Protagonist, Les Films Du Losange Strike French Deal On Cannes Breakout ‘War Pony’

When he was an undergrad at Harvard, author and historian Eric Cervini’s first encounter with queer history surprisingly did not come from a book.

as the photographer broke the news that his mom had died earlier in the month following a battle with lung cancer.READ: How Anna Nicole Smith's daughter paid tribute to her late mom in her 'own special way'Larry took to Instagram earlier in the week to share a photo of himself alongside his late mother as they wrapped their arms around each other during a glitzy event. Larry was dressed for the occasion in a smart shirt, while his late mom oozed glamour in a striking white gown.

This year’s Zurich Summit kicked off with a bang as a host of top industry execs gathered on stage to discuss one of the most challenging topics facing the independent film world today – how to finance an independent film in the streaming age?

Liza Foreman Boutique distributor Juno Films has picked up North American distribution rights to the Irish-language feature “Róise and Frank,” (“Mo Ghrá Buan”), the company confirmed on Friday. Written and directed by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy, the drama tells the story of an imaginative widow, played by Irish actress Bríd Ní Neachtain, who decides that a stray dog she befriends is the reincarnation of her deceased husband Frank. As time passes, Róise slowly begins to open herself back up to the outside world and reconnect to friends and family. Her canine companion starts to coach the local junior high school’s hurling team with great success for the team and its players, under Frank’s guidance. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Films du Losange has closed a raft of major deals on Kasja Naess’s animated feature “Titina” which is produced by the teams behind the Oscar-nominated film “The Triplets of Belleville” and Oscar-winning short “The Danish Poet.” “Titina” will world premiere at Animation Is Film Festival, which takes place Oct. 21-23, and is produced by GKids, in collaboration with Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Variety. Budgeted at $8.5 million, the Norwegian animated movie was produced by Mikrofilm (“The Danish Poet”) and Vivi Film (“The Triplets of Belleville”). The film tells the real-life story of a fox terrier that accompanied her master on an expedition to the North Pole in an air balloon in the 1920’s. It will be released in Norway by Norsk Film Distribusjon, and in France by Les Films du Losange.

Swedish House Mafia have debuted a new collaboration with Alicia Keys at a recent show in San Francisco.The producer trio — who were playing in the city as part of their ‘Paradise Again’ tour — enlisted Keys on stage, where she performed the as-yet unreleased song ‘Finally’. The track itself is a cover of the Kings of Tomorrow song of the same name, which featured the singer Julie McKnight.For their part, Swedish House Mafia and Keys bring an atmospheric touch to the 2000 original, pairing the singer’s R&B vocals with the trio’s trademark build-ups and bass drops.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a new deal secured at this week’s San Sebastian Festival, Birgit Kemner’s Manny Films has partnered with Chile’s Storyboard Media to co-produce “Un Buen Día Para Morir” (“A Good Day to Die”), the third feature by Marcelo Ferrari (“Subterra,” “Bombal”). Inspired by the real story of pianist María Paz Santibáñez whose life took a dramatic turn during a protest against General Pinochet’s dictatorship in 1987, the drama turns on 24-year-old piano student Pachi who is shot in the head during a protest against the military regime. Seriously injured and pregnant, she manages to survive and give birth to her daughter. Escaping Chile, she settles in Paris where – against all odds – she fulfills her dream to become a concert pianist.

The topic of streaming loomed large over the first session of San Sebastian’s new Creative Investors’ Conference featuring a keynote by Wild Bunch co-founder Vincent Maraval.

Belgium has selected Lukas Dhont’s Cannes-winning title Close as its official submission to the International Oscar race this year.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” won the Grand Prize of the Deauville American Film Festival on Saturday evening during a ceremony which was followed by the French premiere of Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling.” “Aftersun” had world premiered at Critics Week in Cannes where it won a prize. The movie marks the feature debut of Wells, a New York-based Scottish filmmaker. Headlined by “Normal People” actor Paul Mescal, the bittersweet drama follows a father and his daughter who take a holiday at a Turkish resort in the late 1990s. The movie is being represented in international markets by Charades and will be distributed in North America by A24.

Trinidad Barleycorn The setting: a small resort, Les Cimes, in the Swiss Alps, a stone’s throw from the French border. The moment: the end of ski season, tourists have left, time seems to be suspended. The plot: a corpse is found, tied up, with an edelweiss in its mouth. The protagonist: Captain Sterenn Peiry (Marina Hands) leads the investigation. She still mourns her 15-year-old daughter, killed three years before in an avalanche. So much for the beginning of “Off Season” (Hors saison), a Franco-Swiss police series, produced by Akka Films, Gaumont Television with RTS and France Télévisions, and beautifully filmed in CinémaScope by Pierre Monnard. This thrilling six-part series, presented to buyers at the French TV market Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz, is best in class in the art of constantly misleading the viewer. From the very first minutes, the plot thickens: a second corpse, found in the same gloomy setting, but on the French side, makes the shadow of a serial killer lurk on Les Cimes and brings into the game French policeman Lyes Bouaouni (the excellent Sofiane Zermani, a.k.a. the rapper Fianso). When a third layer is added: Sterenn’s son kills his girlfriend and flees the scene. We are left wondering: how far can a mother go to save her only child?

