‘Tipping Point’ Wins Series Mania Award at Berlin Co-Pro Series

Marta Balaga As proven by a slew of new shows in development, series creators from Finland keep on experimenting. “People are exploring some bold, risky topics. Ones that make you go: ‘Wow, they are really making a show about that?’,” says Laura Kuulasmaa, executive director from the producers’ association APFI. Aamu Film Company’s “Monster,” about a teenage Nicke, realizing he is in love with his girlfriend’s 11-year-old sister, is bound to ignite discussions.  “I wanted to do this show because I believe that raising awareness of minor-attracted persons can save children from abuse,” creator Eva-Maria Koskinen tells Variety.  

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Series Mania, Europe’s biggest TV fest, and German film-TV powerhouse Beta Group has revealed the 10 projects in the first edition of Seriesmakers, unveiling what must be one of the most talent-packed project lineups at any festival, film or TV, in 2023, A mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut, Series Mania features in development drama series from “Compartment No 6’s” Juho Kuosmanen, ‘Bang Gang’s’ Eva Husson and “Birds of a Passage’s” Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego. Also in the mix is “Amigas,” the first TV project of Beatriz Seigner (“Los Silencios”), one of Brazil’s foremost young movie directors, “The Invisible Ink,” teaming Cannes best first feature winner César Díaz (“Our Mothers”)and New Uruguay Cinema founding father Fernando Epstein; and Indian arthouse filmmaker Pushpendra Singh, who scored with Berlin Encounters’ title “The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Locarno Film Festival is launching a first-of-its-kind contest, offering a free complete restoration service to a selected vintage cinema classic. The contest is part of The Swiss fest’s Heritage Online program that was launched in 2021 when its Locarno Pro industry side branched out into vintage cinema creating a platform that serves as a database of film titles that premiered prior to 2005. The goal of the fest dedicated to indie cinema is to play an active role in restoring older films to their former glory and also to become a business facilitator between rights holders and classic film distributors, streaming platforms and other outlets.

THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM NOMINEESRoger Deakins, ASC, BSC for “Empire of Light”Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS for “The Batman”Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC for “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”Claudio Miranda, ASC for “Top Gun: Maverick”Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS for “Elvis” *WINNERSPOTLIGHT AWARDSturla Brandth Grøvlen, DFF for “War Sailor” *WINNERKate McCullough, ISC for “The Quiet Girl”Andrew Wheeler for “God’s Country” EPISODE OF A ONE-HOUR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION SERIESJohn Conroy, ASC, ISC for “Westworld” – “Années Folles” Catherine Goldschmidt for “House of the Dragon” – “The Lord of the Tides” Alejandro Martinez for “House of the Dragon” – “The Green Council” M. David Mullen, ASC for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” – “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?” *WINNERAlex Nepomniaschy, ASC for “The Marvelous Mrs.

EXCLUSIVE: Fire Country and 60 Minutes have joined CBS’ 10M+ viewers club.

Bill Murray and star Jeannie Berlin set foot on the red carpet of the 2023 SAG Awards holding hands.Murray and Berlin appeared quite close when they arrived together for Sunday's soiree at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The star wore a black tuxedo with a colorful bow tie, while Berlin sported an all-black suit and shades.Berlin, who portrayed Hadassah Fabelman in the Steven Spielberg film, was there for the film's nomination in the Best Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture category.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights to the Berlin-premiering family drama “Tótem,” written and directed by “The Chambermaid” helmer Lila Avilés. Winner of the festival’s Ecumenical Jury Prize, the film follows seven-year-old Sol, who spends the day at her grandfather’s home, helping her aunts Nuri and Alejandra with the preparations for a surprise party they’re throwing for her father, Tonatiuh, who is terminally ill. However, as night descends, a strange and chaotic atmosphere takes over, shattering the bonds that hold the family together, and Sol will come to understand that her world will change dramatically.

Jeremy Allen White is a winner!

Nicholas Philibert, whose film On the Adamant won the Golden Bear at the 73rd Berlinale on Saturday, has made a lifetime commitment to observational documentary, moving between interviews and long, patient takes of his subjects pursuing what it is that they do. The best known of these is Etre et Avoir (2002), which followed a year in the life of a tiny rural school where the single teacher – kindly but exacting, in the French manner – taught several grades at once. Thanks to the magnetism of this committed teacher – and of his delightful enfants, of course – Etre et Avoir became an unlikely but enduring arthouse hit.

