Philippines Trebles Film Incentives Budget, Presents Projects at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAlief, the London-based sales agent and production outfit, has swooped on bad ass action comedy “Cop Secret” in the build up to the movie’s world premiere at August’s Locarno Film Festival.Brett Walker, Alief president, will introduce the propulsive, high testosterone movie to buyers at Locarno Pro, the Swiss festival’s robust industry program, where it is sure to get tongues wagging.While big fests are embracing genre, few selections to date offer

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentCoccinelle Film Sales has taken international rights on Italian director Ciro De Caro’s female empowerment drama “Giulia” ahead of its upcoming world premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s independently run Venice Days section.Pic stars emerging actor Rosa Palasciano (“Tales for Heart and Mind”) in the title role as a young woman who winds up on the street in Rome during a torrid summer seeking refuge and a place in the world.“Giulia” is the third

Naman Ramachandran Erik Matti’s new original six-part Philippines series “On The Job” will premiere on HBO GO in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan in September and will also air later on the region’s HBO channel.Select episodes from the series will screen in competition at the Venice Film Festival in September, the only Asian title in contention out of the 21 in the lineup. HBO GO has also released a trailer.

Will Thorne Staff WriterReason 8 is prepared to make moves at the upcoming Locarno Film Festival.The London-based sales and production outfit has secured the international sales rights to Russian drama “Medea.” Reason 8 will be on the ground in Switzerland ahead of the film’s premiere on Aug.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentSabine Gisiger’s “The Mies van der Rohes,” Steven Vit’s “My Old Man” and Caterina Mona’s “Semret” feature in this year’s pix-in-post showcase First Look, one of the industry highlights of the Locarno Film Festival, which focuses for the first time on movies from Switzerland.The films are joined in First Look by Valentin Merz’s “De Noche los Gatos Son Pardos,” Leon Schwitter’s “Reduit” and Jackie Brutsche’s “Las Toreras” in a six-title spread which

Emiliano De Pablos The Málaga Festival’s Spanish Screenings, the only dedicated Spanish film sales and promotion market in Spain, is determined to grow, adapting to industry’s demands for its 15th edition, which will run Oct.

Manori Ravindran International EditorITV Studios is the latest super-indie to bow out from October’s Mipcom market in Cannes — traditionally the largest annual confab for the global TV industry.The production-distribution giant joins the likes of “Peaky Blinders” distributor Banijay, whom Variety revealed was skipping the market back in June, and content powerhouse BBC Studios, which also pulled the plug on its February Showcase event.

Bruno Dumont uses a French anchorwoman to explore his country’s media in France, a Cannes Film Festival competition entry that’s glossy and watchable but ultimately disappointing. Léa Seydoux plays France de Meurs, a TV anchorwoman and reporter so famous that she stopped for selfies everywhere she goes, from cafes to war zones. After she is involved in a traffic accident, she quits her job and ends up in a Swiss spa, but the respite she meets there isn’t quite what she’d hoped for.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWscripted has unveiled its inaugural Cannes Screenplay List of scripts in the English language to option at Cannes.Wscripted is the first online marketplace for sourcing and curating excellent work written by women and women-identifying writers in film TV, and publishing.

AmfAR Global Campaign Chair Sharon Stone will be in Cannes on Friday to host the org’s glitzy annual benefit gala, which supports AIDS research. Stone has been a key figure for amfAR since the 1990s.

You’ve probably never seen a performance like this.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has become the first studio to hire The WonderWorks mobile nursery, which will be in use on Gareth Evans’ crime drama film “Havoc” when it shoots in Wales this summer.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSometimes having good intentions and eye-witness testimony is not enough to make a topical, issues-driven movie connect with its anticipated audience.The movie “Dea,” recently boarded by Hong Kong sales company Good Move Media, is a case in point.

Like father like son, and just like that, there’s competition in the Panahi family for the best filmmaker.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K.’s Broken Flames Prods. has entered into a partnership with producer Lucas A.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn a statement buy, Saban Films has acquired rights to North America – along with Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France, South Africa and Scandinavia – on Bruce Willis starrer “Soul Assassin.”Directed by Jesse Atlas, the revenge thriller also stars Nomzamo Mbatha (“Coming 2 America”) and Barry Jay Minoff (“Exposure”).

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian genre outfit Minerva Pictures has teamed with New Zealand’s Black Mandala Films to co-produce and launch international pre-sales at Cannes on horror/slasher “What the Waters Left Behind: Scars,” to be co-directed by Argentine helmers Nicolas Onetti and Matías Salinas (“Omen”). Shooting is set to start in Argentina in September.Pic is a sequel to “What the Waters Left Behind,” which was co-directed by Nicolas and Luciano Onetti and won them the

This story about International Critics Week first appeared in TheWrap’s special digital Cannes magazine.When Cannes’ La Semaine de la Critique, or International Critics Week, kicks off on July 7 with a screening of Swiss director Constance Meyer’s “Robust,” the festival’s longest-running independent section will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in style.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentPathé, a driving force behind France’s biggest movies slated for 2022 including “Asterix & Obelix, the Middle Kingdom” and “The Three Musketeers,” is developing an untitled two-part film about Charles de Gaulle, the legendary French army officer who led the French resistance against Nazi Germany during World War II and eventually became president of France.The film will be directed by Antonin Baudry, who made his feature debut with “The Wolf’s Call,”