Sundance Award Winner ‘Mami Wata’ Sells to Germany, Austria (EXCLUSIVE)

The Inside Soap Awards 2023 have officially crowned their winners as the ceremony gets underway, and it's an incredible year for EastEnders who have officially won Best Soap. The fan-voted awards show sees viewers having their say, and the most dramatic storylines and performances always cause a stir. But with the return of Albert Square icon Cindy Beale, played by Michelle Collins, who was one of the most legendary soap characters ever, it's no surprise that the BBC One serial drama won best overall this year.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Oxygen’s “911 Crisis Center” and A&E’s “Secrets of the Chippendales Murders” were among the winners Saturday night at the second annual Clue Awards, held at the CrimeCon event in Orlando, Fla. Hosted by ABC News legal analyst Matt Murphy, the event included presenters Nancy Grace, Kelly Siegler, Camille Vasquez and Paul Holes.

EXCLUSIVE: Cord Jefferson’s feature directorial debut, American Fiction, is changing up its release plan from Nov. 3rd limited opening to Dec. 15.

Director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar ominously warned audiences at the world premiere of his Punjabi-language debut that it was a much more serious affair than they might be expecting. After all, the Romeo and Juliet framing in the festival notes and the film’s title pointed towards a young-love romantic melodrama.

Out of nearly 2500 entries, 14 students have been named winners of the 50th Annual Student Academy Awards competition by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Variety, but the cause was not announced. His rep described him to People as, “A Red Sox fanatic, bourbon connoisseur, devoted husband and father and friend to anyone who met him.”Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, McGrath starred in over a dozen Broadway plays, including “Plaza Suite,” “Tootsie,” “Spamalot” and “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” the later of which earned his Tony in 2012 (for “Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical.”)He also played Patsy in the 2005 Broadway musical “Spamalot,” which also earned him a Tony nomination. His other accolades included Drama Desk Award nominations, Outer Critics Circle nominations and a Theatre World Award.

Warner Bros. Discovery Germany boss Hannes Heyelmann has become the latest to exit from Gerhard Zeiler’s international team.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Maxime Saada, the chair and CEO of Canal+ Group, will receive the Variety Vanguard Award at the Mipcom international content sales conference set for Oct. 16-19 in Cannes. The award recognizes television industry leaders who have made a significant contribution to the global business of entertainment.

Guy Lodge Film Critic The closing-night awards ceremony of the 80th Venice Film Festival has kicked off, with Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things,” Agnieszka Holland’s “Green Border” and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist” among the titles most hotly tipped for prizes from the official competition jury headed by Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle. The list of winners will be updated below as they are announced; full story to follow.

Refresh for latest…: The 80th Venice Film Festival officially draws to a close this evening with the main awards, including the top prize Golden Lion, soon to be handed out inside the Sala Grande.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has revealed a raft of deals for key territories for Ramata-Toulaye Sy‘s feature film debut, “Banel & Adama,” which played in competition in Cannes and makes its North American premiere in Toronto. Variety reviewed it as “a dreamlike debut” in May. The film just won the Melbourne International Film Festival’s top prize, the Bright Horizons Award.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Javier Bardem, winner of a San Sebastian 2023 Donostia Award for career achievement, is putting back his on-stage acceptance of the distinction until the 2024 San Sebastian Film Festival. The postponement is due to the “limits imposed under the strike called by the U.S. Actors Union (SAG-AFTRA),” the San Sebastian Festival announced Friday.

Christopher Vourlias When U.K. writer-director Jonathan Glazer approached Polish cinematographer Łukasz Żal about “The Zone of Interest,” a provocative Holocaust drama adapted from a 2014 novel by Martin Amis, he had a bold proposition for the film, which centers on the domestic life of an Auschwitz commandant and his family living in the shadow of the notorious concentration camp. What if, Glazer suggested, they shoot the scenes inside the Höss family home without a single camera on set? Working on location, production designer Chris Oddy and his crew built a replica of the camp commandant’s real-life house.

French filmmaker Claire Denis has been announced as the jury president for the Official Section of the 71st San Sebastian Film Festival, running from September 22-30.

The Trans Film Mentorship (TFM) presents the 2nd annual Trans Filmmakers Summit x TIFF, which will be held on Sunday, September 10th at Malaparte at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Open to all trans and non-binary creators, filmmakers, actors, industry partners and allies, Trans Filmmakers Summit x TIFF is an afternoon to foster industry exchanges and dialogue and to reimagine trans storytelling as an opportunity to nurture emerging trans talent in the film and TV industry. The Trans Filmmakers Summit (TFS) will also spotlight the films at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) made by trans and non-binary directors and/or featuring trans and non-binary talent.

Naman Ramachandran Germany-based sales agent Patra Spanou Film has acquired rights to “Working Class Goes to Hell,” which will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness strand. Directed by Mladen Đorđević (“The Life and Death of a Porno Gang”), the film follows a group of ex-workers, who, after losing their loved ones, jobs, and dignity to a tragic factory fire and corrupt privatization, seek hope and justice in the supernatural.

Naman Ramachandran The European Film Academy has revealed the nominations for Lux – The European Audience Film Award. The nominated films are: “20,000 Species of Bees” by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren (Spain); “The Teacher’s Lounge” by İlker Çatak (Germany); “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland, Germany); “On the Adamant” by Nicolas Philibert (France, Japan); and “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” by Anna Hints (Estonia, France, Iceland).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Renowned Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai ditched his quiet, brooding persona on Saturday in Venice, where he is to receive a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award. Instead, at a press conference in his honor, Leung positively gushed about his upcoming first European movie role and about the strengths of the “golden era” acting training he received in Hong Kong in the 1980s. Leung has made a speciality of saying little in many of his films.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent With fashion-themed films and series building momentum on the festival circuit, Kevin Macdonald’s “High & Low — John Galliano” has been sold by Newen Connect in major territories ahead of its premiere at Telluride. “High & Low — John Galliano,” a documentary portrait of the controversial fashion designer, is produced by Chloe Mamelok and Macdonald through KGB Films, in association with Condé Nast Entertainment.

Australia has selected Shayda, from Iranian-Australian debut writer and director Noora Niasari, as its submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar race.