Ten projects have been selected for the second edition of Seriesmakers, Series Mania’s development lab for feature film directors sidestepping into series production.
16.02.2024 - 07:21 / variety.com
Christopher Vourlias MetFilm Sales has secured international rights to “The Battle for Laikipia,” Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi’s multi-layered portrait of the conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Kenya. The film had its world premiere as part of the World Cinema Documentary section at the Sundance Film Festival. Submarine Entertainment Sales negotiated the deal with MetFilm on behalf of the filmmakers and is handling North American sales.
MetFilm Sales are introducing the film to international buyers at EFM. The film will have its European premiere at CPH:DOX in March. For centuries, Kenya’s Laikipia region has been a grazing route for Indigenous pastoralist communities.
It is also home to white ranchers and conservationists who settled there during the British colonial era and stayed after Kenya’s independence in 1963. Filmed over a five-year period, “The Battle For Laikipia” captures a range of characters as they confront a rapidly changing world. The Laikipia region has been feeling the ravaging effects of climate change for decades, with the pastoralists, the ranchers and conservancies all relying on the region’s grasslands to sustain their cattle and the wildlife.
When drought and elections collide, conflict erupts. The story goes beyond the headline-grabbing conflict to explore identity, the complicated legacy of British colonialism and the intersection with climate change, all while happening during the most fragile moment of our planet. “We are very excited to partner with MetFilm to share our film with an international audience,” said Matziaraki and Murimi.
Ten projects have been selected for the second edition of Seriesmakers, Series Mania’s development lab for feature film directors sidestepping into series production.
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Dune: Part Two” is turbocharging the international box office. Director Denis Villeneuve’s otherworldly sequel has generated $97 million from 71 overseas markets, bringing its global tally to a promising $178.5 million. Those worldwide revenues include $81.5 million from North American theaters, where it landed the biggest domestic opening weekend of the year.
Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock with you in London, where the TV world has decamped this week for a series of screenings. Read on, and sign up for the newsletter here.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Atlas Distribution Company, a U.S. indie distributor, has set Vietnamese-American co-production film “A Fragile Flower” on course for a theatrical release in the U.S. Produced by the duo Mai Thu Huyen and Jacqueline Thu Thao, the romantic musical drama, with a screenplay by Vietnamese singing sensation Nhat Ha, is set debut from Mar.
Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios has bought British broadcaster ITV‘s 50% stake in streamer BritBox International for £255 million ($322 million), the companies revealed on Friday. The streamer was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between BBC Studios, which is the commercial arm of the British broadcaster, and ITV. “The transaction will provide net proceeds including loan repayments and accrued dividends and after tax of around £235 million,” the companies said.
BBC Studios has paid £255M ($321M) to acquire ITV‘s shareholding in their joint venture streamer, BritBox International — the biggest ever single transaction for the BBC’s commercial wing.
This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will feature a masterclass and career retrospective of UK-Irish writer and director Martin McDonagh.
Selome Hailu Tubi has released a trailer for “Boarders,” a British teen dramedy series the service acquired from BBC. The series will be branded as a Tubi Original in North America and premieres with all six hour-long episodes on March 8. Per the official description, “‘Boarders’ is a high energy, warm and funny coming of age drama which follows lives of five Black inner city school teenagers who find themselves on scholarships to one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious boarding schools, St.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Sundance queer drama “Sebastian,” directed by up-and-coming Finnish-British director Mikko Mäkelä, has been bought by Kino Lorber for U.S. distribution, along with a string of international buyers. Represented in international markets by LevelK, the film made its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Thania Garcia Los Angeles-based duo the Driver Era is hitting the road for a 17-city tour across North America. With over three albums to date, brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch will again begin touring on April 2 in Pittsburgh’s Roxian Theatre and hit venues in New York, New Jersey, Quebec and more before wrapping in Toronto on May 8.
The SNP is set to heap pressure on Keir Starmer by challenging Labour MPs to vote for a ban on arms sales to Israel.
EXCLUSIVE: The Kumars are plotting a return — this time on American television. Fox has ordered a presentation for multi-camera comedy Meet The Kumars, a followup to the award-winning 2001 BBC series The Kumars At No. 42. Most of the original cast is back for the U.S.-flavored revival of the family sitcom/talk show.
Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Polish public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) has added feature film “Shattered Games” to its international sales slate alongside rom-com film “The Love Buzz” and historical series “The Bay of Spies.” “Shattered Games” explores Poland’s rich history and influence in the game of chess. The Polish national chess squad, known as the “Golden Team” in Poland, won the world chess championship in Hamburg in 1930, and was renamed by the German press as the “Bombenmannschaft” or “Bomber Crew.” “The matches the team played are still to this day described in chess textbooks as examples of masterful moves and games,” TVP said in a statement.
With terrible conflicts raging in the Middle East and Ukraine, the world has rarely felt so troubled and simultaneously intertwined with geopolitics.
Alex Ritman 42, the L.A.- and London-based management and production company behind titles including “The Silent Twins,” “The Girl Before” and “The Flatshare,” has appointed former Universal International Studios exec David O’Donoghue to the position of chief operating office with immediate effect. O’Donoghue will run the company’s operations and business development globally, in addition to having oversight of business affairs and production across the portfolio. He’ll work from 42’s London office.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent As the European Film Market starts to unwind, the verdict is already in: Even if global economics are rocky, buyers are back and on the lookout. This week, dealmaking has been happening on both star-driven packages as well as arthouse and foreign-language movies.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cohen Media Group, the U.S. distribution company behind Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated “Io Capitano,” has acquired North American rights to “The President’s Wife,” a biting movie starring Catherine Deneuve as the former first lady Bernadette Chirac. The deal closed during the European Film Market currently taking place and running alongside the Berlin Film Festival.
Alex Ritman Saban Films has acquired North American rights to the British thriller “Kill,” starring Paul Higgins (“Slow Horses,” “Line of Duty”), Brian Vernel (“Star Wars: Episode VII – the Force Awakens,” “Dunkirk”), Daniel Portman (“Game of Thrones, The Angel’s Share”), Calum Ross (“Wednesday”), Anita Vettesse (“Outlander,” “Guilt”), James Harkness (“Darkest Hour,” “Phantom Thread”) and Joanne Thomson (“The Victim”). The film, which explores the history of violence, the power of family and the dangers of revenge, marks the feature directorial debut of Rodger Griffiths, who devised the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Rob Drummond. “Kill” follows a hunting trip that turns deadly when three brothers plot to murder their violent, abusive father.
Callum McLennan Going into Berlin’s European Film Market, Spain’s biggest sales agents are under no illusion just how tough international markets have become. “Paradoxically, in one of the best moments for Spanish productions, we are finding that some of our top dramas are getting hard to sell unless selected in Cannes, Venice or Berlin,” says Latido Films CEO Antonio Saura. Also, “If American productions dominate at least 80% of markets, and local productions claim about half what remains.
EXCLUSIVE: The Australian television M&A market is set for its first big deal in a minute or two.