XYZ Films Hires Former Film Factory Executive To Oversee New Global Film Slate Including Cannes Title ‘In Flames’

The European Film Academy (EFA) has unveiled 462 film professionals as new members in an announcement timed to coincide with Europe Day on May 9.

Prime Video Lines Up ‘One For All’ Series On Belgian Soccer Players

Cristiano Ronaldo could be on the move again in the next few months with the striker reportedly unhappy at Saudi Arabia side Al-Nassr.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Film Movement has acquired North American rights to Spanish writer-director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s “20,000 Species of Bees,” a tender drama about growing up trans that recently won a Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear. The New York-based distributor is planning to roll out this topical title — in which the child protagonist explores her gender identity — in U.S. theaters in late 2023, followed by a wide release on all leading home entertainment and digital platforms. The announcement was made by Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg and Jennyfer Gautier, the head of international sales of Paris-based distributor Luxbox.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Glossy drama film, “Inside the Yellow Cocoon,” has unveiled its first trailer ahead of its world premiere this month in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes. Its world sales representative, Cercamon will give the picture a market launch with a buyers-only screening on May 16. The anticipated Vietnamese-Singapore co-production is the debut feature by Pham Thien An and is eligible for the Camera d’Or prize. Its narrative follows a man whose sister-in-law is killed in a freak motorcycle accident in Saigon. He is tasked with delivering her body back to their countryside hometown. It is a journey on which he also takes his young nephew, who miraculously survived the crash. Amidst the mystical landscapes of rural Vietnam, the man begins a search for his older brother who vanished years ago in order to be able to hand over the boy. His pursuit, interrupted by magical dreams and forbidden desires, leads him to question what is worth living for.

Naman Ramachandran Arclight Films is handling worldwide rights to comedy feature “Arthur’s Whisky” and will launch sales at the upcoming Cannes film market. As revealed by Variety, Diane Keaton (“Something’s Gotta Give”) stars in the film. The cast also includes Patricia Hodge (“All Creatures Great and Small”), singer-actor Lulu (“Absolutely Fabulous”), David Harewood (“Homeland) and music superstar Boy George. Rounding out the cast are Hayley Mills (“The Parent Trap”), Bill Paterson (“House of the Dragon”), Adil Ray (“Citizen Khan”) and Lawrence Chaney (“RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.” winner). Directed by British filmmaker Stephen Cookson (“Stanley a Man Of Variety”), the film is written by Alexis Zegerman (“Ronnie Gecko”).

Naman Ramachandran The Malta Film Commission is launching the first-ever Mediterrane Film Festival, a new annual event dedicated to celebrating film and creativity. Running from June 25-30, the festival will take place at Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations across the country The festival aims to serve as a platform for Malta to continue building its film brand image worldwide and attract more film business to the islands. Prominent films shot in recent years in Malta include Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind” and Colin Trevorrow’s “Jurassic World Dominion.” The program, which will be revealed during the Cannes Film Festival, will showcase films from each of the MED9 (an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) nations. Screenings will be accessible to the public, and the featured films will be in the running for various awards.

As the stars turned out in force for 2023's Met Gala in New York – many wearing wedding dresses – two chose the glitzy event to announce their pregnancies.Tennis star Serena Williams, 41, debuted her baby bump on the cream carpet, telling Vogue magazine: “There’s three of us here. I’m good, I’m really good now.

Lizzo was the surprise performer inside the 2023 Met Gala!

Prime Video Picks Up Karl Lagerfeld Doc

Jennie Punter The Changing Face of Europe, which is presented by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with Hot Docs, returns to Toronto with the sixth edition of its festival-within-a-festival program—nine features and one mid-length film—exploring themes around identity, belonging and struggle. “Over the years, the Changing Face of Europe has become one of the more impactful programs in the lineup, and also an essential component of our festival programming,” Hot Docs artistic director Shane Smith told Variety in advance of the festival. “Europe has a rich history of and strong connection to the art of documentary filmmaking,” he said. “We are delighted to showcase the powerful work coming out of the continent that sheds light on crucial issues facing Europeans today.”

