Thessaloniki Film Festival: Agora Series Returns With ‘Tehran’ EP Julien Leroux As Program Consultant

Christopher Vourlias When the Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, kicks off this week in Greece’s second city, organizers will be looking to expand upon recent additions to a time-tested formula that’s served the event across nearly two decades as a launching pad and incubator for Greek and regional talent. “We’ve been doing the Agora since 2005, and we have slowly but steadily established it as one of the markets where you can find new talents and emerging directors from this region,” says industry head Angeliki Vergou, who took over from longtime Agora topper Yianna Sarri last year.

Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been arrested while attending the funeral of teenager Armita Geravand, who died after allegedly being assaulted by morality police on the Tehran metro system for not wearing Iran‘s obligatory headscarf.

Jessie Ware has been on our radar for years.The 39 year old musician first came to attention way back in 2012 when she released her debut album, Devotion.The record received critical acclaim and was even nominated for that year's Mercury Prize. Following her early success, Jessie then went on to release a string of other albums and singles, all of which have been incredibly well received - most recently, 2023's That! Feels Good! which produced the feel good single, 'Free Yourself'.Thanks to these musical talents, Jessie has also been nominated for six Brit Awards over the years.

EXCLUSIVE: Black Bear has closed a raft of international deals on Guy Ritchie’s next project, the as yet untitled action film which wrapped principal photography in Spain this week.

John Stamos has been open about his excessive drinking in the past. During the peak of his battle with alcoholism, the "Full House" alum confessed he doesn’t even recall being on the movie set of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2." Stamos, 60, was arrested June 12, 2015, on suspicion of driving under the influence, and he was hospitalized. He explained how his alcoholism would deeply impact his memory.

The Howard Stern Show” Tuesday that his alcoholism had once been so bad, that he completely forgot he was cast in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.” Even more, he doesn’t recall being on set. According to the now-sober Stamos, he was hanging with cast mates Rita Wilson and Nia Vardalos in 2015 after being arrested for a DUI when they reminded him that he was expected to be filming in Toronto.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director John Stamos appeared on “The Howard Stern Show” to promote his new memoir, “If You Would Have Told Me,” and revealed that his alcoholism got so bad around 2015 that he actually does not remember being on set to film his role in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.” The actor appeared to forget he even booked a part in the film and was reminded the day after his 2015 arrest for driving under the influence that he had to go to Toronto, Canada, to film. In previous interviews, Stamos has said his 2015 DUI arrest was a definitive moment in convincing him that it was time to get sober. But it didn’t happen instantly.

John Stamos opened up about being arrested for a DUI in 2015 and what he had to do the very next day.

Starring Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat, the upcoming indie drama, “Drift,” a film by filmmaker Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo“), from the producers of “Call Me By Your Name” and “Nomadland” opens in early 2024. Two-time Academy Award nominee Erivo stars as Jacqueline, a woman who escapes her war-torn country to a Greek island.

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly surprised Snoop Dogg with an onstage birthday serenade last weekend.The actors joined the rapper for the Best Night of Your Life 2 benefit show on Saturday (October 21) to perform ‘Boats ‘N Hoes’, the track sung by Dale and Brennan in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers.They then sang a verse of Snoop’s 1994 track ‘Gin and Juice’, before Reilly took the microphone to make an announcement to the Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre.“Yesterday was a very special day,” Reilly said, via a video to shared to Snoop’s Instagram, which he captioned: “My brothers surprised me.”“It was Mr Snoop Dogg’s birthday.

Fergie and Jesus.Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly reunited to perform their classic rap “Boats’ N Hoes” from their iconic film “Step Brothers” for Snoop Dogg’s 52nd birthday during the Best Night Of Your Life 2 benefit show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday.“My brothers surprised me,” Snoop wrote on Instagram while sharing a backstage view of the special appearance by the comedy duo.Snoop didn’t squander the opportunity to perform the fan-favorite hit with the esteemed founders of Prestige Worldwide — the fictitious company from the 2008 Comedy — and rapped along with the comedy duo.As the song concluded, Ferrell and Reilly took a moment to shout out the special occasion.“Yesterday was a very special day,” Reilly told the cheering crowd.#WillFerrell and #JohnCReilly reunite on stage for a performance with #SnoopDogg at Will’s charity event.

A court in Iran has sentenced two female journalists to up to seven years in prison for “collaborating” with the United States government, among other charges, local reports said.

Rick Riordan published“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief ” in 2005. The book introduces 12-year-old Percy, who discovers that the monsters and demon-eyed teachers who have plagued him his whole life aren’t figments of his imagination: He’s a demigod, it turns out — the child of a human woman and the water god Poseidon — and the Greek myths he grew up learning about are real. To empower his son, Haley, Riordan positioned Percy’s ADHD and dyslexia as strengths: They came from his battle instincts and his innate ability to read ancient Greek.

Fans of the celebrated Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui have woken to the shocking news of his murder at home by an unknown assailant. He was 83.

The co-creators of Fauda and Tehran have detailed how they are helping the relief efforts as Ted Sarandos pays tribute to Lior Weitzman, a sound technician on Netflix’s first Hebrew-language original series, who was killed on Saturday during the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Christopher Vourlias Beta Film has released a moving trailer for the Ukrainian war drama “In Her Car,” a gripping series about the ongoing crisis told through the eyes of those who are living it, the company announced ahead of Mipcom. “In Her Car” (10 x 30’) is produced by Starlight Media and Gaumont in co-production with France Télévisions, ZDF (Germany) and Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The show was also boarded in its early stages by Nordic public broadcasters SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark), YLE (Finland), NRK TV (Norway) and RÚV (Iceland).

Pepe Barroso made his Hollywood debut alongside the likes of Orlando Bloom and David Harbour in this summer’s racing movie Gran Turismo, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the up-and-coming actor.

Christopher Vourlias Beta Film has acquired international sales rights to the Greek drama series “The Beach,” a primetime sensation for Greek public broadcaster ERT, the Munich-based production and distribution powerhouse announced on the eve of Mipcom. The 24-part one hour series begins on an idyllic commune on the shores of Crete in 1969, where love and freedom intertwine, until a murder exposes the messy entanglements spurred on by the hippie residents.

President Joe Biden said that the Hamas attack on Israel was “an act of sheer evil,” sternly describing horrific reports of the terrorists’ brutality in targeting Jewish men, women, children and babies.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bertrand Bonello‘s “The Beast,” a dystopian romance drama starring Lea Seydoux (“No Time to Die”) and George MacKay (“1917”), has been bought by distributors in all major markets following its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Represented in international markets by Kinology, “The Beast” has sold to the U.K. (Vertigo Releasing), Italy (iWonder), Spain (Caramel), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto), Benelux (Imagine), Scandinavia (NonStop), Latin America (Impacto), Middle East (Front Row), Poland (New Horizons), Greece (Weirdwave), Portugal (Alambique), CIS (Capella), Romania (Transilvania), Bulgaria (Cinelibri), Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), India (Superfine) and Indonesia (P.T.