Heretic Acquires World Rights to Latest From Berlinale Golden Bear Winner Radu Jude (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sideshow and Janus Films have bought North American rights for “Orlando, My Political Biography,” Paul B. Preciado’s film which won four awards at the Berlinale. In “Orlando, My Political Biography,” Preciado sheds light on Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando,” the first novel in which the main character changes sex in the middle of the story.  A century later, Preciado, who is a trans writer and activist, decides to send a film letter to Woolf, telling her that Orlando has come out of her fiction and is living a life she could have never imagined. Preciado organizes a casting and gathers 26 contemporary trans and non-binary people, from 8 to 70 years old, who embody Orlando.

EXCLUSIVE: Endeavor is putting its money into non-scripted television. The company, which owns WME, IMG and UFC, has acquired Asylum Entertainment Group, the unscripted production company led by Steve Michaels, with plans to “supercharge” its footprint with a major M&A drive.

filmmaking is a real honor. Thank you to Michael and Tom for embracing our story about flawed, complex human beings, who happen to be Asian American, just trying their best.

Warner Music has settled a lawsuit filed by The Jesus And Mary Chain over the good old termination right under US copyright law.Band members Jim Reid and William Reid sued the major through the Californian courts in 2021 arguing that the record company was in breach of US copyright rules by refusing to accept termination notices they had filed in relation to recordings they released with the UK wing of the label in the 1980s.The US termination right says that creators who assign their copyrights to third parties have an opportunity to terminate those assignments and reclaim their rights, albeit only within the US, after 35 years. On the songs side of the music industry, the employment of the termination right by American songwriters has become pretty routine.However, many labels continue to argue that the right doesn’t usually apply on the recordings side, because – they claim – American record deals are often work for hire agreements, meaning the label not the artist is the default owner of any recording copyrights.

Riz Ahmed, Dev Patel, Judd Apatow, Mira Nair, and Mark Duplass are among the many admirers of the Oscar-nominated documentary All That Breathes, directed by Shaunak Sen. Now you can add the people at Criterion to the movie’s legion of fans.

“All I wanted to do this morning was get up and bake a pie,” says Judd Hirsch. Sadly, the 87-year-old actor’s plans to make his specialty — apple and blueberry — on a day off from ABC’s The Goldbergs have been interrupted by publicity duties for The Fabelmans. In Spielberg’s not-so-veiled memoir about his teenage years, Hirsch stands out as Uncle Boris, a distant relative who barges in, like the ghost of Christmas Past, while Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) and his family are mourning their late grandmother. His youthful enthusiasm makes it hard to believe that, if the gods smile on him, Hirsch will become the oldest ever Best Supporting Actor winner. He will certainly be among the most talkative…

Sideshow and Janus Films have picked up the North American rights to “Afire,” which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlinale 2023. A theatrical release is planned for Summer 2023.From writer-director Christian Petzold, the film follows four young people who convene at a holiday house by the Baltic Sea.

Travel blog by Travels of Adam (Hipster Blog) – Travels of Adam (Hipster Blog) - Travel & Lifestyle Hipster Blog Saudi’s gateway to commerce, art and pilgrimages is the most acclaimed city of Jeddah. This seaport hub is the brainchild of the Kingdom’s efforts to reinvest and proclaim art as its national language. Over the past few years, the cultural reformations made by the Ministry of Culture to promote the art of many forms have been a successful welcome among the residents and tourists.

With the delicacy of a bee probing a flower for pollen, Basque director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren picks her way through the tensions and dilemmas within a family where the youngest member, an 8-year-old boy called Aitor, is feeling his way toward a new identity as a girl. Sofia Otero, who deservedly won the Silver Bear for a lead performer at the Berlinale’s award night Saturday, shows an instinctive, unforced and generous understanding of how difficult her character’s life must be. As Coco – the between-stools nickname the family has devised to avoid anything too specifically gendered – Otero is alternately obstinate, tearful, mischievous and withdrawn. She craves her mother’s comprehension but pushes her away when she tries to talk to her about why she doesn’t want to go to school.  

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures International Productions has optioned remake rights to Latvian Christmas comedy Accidental Santa in eight territories: North America, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico and Brazil.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Veteran French docmaker Nicolas Philibert was the surprise winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, taking the prize for his film “On the Adamant,” a poignant observational study of a Paris mental health care facility. He received the award from jury president Kristen Stewart, after the star offered an extended and plainly heartfelt ode to the film’s humanity and simplicity: “People have gone in circles for thousands of years trying to pin down what can be deemed art, who’s allowed to do it and what determines its value,” she said, citing the boundary-pushing nature of the festival, and namechecking such opposing philosophers on the matter as Aristotle, Barthes, Sontag and Beavis & Butthead, before concluding, “For all of us, you just know it when you see it.”

The competition winners of the 73rd Berlinale are about to start rolling in as the festival draws to a close Saturday evening.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Films has closed a deal for U.S. rights to the Berlin Film Festival buzz competition title Reality. Directed by Tina Satter, the docudrama is a breakout turn for Sydney Sweeney as convicted classified document leaker Reality Winner. Sweeney stars in the hit HBO series Euphoria.

Naman Ramachandran The Backstreet Boys, who have a massive fan base in India, will be returning to the country after 13 years for two concerts. The band’s world tour began after the release of chart topping 2019 album “DNA,” featuring the hit “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” BookMyShow and Live Nation are bringing the tour to India. The band will play at Jio World Gardens, Mumbai on May 4 and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi on May 5. Prior to that the Backstreet Boys have performances lined up in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Hong Kong, Reykjavik and Cairo. After India, the tour carries on in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Jeddah, Tel Aviv, Cape Town and Pretoria.

Elizabeth Banks is sharing her fond memories of working with the late Ray Liotta on what would be his final film.The actress and filmmaker walked the red carpet at the premiere of her new film,, in Los Angeles on Tuesday, and she spoke with ET's Ash Crossan about getting the chance to work with Liotta shortly before his death last May.«He never saw the final movie, but he did see all of his scenes,» Banks shared. «And he saw the bear, which is the most important thing, because the poor guy like everyone had to act with, you know, a guy in a black suit and a stuntman and just sort of hope that it looks cool.»In the high-energy action horror comedy, the titular cocaine bear — for obvious reasons — was created entirely with CGI, and Banks explained that Liotta came in to re-record some audio, which is when he was able to see the finished product, or at least his part.«He came in for ADR eight days before he passed away, actually, and he loved it. He was so happy.

Steven Spielberg was presented with the Berlin Film Festival’s Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement by U2 frontman Bono, who made a surprise appearance at the rousing special ceremony on Tuesday.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), who has championed a set of antitrust bills to curb the power of big tech, said that he plans to resign from Congress on June 1 to take a job at a non profit foundation.

EXCLUSIVE: Banijay Rights has acquired global distribution rights to 72 Films’ four-part doc series on former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Riz Ahmed and Lily James are joining forces for the contemporary thriller “Relay,” which will be presented to buyers at European Film Market in Berlin.David Mackenzie, who helmed the Oscar-nominated “Hell or High Water,” will direct from a script he wrote with Justin Piasecki. Production begins in New York and New Jersey in April 2023.“Relay” stars Ahmed as Tom, a “fixer” whose specialty is brokering major payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten to ruin them.

Hello and welcome back to your weekly International Insider. Berlin’s back and with most of our team in the German capital, it’s Jesse Whittock here bringing you the latest from the worlds of TV and film.