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Films Pelleas, the Paris-based banner behind Mia Hansen-Love’s “One Fine Morning” (pictured), is set to produce Guillaume Senez (“Our Struggles”)’s next project, as well as the feature debut of Anne-Sophie Bailly whose short “The Midwife” is currently playing at Telluride. The Paris-based banner’s roster of completed roster includes Karim Moussaoui’s “L’Effacement,” and Annie Ernaux’s documentary “Les annes Super-8.” “Mona” revolves around around a woman in her 60’s who raised alone her disabled son and is at a point in her life where she aspires to start caring for herself. But when her son is unexpectedly having a baby, Mona finds herself with another heavy responsibility to bear.

Ed Meza @edmezavar “Musk vs Bezos: The New Star Wars,” about the space race between the two richest men in the world, is attracting plenty of attention from broadcasters in Europe, where new TV documentary has secured multiple sales. Commissioned by France 5 from French documentary production shingle Magneto, “Musk vs Bezos” examines the intense competition between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin as they vie for the top spot in the U.S.’s burgeoning space travel business and the potential consequences for the world if the two billionaires develop the capacity to monopolize all future terrestrial communications. “When Musk first tried to buy a Russian rocket back in 2001, the chief engineer of the Russian Space Agency thought it was a joke,” Java Films notes. “By 2008 SpaceX had a contract with NASA to supply flights to the International Space Station.”

Ed Meza @edmezavar France TV Distribution is ratcheting up global sales for the hit Gallic crime series “Bright Minds,” with deals ranging from Japan to the U.S., Canada and Latin America. In its third season, the show, which airs on France 2, follows a police detective who finds a brilliant partner in a young autistic woman with encyclopedic knowledge of criminal investigations who works in the police records bureau. Together, they realize their complementary skills are the key to solving cases. France TV Distribution, which is presenting its current lineup this week at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous market in Biarritz, sold the show to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, which has been airing it since July.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter After introducing the project at MipTV earlier this year, distributor Newen Connect is bringing its crime thriller series “Syndrome E” to the Unifrance Rendez-Vous, the international sales event for French shows in Biarritz, South-West France, which runs Sept. 4-8. “Syndrome E” is the first TV series adapted from the work of international best-selling thriller writer and screenwriter Franck Thilliez. The French author was the fourth most read writer in France in 2020, with more than 7 million books sold in France and translated in more than 20 countries. “Syndrome E” is the first TV series adapted from international best-selling thriller writer and screenwriter Franck Thilliez. The French author was the fourth most read writer in France in 2020, with more than 7 million books sold in France and translated in more than 20 countries.

Ed Meza @edmezavar U.S. streaming service Topic is expanding its roster of French content with such recent acquisitions as the Arte fantasy-thriller miniseries “The Rope,” picked up from Wild Bunch TV, and Season 2 of political satire “Parliament,” sold internationally by France TV Distribution. Launched by First Look Media in 2019, Topic specializes in crime and thrillers, including top Nordic shows like “The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Arctic Circle” and “The Bridge”-inspired German thriller “Pagan Peak.” Jennifer Liang, Topic’s vice president of programming strategy, acquisitions and sales, is attending this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV programming market in Biarritz for the first time and on the lookout for titles that fit the niche streamer’s high standards.

Naman Ramachandran Janus Films has acquired North American rights for Hlynur Pálmason’s “Godland,” which bowed at Cannes and is bound for Telluride and Toronto. The film follows a young Danish priest in the late 19th century who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality. It stars Elliott Crosset Hove (“Winter Brothers”), Ingvar Sigurðsson (“A White, White Day”), Vic Carmen Sonne (“Holiday”), Jacob Hauberg Lohmann (“Shorta”), Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir (“A White, White Day”), Waage Sandø “The Team”) and Hilmar Guðjónsson (“Sóttkví”).

Janus Films has acquired North American rights for Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason’s priest drama Godland, which debuted in Cannes Un Certain Regard and now heads to Telluride and Toronto this fall.

Gloria Estefan. The honor also celebrates the singer’s 65th anniversary and chart-topping 1989 hit, “Get on Your Feet.”Inspired by the iconic music video and staying true to her multicultural roots, the Gloria Estefan Barbie Doll features a black jacket with intricate gold detailing, jeweled accents, and a dramatic oversized lace sleeve.