Ina Fichman, Michael Turner Elected Co-Presidents Of International Documentary Association Board Of Directors

EXCLUSIVE: Pinar Toprak, the Emmy-nominated composer, conductor and performer who has lent her talents to everything from the Brie Larson-led Captain Marvel to Epic Games’ hit video game Fortnite, has joined Artist International Group for representation in conjunction with her long-time agents, Kraft-Engel Management.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here bringing you all the news and analysis from another busy week, during which we have been to Spain through Argentina via Berlin. Oh, and there was the small matter of the Oscar noms. Read on, and sign up here.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sony Pictures‘ “Madame Web,” a standalone origin story in the studio’s array of “Spider-Man”-based Marvel characters, has been granted a theatrical release in mainland China. The film will open in the country on March 1 — two weeks after the title’s Valentine’s Day bow in North America and multiple international territories, including the Chinese-language markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong. The release marks a welcome opportunity for Sony, which, along with the other traditional studios faced difficulty in securing theatrical runs in China over recent years.

The inaugural Hong Kong International Film Festival Industry – CAA China Genre Initiative (HCG) has set its first projects which will be showcased during the 28th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market alongside the 22nd Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum running from March 11-13.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Six projects have been announced as participating in the inaugural edition of the HKIFF Industry – CAA China Genre Initiative, a project incubator in Hong Kong for Chinese-language genre films. The HCG platform will run March 11-13, 2024, alongside the 22nd Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) and the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FilMart), Asia’s largest film and TV rights market. From the six, two winning projects will each receive a cash prize of $20,000 for development funding.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects has taken world sales rights on Argentinian filmmaker Pedro Cristiani’s directorial feature debut horror Deus Irae.

Shortly before a momentous vote takes place in Argentina, Deadline spoke to leading film professionals about how “devastating” reforms could derail the country’s screen sector.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Netflix has promoted Carolina Leconte to the position of senior director of content at its Mexican outpost. She steps into Roberto Stopello’s shoes, who has ankled.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Argentina’s newly elected president Javier Milei is bent on keeping his chainsaw-wielding campaign promise to cut state spending, including scrapping the country’s national film institute (INCAA) and its film schools (ENERC). His mega draft bill, aimed at reining in Argentina’s hyper-inflation, has prompted more than 300 directors, producers, actresses, critics and colleagues from across the world, led by Academy Award winners Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cannes winners Aki Kaurismäki (“Autumn Leaves”) and the Dardenne Brothers (“Rosetta”), to sign a communiqué protesting the far-right libertarian’s proposal.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Gaumont has unveiled a first still and trailer for “Black Tea,” Abderrahmane Sissako‘s highly anticipated follow-up to his 2015 Oscar-nominated film “Timbuktu.” The movie will world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. A lushly-lensed romance drama, “Black Tea” (previously titled “The Perfumed Hill“) tells the story of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast after walking out on her wedding day and sets off to start a new life in Guangzhou, China.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level. 

Richard Kuipers Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian state to a flourishing democracy determined to decide its own future is charted in the engrossing and highly informative documentary “Invisible Nation.” Centered on President Tsai Ing-wen as she promotes her country’s case for ongoing autonomy in the face of mounting political isolation, as well as China’s claim that Taiwan is part of its territory and must unite with the mainland, Vanessa Hope’s skilfully assembled film delivers a compelling picture of Taiwan’s increasingly precarious position in the region and on the world stage. Currently enjoying a substantial festival run, “Invisible Nation” has gained an extra note of urgency and its visibility should only increase in the wake of Taiwan’s elections on January 13, 2024.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief First-time mainland Chinese director Lin Jianjie (aka JJ Lin) makes a splash this weekend with the premiere of his “Brief History of a Family.” Asking questions about family in the era since the end of China’s ‘One Child Policy,’ while also borrowing genre tropes such as the idea of the intruder and blood, it is a polished and ultra-modern fable that sees a teenage schoolboy ingratiate himself into another boy’s family.Variety spoke to biologist-turned-filmmaker Lin on the eve of his Sundance debut.How did you get from zero to making your first feature?[After graduating in biology] I did two short films at film school. I went to Tisch Asia, which had a campus in Singapore. We also had an exchange program with Tisch in New York.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Asian film directors including Josh Kim, Fukada Koji and Patiparn Boontarig line up to pitch their in-development projects at the March edition of the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). Leading directors Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Lu will also be on the ground at HAF, operating as producers. So too will established producers Yamamoto Teruhisa (“Drive My Car”) and Michael J.

Ellise Shafer When Martin Scorsese is lauded with Berlin Film Festival‘s Honorary Golden Bear next month, the awards ceremony will be accompanied by a screening of his 2006 film “The Departed.” The crime thriller, which won four Oscars including best picture and director, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The film tells the story of an Irish mob boss who plants a spy within the Massachusetts State Police just as the police assign an undercover cop to infiltrate the gang.

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Heyday Films’ Wonka continues its sweet run, crossing the $500M mark globally this weekend. The worldwide cume through Sunday is $505.3M including $329.1M from the international box office and with Korea, which has a fondness for Hollywood musicals, still to release at the end of the month.

and Fantastic Beasts actor Callum Turner sparked relationship rumors just one month after the 28-year-old pop star reportedly split from filmmaker Romain Gavras—a relationship that in May 2023. “Dua and Romain have gone their separate ways after a summer of love," a source told in early December before heavily implying that Lipa was too focussed on her music career for their relationship to work.Well, it looks like she found time in her schedule for a new 'ship.

UBA should have broken this news. The Morning Show director and producer and two-time ER Emmy winner Mimi Leder will receive the Art Directors Guild‘s 2024 Cinematic Imagery Award.

In an emotional segment on ABC’s Good Morning America today, co-anchor Michael Strahan revealed the reason for his extended absence from the show last fall: His then-18-year-old daughter Isabella was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor known as medulloblastoma.

Globally, including most everywhere overseas, 2023 box office was led by a mix of Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Oppenheimer, curious bedfellows who nevertheless proved that cultural phenomena can come in different forms and set turnstiles spinning.