Israel Shuts Down Al Jazeera News Channel’s Operations in the Country

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian state broadcaster RAI’s new world sales arm is gaining traction in Cannes — following its soft launch in Berlin — with four new titles on its slate, including veteran auteur Roberto Andò’s historical drama “The Blunder” starring Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”). In “The Blunder,” which is currently shooting in Sicily, Servillo plays a Sicilian colonel at the head of a ragtag unit trying to outsmart the enemy during the 1860 battle led by Giuseppe Garibaldi that resulted in the unification of Italy (see first-look image, above).

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and declared that Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule must end in order to achieve lasting peace for Israel. Emanuel’s remarks came Wednesday night as he was honored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center with its humanitarian Award at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The divisiveness of the Israel-Hamas war that began Oct.

Ari Emanuel tonight left no ambiguity of what he thinks about Benjamin Netanyahu.

Anita Gou is no stranger to the festival circuit. Her L.A.-based Kindred Spirit banner saw a raft of its first projects debut at Sundance (think Lulu Wang’s Mandarin-language comedy The Farewell, which made $23M worldwide, Shia LaBeouf-starrer Honey Boy and Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation) but, more recently, her co-production Silent Twins was selected in Un Certain Regard in 2022, while Dominic Savage’s Close To You premiered in Toronto last year. The company’s Mubi-acquired doc The Last Year of Darkness, which explores the lives of alternative Chinese youth, was awarded a Special Mention prize in the Next:Wave section at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival last year.

The Associated Press said that Israeli authorities seized camera and broadcasting equipment and shut down a live shot, contending that the wire service was in violation of a new law restricting Al Jazeera.

President Joe Biden condemned by the move by the International Criminal Court to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, saying that there was “no equivalence” between that country’s actions and those of Hamas.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off its buzzy world premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, Oscar-nominated Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson’s poignant drama “When The Light Breaks” has sold to a raft of territories. Represented in international markets by The Party Film Sales, the movie has been picked up for Italy (Movies Inspired), Switzerland (Xenix), Norway (Arthaus), Denmark (Ost for Paradis), Finland (Cinemanse), Hungary (Vertigo), Greece (Cinobo), Israel (New Cinema), Poland (Aurora), Turkey (Bir Film) and Baltics (Estofilm).

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has said he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some leaders of Hamas.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died aged 63 after a horror helicopter crash.

EXCLUSIVE: One of the market’s biggest-budget projects, the Will Smith action-crime thriller Sugar Bandits, has sealed multi-million dollar deals across the world for AGC ahead of a planned September start date.

Anna Marie de la Fuente With Maite Alberdi, twice Oscar nominated for her last two docus, “The Eternal Memory” and “The Mole Agent,” and Tana Gilbert whose feature debut “Malqueridas” won the Grand Prize at Venice’s Critics’ Week, Chilean documentaries are having a banner year. Five documentaries participate in the May 20 Chilean Docs-in-Progress Showcase at the Marché du Film’s docu section, Cannes Docs.

William Earl administrator SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “Old Friends,” the fourth episode of Season 3 of Netflix’s “Bridgerton.” “For God’s sake, Penelope Featherington. Are you going to marry me or not?” The first half of Season 3 of “Bridgerton” ends with these breathtaking words, as Colin (Luke Newton) proposes to Penelope (Nicola Coughlan). What a cliffhanger! Will Penelope say yes? Will she reveal that she’s Lady Whistledown? Could Colin be any more romantic? Yet this moment is just one development in a half-season full of drama, deceit and Debling.

K.J. Yossman This year’s Cannes is set to be the most activist-heavy yet.

Olly Alexander, the former Years and Years singer, has been urged by fans to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest just hours before he is due to represent the UK on stage.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday evening, as thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the host city of Malmo, Sweden, to protest against the country’s participation in the competition. 

Joe Biden sat for an interview with a mainstream, national news outlet, — a not-too-common occurrence. And while the clear intent in his chat with CNN‘s Erin Burnett was to show a contrast with Donald Trump on the economy, the headline was what the president said about Israel.

Isobel Yeung is joining CNN as an international correspondent in the network’s London bureau.

Murtada Elfadl The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival, taking place in Warsaw from Friday until May 16, has grown exponentially in the last few years. In fact it is now, as the people behind it proclaim, “the largest cultural event in Poland.” Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. It’s quite unique.

K.J. Yossman Israel’s leading documentary co-production market CoPro is set to return next month for its 26th edition in a hybrid format amidst the ongoing war in the region.

Joe Biden sharply condemned the rise of antisemitism in the United States, including incidents that have played out on college campuses amid pro-Palestinian protests.