Manolo Cardona’s Directorial Debut ‘Death’s Roulette’ on Paramount+ Bows Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Marco Bellocchio’s “Kidnapped” (Rapito), which has its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The film starts in 1858 in the Jewish quarter of Bologna, when the Pope’s soldiers burst into the home of the Mortara family. By order of the cardinal, they have come to take Edgardo, their seven-year-old son. The child had been secretly baptized by his nurse as a baby and the papal law is unquestionable: he must receive a Catholic education. Edgardo’s parents, distraught, will do anything to get their son back. Supported by public opinion and the international Jewish community, the Mortaras’ struggle quickly takes a political dimension. But the Church and the Pope will not agree to return the child, to consolidate an increasingly wavering power.

Sofia Vergara and her son Manolo Gonzalez Vergara are preparing for a new exciting project. The duo will be working on Roku’s new cooking series ‘Celebrity Family Cook Off,’ and will include multiple celebrity guests participating in the name of a charity.The Hollywood star will be serving as executive producer, while the businessman is set to host the show.

Though a lot of the attention at film festivals goes to the big studio films from A-list stars and filmmakers, these events are also where film fans go to find the newest voices in cinema. And one of those names appears to be Charlotte Le Bon, the filmmaker behind the upcoming drama, “Falcon Lake.” Debuting at Cannes last year, “Falcon Lake” is landed a spot on our Best Films of 2023 We’ve Already Seen list, and as you can see in the trailer, there’s a good reason for that.

EXCLUSIVE: Roku has ordered a celebrity cooking show exec produced by Sofia Vergara and hosted by her son Manolo Gonzalez Vergara.

Chen Kaige is poised to shoot historical epic “Swan Song” as his next feature movie. It will focus on 18th century classical music composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky through critical failure, persecution for his sexuality and a mysterious death during the strife of the soon-to-collapse Russian Empire. Moonstone Entertainment will launch pre-sales on the film at Cannes later this month. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2024 and early 2025 in the Baltics. “Swan Song” was written by Shahar Stroh, who will also produce alongside Moonstone principal Etchie Stroh. Corporate credits go Moonstone Entertainment and Strohberry Films.

Aryan Khan, the son of Hindi film industry superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is gearing up to make his debut as showrunner and director with a series set against the backdrop of the film industry. 

Anna Cathcart heads to Korea for school in the first trailer for her upcoming series XO, Kitty!

Naman Ramachandran Red Zed Films and October Films’ documentary “My Name Is Happy” will have a limited U.K. theatrical run from May 21. Directed by Ayse Toprak (“Mr Gay Syria) and Emmy and BAFTA nominated Nick Read (“Bolshoi Babylon”), the film follows Mutlu Kaya, a Kurdish woman and promising singer from southeastern Turkey whose dreams were about to come true in 2015 when she reached the finals of “Turkey’s Got Talent.” Days before the final she was gunned down by a man whose marriage proposal she had refused. She survived – with a bullet in her brain. After years of rehabilitation from life threatening injuries, the family was again struck by violence. This time, Mutlu’s carer, her sister Dilek, did not survive a murder attempt by another jilted suitor.

2023 TRIBECA FESTIVAL SHORT FILM SELECTION>> NARRATIVE SHORTSAngelo, (Bolivia) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Alex Plumb.Bellybutton, (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Hilary Eden.Blackwool, (Scotland) – World Premiere.

The first teaser trailer for The Witcher season three is finally here, and Netflix also revealed the debut date for parts one and two!

Anna Marie de la Fuente After 25 years, Susana Gimenez, Argentina’s celebrated TV host, actress, model and entrepreneur, is set to make her hotly anticipated return to the big screen in a new Diego Kaplan (“2+2,” “My Boyfriend’s Meds”) comedy.  The still untitled film, penned by Kaplan and Pablo Minces, centers on a preeminent child psychologist who has her own struggles with her 43-year-old son who is reluctant to leave home. Principal photography is slated for October in Buenos Aires. “I can’t believe I’m making a movie after all these years; I certainly wasn’t planning for it,” said Gimenez. “But Diego is a force of nature and a visionary. When he pitched the project to me, I just couldn’t resist it and jumped right in,” she added. Aside from starring in a host of film and TV series, Gimenez hosted a top-rated talk show likened to that of Oprah Winfrey or Italy’s Raffaella Carrà.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The trailer (below) for “Draw for Change!” – which was named best documentary series at Canneseries this week – has debuted. The feature film version of the first of its six episodes, “Behind the Lines,” will world premiere at Visions du Réel Film Festival on April 28. The series, from creators Guillaume Vandenberghe and Vincent Coen, profiles six female cartoonists working in six geographic areas of the world, in six individual films and broadcast episodes. Female directors with close connections to each of the societies represented were chosen to tell the stories. Autlook Film Sales is handling international sales.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The trailer (below) has launched for documentary “Planet B,” which will have its world premiere at Visions du Réel film festival as part of its Grand Angle strand. In the film, director and climate activist Pieter Van Eecke follows 13-year-old Bo, who has a seemingly perfect life: She lives in a peaceful neighborhood in Belgium, has a loving family and lots of friends, and is doing well at school. Like many young people, Bo questions everything and has a rebellious streak. As she follows the news, she becomes increasingly aware of the perilous state of the planet. She decides to take up the fight against climate change and joins Extinction Rebellion, along with her close friend Luca.

Sean Prince Williams made his name with cinephiles as the DP on several recent movies like the Safdie Brothers‘ “Good Time,” Alex Ross Perry‘s “Her Smell,” “Tesla,” and Abel Ferrara‘s “Zeroes And Ones.” Now it’s his turn to sit in the director’s chair.  The Match Factory brings Williams’ directorial debut, “The Sweet East,” to the Cannes Film Festival this year, where it has its world premiere as part of the Directors’ Fortnight.

Ray Romano is known for his comedic skills, but lately he has been opening up about the health issues he has been facing. The longtime actor tried his hand at screenwriting and directing for the first time in his new movie, "Somewhere in Queens," and revealed that getting behind the camera caused him so much stress and anxiety that he had to consult a cardiologist. "I got to New York for nine weeks of prep, second year of COVID," he explained in an interview with Entertainment Tonight about the early stages of the film, in which he also stars.

EXCLUSIVE: British comedian and writer Nina Conti has wrapped production on Sunlight, a comedy road movie set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that marks her debut as a feature director. Check out the first-look image above.

The first trailer for the modern remake of White Men Can’t Jump has arrived!

The trailer for Insidious: The Red Door has been released!

After making the festival circuit over the past calendar year, including a world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Riley Keough & Gina Gammell‘s feature debut “War Pony” finally eyes a US theatrical release. No word yet on when that happens, but Momentum Pictures picked up the film’s US distribution rights at SXSW 2023 in March.

Angelique Jackson “Cinnamon” — the inaugural project filmed under Village Roadshow Pictures’ Black Noir Cinema banner, co-founded by NBA all-star Kevin Garnett — has debuted its first trailer. Written, directed and executive produced by Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr., the Tubi original film was selected to make its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and stars Hailey Kilgore, Damon Wayans, Pam Grier, David Iacono and Jeremie Harris. The noir thriller follows a struggling small-town gas station attendant and aspiring singer, named Jodi Jackson, (Kilgore, who displays the singing chops that led to her 2018 Tony nomination for “Once on This Island” in the teaser below) whose life is sent into a tailspin after a fatal crime.