can be found here.MAIN COMPETITIONGolden Bear for Best Film: “On the Adamant” (“Sur l’Adamant”), Nicolas PhilibertSilver Bear Grand Jury Prize: “Afire” (“Roter Himmel”), Christian PetzoldSilver Bear Jury Prize: “Bad Living” (“Mal Viver”), Joao CanijoSilver Bear for Best Director: Philippe Garrel, “The Plough”Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance: Sofia Otero, “20,000 Species of Bees”Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Thea Ehre, “Till the End of the Night”Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Angela Schanelec, “Music”Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Hélène Louvart for the cinematography of “Disco Boy”ENCOUNTERSBest Film: “Here,” Bas DevosBest Director: “The Echo,” Tatiana HuezoSpecial Jury Award: “Samsara,” Lois PatiñoSpecial Jury Award: “Orlando, My Political Biography,” Paul B. PreciadoGWFF Best First Feature Award: “The Klezmer Project,” Leandro Koch, Paloma SchachmannSpecial Mention: “The Bride,” Myriam U.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Veteran French docmaker Nicolas Philibert was the surprise winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, taking the prize for his film “On the Adamant,” a poignant observational study of a Paris mental health care facility. He received the award from jury president Kristen Stewart, after the star offered an extended and plainly heartfelt ode to the film’s humanity and simplicity: “People have gone in circles for thousands of years trying to pin down what can be deemed art, who’s allowed to do it and what determines its value,” she said, citing the boundary-pushing nature of the festival, and namechecking such opposing philosophers on the matter as Aristotle, Barthes, Sontag and Beavis & Butthead, before concluding, “For all of us, you just know it when you see it.”

‘The Woman King’ & ‘Aftersun’ Dominate Girls On Film AwardsThe Woman King and Aftersun dominated the main awards at the second annual Girls On Film Awards. The Woman King picked up Best Ensemble, sponsored by Netflix, and Best Female Friendship On Screen. Woman King star Viola Davis was also awarded the Feminist Superhero award. Woman King lead Sheila Atim was there in person to accept the awards. Aftersun nabbed Best Feature Film Sponsored by EON Productions, while the film’s publicity team also won Best Publicity Campaign. Other big winners included Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder, which took home Best Cinematography and the Sinéad O’Connor pic Nothing Compares (Best Documentary). Nominees for the awards were chosen by a selection of critics and journalists. Girls On Film was launched by Deadline critic and broadcaster Anna Smith and producer Hedda Archbold with the aim of rewarding excellence in the field of feminism, inclusion, and diversity in cinema. Check out the full winners on the Girl On Film Twitter account.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content will deliver a keynote at Series Mania’s Lille Dialogues whose one-day summit looks set to take the pulse on a global content industry as content investment flattens and ask how to build a more responsible industry in the future. Marking an early opportunity to hear from streaming platforms after both Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney have announced multi-billion dollar cuts in content investment, the Lille Dialogues also count on a keynote from James Farrell, head of local originals, Prime Video. Further keynotes will be delivered by top execs at France’s biggest free-to-air service, TF1, as well as its energetic public broadcaster France Télévisions and Europe’s biggest pay TV operator, Sky. Jan Mojto, CEO, Beta Film, can be expected to deliver a wide-angled vision of how stories made in Europe can find a market worldwide.

Marc Anthony planted a sweet kiss on wife Nadia Ferreira's lips and then headed for her baby bump after he was announced as the night's first televised winner at 2023 Premio Lo Nuestro.The legendary singer made the romantic gestures Thursday night at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, the site of the 35th annual awards show.

Tom Whitlock, who won a Best Song Oscar for co-writing the No. 1 smash ‘Take My Breath Away’ from Top Gun and also wrote the film’s other hit single “Danger Zone,” has died. He was 68.

When Laurence Herszberg first launched Series Mania back in 2010 in Paris, the former Forum des Images director was keen to apply her deep knowledge of film and the film festival model to the television sector. At the time, says the French exec, no one was doing any kind of TV festival “solely dedicated to series.”  

Beyond the festival element of Series Mania, one major draw for international industry professionals is the event’s industry strand, Series Mania Forum, which runs from March 21-23. The popular event, which largely centers around its Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, panels and conferences, wraps up with its Lille Dialogues one-day summit on March 23. 

Naman Ramachandran Berlin’s just concluded European Film Market (EFM), which had a physical edition this year after two online editions in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic, has reported “record results” according to the organizers. There were 230 stands and 612 companies from 78 countries and more than 11,500 market participants from 132 countries. Some 773 films were shown in 1,533 screenings, including 647 online screenings and 599 market premieres. The total number of buyers also rose to 1,302. 629 film projects were presented on the new Producers & Project Pages. “After the past two irregular years, we’re pleased to return to the physical in full force, and with a vibrant, bustling and strong market. The exhibition areas at Gropius Bau and the Marriott Hotel were sold out, and the exhibitors reported strong sales and good business. The decision to group all the market happenings together with the Berlinale Series Market and the market screenings at Potsdamer Platz, and to provide the industry with an efficient infrastructure, was extremely well-received by our market participants,” said EFM director Dennis Ruh.

Berlinale Series and one of Disney+’s early big plays in Southern Europe, U.K.-Italian mafia series “The Good Mothers” walked off on Wednesday night with the Berlin Festival’s inaugural Berlinale Series Award.  A large virtue of the series is to come in at the mafia from a novel angle: a real story of women who dare to defy the Italian mob.  The title forms part of the first European slate by new Disney+ international streaming service Star. It tells how bosses at the the Calabrian mob were targeted by a female prosecutor – thanks to the collaboration of three women inside the ‘Ndrangheta organized crime clan. 

The Good Mothers, Disney+’s hard-hitting mafia drama series, has won the first ever Berlinale Series Award.