Taiwan Industry Sets Sights on World

K.J. Yossman Mercury Studios, the production company behind recent Abbey Road Studios doc “If These Walls Could Sing,” have unveiled their new feature, about composer Felix Mendelssohn’s genius sister Fanny. Although Felix, who is best known for writing “The Wedding March,” is still world-renowned 175 years after his death, his sister Fanny was also a prolific musician, composing 450 works – including her own wedding music – before she died in her early 40s. “Fanny: The Other Mendelssohn” tells her story. Sheila Hayman (“Mendelssohn, The Nazis and Me”) directs the doc, which also stars classical artist Isata Kanneh-Mason bringing Mendelssohn’s works to life. Filming has taken place in Berlin, New York, London, Oxford and Buckingham Palace, where Kanneh-Mason played Queen Victoria’s piano.

K.J. Yossman “Boom! Boom: The World vs. Boris Becker,” the upcoming Apple TV+ documentary that premiered in Berlin last month, has confirmed a release date. The full two-part doc, about disgraced tennis champ Boris Becker, will drop on the streamer on April. 7. The documentary, which was directed by Alex Gibney (“Enron”) and produced by John Battsek (“Searching for Sugar Man”), promises to explore “every aspect of the man who became a tennis sensation after winning The Wimbledon Championships at the age of just 17, going on to win 49 career titles, including six Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal, as well as his high-profile, sometimes tumultuous personal life,” according to the logline.

At previous in-person editions of Filmart, Hong Kong’s major film companies, including Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP), One Cool Group, Universe Films and Media Asia, always anchored the trade show floor with huge, elaborate booths promoting the latest Hong Kong films, animation and TV series. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sculptor turned director Wu Lang made a splash at the Berlin Film Festival with his debut feature “Absence” playing in the festival’s showcase Encounters section. With a high-profile cast headed by Lee Kang-sheng (“What Time Is It There?” “The Wayward Cloud”) and Li Meng (“The Bad Kids,” “The Guillotines”) “Absence” is an art-house romance that uses skyscapes and urban landscapes as metaphors for inner feelings. The seduction starts with a man’s return to Hainan Island after ten years in jail and ends with a flock of sheep in an abandoned construction site. Wu: Shooting the first short film for me had two purposes. First, making a film is not easy in terms of financing and finding coproducers. So, first I wanted to make a short in order to get myself started.

Four popular TLC series will roll out new episodes in April, including “90 Day Fiancé,” ‘Dr. Pimple Popper,” “You, Me & My Ex” and “7 Little Johnstons.”“90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise” arrives Monday, April 17, at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time.

Danish actor Nikolaj Lie Kaas is best known for his work on-screen with filmmakers such as Lars von Trier and Anders Thomas Jensen, but he’s in Berlin this week with Agent, his first project as a writer-director.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Spanish producers taking part in a Spanish content showcase at the Berlinale Series Market on Monday debated what was jokingly referred to as the “devil’s bargain” offered by major streaming platforms that are propelling Spanish shows around the globe often at the cost of IP ownership.    Álex de la Iglesia of Madrid-based production powerhouse Pokeepsie Films said the company for years retained the IP of films that played in local cinemas. “We assumed there was no other model. Now, maybe we lose our IP, but suddenly our movies are in the houses of the whole planet. Maybe you have to sell your soul to these ‘diabolical’ platforms,” he joked. “But I can only say that working with the devil is worth it.,” he added.

Zack Hudson (James Farrar) and Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) had their worlds rocked when Whitney discovered she was pregnant following their one night stand in EastEnders. Initially, Zack wanted nothing to do with Whitney and the baby, and Whitney assured him that that was fine – she could raise it alone. However, he soon changed his mind, promising to be there for Whitney and their baby all through the pregnancy and beyond.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Elsa Zylberstein, one of the most famous – and bankable — faces of French cinema, known for her Cesar-winning performance in “I’ve Loved You For So Long,” is preparing to emerge as a major film producer. Having recently set up banners in France and the U.S., Zylberstein is actively developing a raft of films and series, working with the likes of Oscar-winning Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad (“The Cave”), Ted Braun (Darfur Now”) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton (“The Father”), among others. These include “Kingdom of Hope,” a movie about Elise Boghossian, a French acupuncturist and humanitarian worker in a war zone who has healed children victims of ISIS . The movie will be directed by Fayyad, who is based in Berlin, and is being penned by Braun, based on Boghossian’s autobiographical book “Au royaume de l’espoir, il n’y a pas d’hiver.”

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The latest series from Alex de la Iglesia and “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo feature at a first-look Next from Spain Showcase which marks a massive step-up in the country’s presence at the Berlinale Series Market. Running Feb. 20-22, the showcase also unveils “Rapa” Season 2, with its first season proving Movistar+’s biggest 2022 bow, and “This Is Not Sweden,” a pioneering Spanish co-production with Scandinavia and Germany.  The Showcase titles are joined by Isaki Lacuesta’s “The Chauffeur’s Son,” a Co-Pro Series project from “Elite’s” Zeta Studios, and “Selftape,” a Filmin Original from Filmax and a Series Market Screening.

