and then slipped slowly into a summer marked by uncertainty and fear over a fraught future.” The fest’s director later spoke with Deadline about the process — and challenges — leading up to today’s unveiling of what’s to come at the first major

Jamie Lang U.K. non-profit ERA5050 has partnered with Comedy 50:50 to launch TellHerVision, a writers’ room mentorship program exclusively for women working in comedy.

Jamie Lang Sam Mendes’ Theatre Arts Fund has raised £1.6 million ($2 million) to support out-of-work theater professionals across the U.K. by offering quick and easy access to a £1000 ($1,276) grant.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorThe Toronto Film Festival has revealed further details about its 2020 edition, which will be a hybrid physical and digital event with a streamlined lineup.All industry engagement will be online, including press and industry screenings and the festival’s Industry Conference, taking place September 10–15.The online screenings will be hosted on a professional version of TIFF’s digital screening platform, developed by Shift72.

Jamie Lang Global SVOD Amazon Prime Video has signed up for a second season of Spanish-language psychological thriller “La Jauria.” The show is the streamer’s first local Original series from Chile, produced by Fremantle and Fabula, run by writer-director Pablo Larraín (“Jacky”) and brother Juan de Díos Larraín (“Gloria Bell”).Starring breakout superstar Daniela Vega (“A Fantasic Woman”), “La Jauria” is showrun by award-winning filmmaker Lucia Puenzo (“XXY”).“For Fabula it is important to tell

Jamie Lang Germany’s ZDF Enterprises, experts in crime and the production and sales outfit behind Nordic Noir original “The Bridge” and Swedish mega-hit crime thriller “Before We Die,”  is at it again. This time round, the commercial arm of German public broadcaster ZDF has greenlit “Body of Water,” an eight-part crime drama showrun and written by Brendan Foley.

Jamie Lang Cairo International Film Festival, having recently confirmed that this year’s 42nd edition will be held in person in November, has opened the window for submissions to the Cairo Film Connection sidebar, part of Cairo Industry Days.In its seven years of operation, Cairo Film Connection has helped Arab filmmakers secure funding and partnerships on more than 100 films from across the region.

Jamie Lang An open letter calling for the immediate release of Egyptian film producer Moataz Abdelwahab was published Friday, cosigned by the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) and its founding institutions, which include the European Film Academy, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Human Rights Film Network, among others.The letter claims that Abdelwahab disappeared from his Cairo office on May 5 and wasn’t seen

Jamie Lang With live performance venues subject to heavy admissions restrictions, U.K.

First Cannes and now Telluride. The Telluride Film Festival informed pass holders that 2020 edition of the festival has been canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Pete Hammond Awards Columnist/Chief Film CriticAfter many attempts to carry on, the Telluride Film Festival has given into the reality of the Coronavirus pandemic and continuing outbreaks across the nation and today announced it is cancelling the 2020 edition. Here is the official letter sent by the festival:While there will be those who might say they’re not surprised by it, that this was inevitable, we beg to differ. It didn’t have to be this way.

Tom Grater, Jake Kanter UK-China relations took a further dive today after the UK government announced it would ban its mobile providers from buying new Huawei 5G equipment as of December 31, and mandated they remove all existing equipment from their networks by 2027. The move follows sanctions imposed on the Chinese tech giant by the U.S..

Tom Grater International Film ReporterThe Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF) has shelved plans to host its latest edition August 20-30, and instead will look to hold a winter edition of the event this year, running December 10-20.The Israeli fest had been set to become of the first international film festivals to hold a physical incarnation following the spate of cancellations and postponements this summer prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Jamie Lang Julia Sawalha has shared an open letter via her social media profiles expressing disappointment and anger at being left out of Aardman Animations’ upcoming “Chicken Run” sequel, confirmed as a Netflix pickup at June’s Annecy festival. Sawalha voiced Ginger in the Oscar-nominated original, which remains the top grossing stop-motion feature ever, 20 years after its release.“To say that I am devastated and furious would be an understatement,” she said in the letter.

Jamie Lang contributorStandout Spanish cinema actors Irene Escolar (“Official Competition,” “Tell Me Who I Am”) and Bárbara Lennie (“Everybody Knows,” “Magical Girl”) have teamed on a new anthology series commissioned by HBO España and produced by Calle Cruzada.Created and executive produced by the pair (pictured), who will also perform in the show, “Escenario 0” features six episodes from prominent writers and filmmakers.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorShortly after Shira Haas auditioned for “Unorthodox,” she visited her grandmother, who is in her 90s and was in the hospital at the time.“She gave me a ring, and she told me that this one will give me luck, and that she really hopes that I will get this role, and she feels that I’m going to get it,” the Israeli actor says during an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.” “This was kind of like

Jamie Lang Austrian broadcaster ORF and Germany’s ZDF have commissioned a three-episode season two for period crime drama “Vienna Blood,” produced by Endor Productions — a Red Arrow Studios company — and MR Film. After successful season one runs in the U.S.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterKarlovy Vary, one of the major Euro film festivals in the summer calendar, has set a special four-day event for the fall, ‘Karlovy Vary IFF 54 ½’.The Czech Republic spa town is not classifying the one-off fest, which will run November 18-21, as an official edition, with its 55th incarnation instead taking place on its regular dates in summer 2021.54 ½ will feature 30 movies, each screening twice, alongside several events traditionally held during the regular