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, Music Rocío Guerrero, global head of Latin music at Amazon Music, has collected many professional accolades over her career. If there’s a power list of women in the industry, she’s on it. Latin leaders? She’s there, too.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent London-based Sideways Film has taken world sales on British director Carey Born’s “Cyborg: A Documentary” about a man who was born color blind and has an antenna embedded in his head to help contend with this condition. Filmed in the U.K., Spain, Denmark, Australia and across the U.S. in New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and New Jersey, the doc about the world’s first officially recognized cyborg premiered last month at the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen and was selected by the fest to screen online on its PARA:DOX platform. “Cyborg” centers on “cyborg artist” Neil Harbisson who was born with a rare condition called achromatopsia, which means he sees only in black and white. In 2003 Harbisson had an illegal operation. A so-called “eyeborg” antenna was implanted in the back of his head enabling him to “hear colour” as waves that are translated into sound frequencies and transmitted to his auditory cortex. Since then Harbisson started touring the world talking about being a cyborg.

Prime Video is reviving classic Spanish talent gala format Operación Triunfo and has unveiled its latest slate of scripted shows, films and doc series from the nation along with a local version of Takeshi’s Castle.

David Lynch has opened up about the state of cinema in a new interview.Speaking to Cahiers du Cinema, Lynch said a number of factors have caused cinema to struggle – including the coronavirus pandemic, changes in the way people access films now (via streaming, for example) and the increase in the number of television series.Last November, Britain’s second largest cinema operator, Cineworld, forecasted that admissions would remain below pre-pandemic levels for the next two years. While UK and Ireland box office sales hit £690m in ticket sales last year, that was still 30 per cent below for the same period, pre-pandemic in 2019 (via The Guardian).Lynch said “coronavirus has put a stop” to watching films in cinemas, adding: “Feature films are in a bad place, series have taken their place…You could sit down and actually have the experience of stepping into a whole new world.

Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time has cast Danish model-actress Maja Simonsen, Icelandic actress and former Olympic swimmer Ragga Ragnars, Irish actor Jay Duffy and New Zealand singer, actress and comedian Rima Te Wiata in recurring roles for the hit fantasy drama’s upcoming second season. The announcement was made during today’s virtual panel at JordanCon.

The Gray Man star was crowned Sexiest Man Alive by PEOPLE, with his apparent single status an intriguing additional factor for his admirers... until it was pointed out that he's actually very much not single.Watch Below: Here's How Chris Evan Got Superhero FitAccording to a source who spoke to the publication, the 41-year-old has been dating fellow actor Alba Baptista for over a year now, and yes, it's "serious"."They are in love and Chris has never been happier.

Naman Ramachandran XYZ Films has unveiled New Visions, an initiative designed to spotlight bold new voices alongside established talent striking a new path in the international cinema space. The initiative will serve as a curated collection of films that “exists to discover and support the next generation of great filmmakers at the inception of their career, and to give established talents room to do something smaller, more intimate, or challenging outside of the usual box of independent filmmaking,” XYZ said in a statement. The slate will launch in Cannes with Directors’ Fortnight selection “In Flames,” a Pakistani-Canadian horror film directed by Zarrar Kahn and executive produced by Shant Joshi. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year. In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.

Spanish Screenings Goes to Cannes,  a selection of five pix in post which underscores the ever broadening compass – in genre, setting, protagonists, production bases and models – of film production in Spain. “Sima’s Song,” for example, is set in 1979 Kabul, “Jumping the Fence” on the Morocco-Spain border in Africa.  Many titles, though still in post production, come laden with prizes as projects, prestige deals or rich talent. “Sima’s Song,” from Afghan director Roya Sadat, whose “A Letter to the President” was shortlisted for an Oscar, won the Taicca Award at Busan’s Asian Project Market and the IFI-Pas Award at Mumbai’s Film Bazaar. Its producer, Alba Sotorra, was nominated for an International Emmy as a director for “The Return: Life After ISIS.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rakuten TV has announced the launch of two new owned and operated FAST channels, bolstering its role as a curated channel programmer in the free ad-supported streaming TV services space. The channels, announced during MipTV’s FAST Summit, will see the growing pan-European video-on-demand streaming service enter the TV series landscape by launching a reality/factual entertainment channel in the U.K. and crime series channels across German speaking territories and in France, Italy and Spain. Rakuten’s Real channel which was launched in the U.K. on April 12, will feature shows such as culinary bootcamp series “Worst Cooks in America”; reality show “My New BFF”, with Paris Hilton; and “Undercover Boss.”