Matt Damon revealed he is in the early stages of research in a documentary project tackling the war in Ukraine at the Berlin Film Festival on Sunday.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore and India-based Mumba Devi Motion Pictures is screening two films at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) and has unveiled a slate of future titles. The company, headed by producer Sweta Chhabria and producer-director Aditya Kripalani, makes issue-based films focusing on stories that are mostly to do with gender and burning topics like suicide prevention and mental health. The outfit makes it a point to minimize the male gaze by bringing on board heads of department who are all women. Kripalani and Chhabria’s just-completed Singapore-set film “Grand Sugar Daddy,” which has its market premiere at EFM on Feb. 18, follows a 70-year-old widower who is introduced to the world of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies. The film traces his conversations with a Singaporean Chinese woman, an Indian woman and a transgender Malay.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor 101 Films Intl. has secured worldwide distribution rights for World War II adventure film “War Blade,” starring Joseph Millson (“Casino Royale,” “The Last Kingdom”), Paul Marlon (“Trigger Point”), Michael McKell (“Murder Investigation Team,” “Doctors”) and Rebecca Scott (“The Capture,” “Transhuman”). The sales company is presenting the film to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin. The film was written and directed by Nicholas Winter (“Robin Hood: The Rebellion,” “Breathe,” “Bone Breaker”). “War Blade” follows Robert Banks, an agent of the British Special Operations Executive, who is tasked with rescuing a French resistance fighter from a hidden Nazi bunker. With the help of a German nurse and a ragtag group of allies, Banks must journey to the belly of the beast.

Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone & Kevin Connolly To Star In Dark Comedy ‘Krazy House’Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone, and Kevin Connolly have signed on to star in the dark comedy Krazy House from writer-directors Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil. Production on the pic has just been completed in Amsterdam. The cast is rounded out by Gaite Jansen, Walt Klink, Jan Bijvoet, Chris Peters, and Matti Stooker. Maarten Swart will produce the film for Kaap Holland Film, in a co-production with Haars and van der Kuil. Kaap Holland Film’s Jorn Baars and XYZ’s Todd Brown are executive producers. Splendid Films is handling distribution in the Benelux. XYZ has North American sales rights.

Few objects hold a bigger sway over contemporary life than the smartphone. Now, the rise and fall of the BlackBerry, the world’s first smartphone, gets the big screen treatment.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent LevelK has unveiled the trailer for “Dancing Queen,” Aurora Gossé’s coming-of-age film world premiering in the Generation section at the Berlin Film Festival. Penned by Silje Holtet, the dance-filled movie is produced by Thomas Robsahm, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated Norwegian romantic comedy “The Worst Person in the World.” Newcomer Liv Elvira Kippersund Larsson stars as Mina, a slightly overweight underdog who falls head over heels in love and sets off to become at hip hop dancer to win his heart. The movie also stars Anders Baasmo (“In Order of Disappearance”) and Andrea Bræin Hovig (“An Affair), among others.

Christopher Vourlias In a day that was in turns hopeful, angry, determined and defiant, industry stakeholders set the stage Thursday in Berlin for a concerted, pan-European push to boost diversity, inclusion and representation in the continent’s screen industries.   The Equity and Inclusion Pathways Seminar, which took place Feb. 16 during the European Film Market, laid out an action plan that the day’s participants said would have a transformative impact on policy frameworks across Europe. “I think there’s an awakening,” said Victoria Thomas, of the Anti-Racism Taskforce for European Film (ARTEF). “We don’t have to explain to people anymore. There’s a general consensus that something needs to be done.”

Naman Ramachandran India’s Clapstem Entertainment, led by director-producer Girish Malik and producer Amardeep S. Reen, has completed film “Band of Maharajas,” which is set for a market screening at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM). Malik’s directorial debut, ecological drama “Jal” (2013), was in Busan’s New Currents competition. His sophomore feature, refugee and sports themed “Torbaaz” (2020), headlined by Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, was a Netflix original film. His third film “Band of Maharajas” is the story of three clueless young folk musicians from a remote border village in India who undertake an unplanned and unusual journey to Pakistan that changes their lives and music. The film has the tagline “While countries divide us, music unites us.”

Christopher Vourlias When a rock festival held in Tallinn in the summer of 1988 was shut down by Soviet authorities, thousands of Estonians took to the streets, waving Estonian flags and singing patriotic songs in a bold show of defiance of Soviet rule. By the festival’s final night, some 200,000 people had joined what would later be dubbed the Singing Revolution, a catalyst for the non-violent movement that swept across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the early-‘90s and paved the way for independence. Even under Moscow’s thumb the Baltics demanded to be heard. For decades the three small nations have drawn on their historical, cultural and economic ties to create a sum that’s bigger than its parts, a collaborative spirit that’s also energized the countries’ growing screen industries, which will share the stage as joint Countries in Focus at this year’s European Film Market.

Kristen Stewart wasted no time making her presence felt as jury president of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. Screendaily reports that Stewart had some cutting things to say about the state of the film industry at the festival’s Competition press conference, particularly its obsession with money over artistic merit.