‘Tepui – Into the House of Gods,’ Exploring the Mountains of Venezuela, to Be Launched at MipTV by ZDF Studios (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: London-based Dogwoof has locked a series of international deals on Eternal You, a documentary about AI startups set to screen at this month’s Hot Docs Fest following a debut bow at Sundance.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading distribution company Beta Film has come on board four-part Norwegian drama “A Better Man,” created by Thomas Seeberg Torjussen. The show, which was commissioned by Norwegian broadcaster NRK and German broadcaster ZDF‘s platform ZDFneo, is produced by Synnøve Hørsdal and Christian Fredrik Martin at Norway’s Maipo Film. “A Better Man” centers on Tom, Norway’s number one internet troll.

Holly Jones German sales outfit Patra Spanou Film (“Blue Moon”) has acquired international rights to “The Pleasure Is Mine” (“El Placer Es Mío”), the debut feature from Brazilian-born screenwriter and director Sacha Amaral, whose prior efforts on short “Billy Boy” earned him a slot at the Cannes Cinéfondation program in 2021. The boutique sales agency has also shared an exclusive first-look teaser with Variety ahead of the drama’s premiere in international competition at this year’s Bafici in Buenos Aires, running April 17-28.

Naman Ramachandran Circle Women Doc Accelerator, an international training program dedicated to women and non-binary filmmakers, has unveiled the four projects that will take part in its showcase as part of the Cannes Docs program of the upcoming Cannes Film Market. For the fifth consecutive year, four alumnae of the program will present their works-in-progress during the market. “Dreamers” by Imam Hasanov, produced by Maria Ibrahimova for Cinex production (Azerbaijan), is set in rural Azerbaijan, where former football player Mamed coaches an all-girls football team.

Led by Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Warner Bros has crossed the $1B mark at the international box office, becoming the first studio to reach the milestone this year. Getting there in just 15 weeks, this also sets a new speed record for WB, besting the 17 weeks it took in 2018. The full international estimate through today is $1.04B.

Lise Pedersen Berlinale Forum entry “Shahid,” the debut feature of Iranian-German filmmaker Narges Kalhor, has been picked up by Prague-based doc specialist Filmotor ahead of its premiere at Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel, where it is competing in the more experimental Burning Lights section. Described by Kalhor as a collective work between herself and other artists, including a costume artist and a painter from Iran, a German music composer and a choreographer from Berlin, “Shahid” shifts playfully between genres, challenging conventional filmmaking rules.

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed Spain and Portugal with AMC Networks International Southern Europe, on the Finnish suspense disaster drama “Seconds”, Variety has learned exclusively. One of REinvent’s MipTV highlights, “Seconds,” made a strong debut on Finnish pubcaster Yle this week, according to head of drama, Jarmo Lampela. “It will easily go over the average viewing target,” he said.

Well Go USA has landed North American rights for Dutch action thriller Invasion about a daring military operation in the wake of a hostile attack on the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading European distributor Global Screen, part of Telepool, has secured further international sales of high-end drama “Davos 1917” at MipTV. New acquisitions of the six-part thriller include SBS Australia, TVP in Poland and Big Tree Entertainment in India and the subcontinent. “Davos 1917,” which launched at the end of last year on SRF in Switzerland and ARD in Germany, has already been bought by a strong lineup of premium international broadcasters and streamers across North America, Europe and Asia.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Federation Studios has acquired distribution rights to “The Morning After,” an eight-part comedy series headlined by up-and-coming British actor Amara Okereke (“In the Lost Lands”). It filmed on location in Cape Town in South Africa. The show is produced by Paris-based company Paradoxal and Cape Town-based outfit Both Worlds, which previously partnered on “Recipes for Love and Murder.” The series is co-produced by SWR, ARD FabFiction and Prime Video Africa.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Germany’s Beta Film is bringing the love story between a Dutch prince and a beautiful Argentinian financier to the Croisette. The world premiere of “Máxima” screens out-of-competition at Canneseries on April 9 after being teased at the London TV Screenings in late February.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Qatar-based powerhouse BeIN Media Group, a co-owner of U.S. indie studio Miramax, has taken distribution rights across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to live-action pre-school series “Saïd & Anna,” which has been nominated for this year’s Banff World Media Festival‘s Rockie Awards.

A French adaptation of Beta Film‘s International Emmy-winning Turkish thriller series Persona is in the works with a female protagonist.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Germany’s Beetz Brothers and South Africa’s Storyscope have partnered to co-produce “Free at Last,” a premium documentary series re-telling of the history of Apartheid. The series will unveil the true stories behind the oppressive and racist regime that ruled South Africa for decades, weaving together exclusive accounts from both victims and perpetrators, unseen footage and previously unpublished documents.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Pure Fiction Television, the independent production company helmed by Tom Winchester (“Shogun,” “Clickbait,” “The Capture”), has secured the rights to bestselling author Dolores Redondo’s Baztan Trilogy and the prequel, “La Cara Norte Del Corazón” (The North Face of the Heart), and is developing them into a returning, premium international TV series. The trilogy and prequel novel, which feature homicide detective Amaia Salazar, are gripping psychological thrillers infused with mystery, mythology and superstition, set in the beautiful Basque region of Northern Spain, as well as in New Orleans.

Refresh for latest…: A busy holdover weekend for wide studio releases was led by the trio of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two. And, in a soaring performance, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar winner The Boy and the Heron swooped into China helping the market set a new Qingming holiday record. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor U.S.-based global distributor PBS Intl. is bringing a squad of sports-themed documentaries to MipTV to tie in with the Olympic Games that’ll run this summer in Paris. “Olympic Dreams” travels to Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest nations, as it struggles to recover from its 11-year civil war.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Moved from its usual December berth last year, the 12th Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama) runs April 4-7, replete with new industry activities and double the number of films since its previous edition. True to its mandate to serve as a showcase for Central American and Caribbean cinema, the festival’s program this year includes a bevy of acclaimed films from the region, including two Panamanian Indigenous-themed features, “Bila Burba” and “God is a Woman.” Recent years has seen the growing international recognition of pics from the region, with Nelson Carlo de los Santos becoming the first Dominican – and first Latin American – filmmaker to snag the best director Silver Bear at the Berlinale for his drama, “Pepe.” Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss’ sophomore feature, “Memories of a Burning Body,” clinched the Audience Award for best fiction film in the Panorama section of the A-list German festival.

Alex Ritman French TV giant Banijay is losing its second C-suite exec in just over a month. The company has confirmed to Variety that COO Peter Langenberg is departing, with his last day set to be March 31. Langenberg will remain with Banijay on a consultancy basis in the ESG (environment, social and governance) space.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” the Berlinale Golden Bear-winning film helmed by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, has been sold to a raft of international territories by Les Films du Losange. Along with being acquired by Mubi in key markets, “Dahomey” has been acquired in Australia & New Zealand (Rialto), China (Hugoeast), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nitrato Filmes), Greece (One From the Heart), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainement), Benelux (Cinéart), Bulgaria (Beta Films), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Romania (Voodoo), Baltic Countries (Taip Toliau), Poland (New Horizons), Ukraine (Kyivmusicfilm), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), Indonesia (PT Falcon) and Sudu Connexion in Africa.