Zhang Yimou Receives Lifetime Honor at Udine, Talks Talent Development and Perseverance: ‘I Doubt That I’ve Made My Best Possible Film Yet’

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent New Italian media company Be Water – which is in Cannes for the first time – has announced its full roster of partners and scope of business activities comprising film, documentary and scripted TV production as well as theatrical film distribution, podcasts and live events. The Rome-based potential powerhouse is operating with what is being described as a holistic approach to content production that is congenial to the digital age, which is certainly a novelty for Italy.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The trailer (below) has debuted for Leonardo Van Dijl‘s “Julie Keeps Quiet” ahead of its world premiere in Critics’ Week in Cannes. The film’s world sales agency New Europe Film Sales has revealed the first territory deals. New Europe has sold the film to New Horizons for Poland, Kino Pavasaris for the Baltic states, and I Wonder Pictures for Italy.

EXCLUSIVE: VMI Worldwide has taken international sales rights to A Sudden Case of Christmas and will present the holiday flick starring Danny Devito, Andie MacDowell, Wilmer Valderrama, and Lucy Devito to buyers at this week’s Cannes Market. 

EXCLUSIVE: Francis Ford Coppola‘s Megalopolis has sold to key independent buyers in Europe’s top five territories, we can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.

It's nearly that time again for the Eurovision grand finale to appear on our small screens.

Former WME Independent agent Nelson Mok is launching a new investment and sales company named Mokster Films, which will focus on projects from Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales firm Finecut has inked multiple deals for horror thriller “Noise” and for “A Traveler’s Needs,” the recent Berlin prize-winner directed by Hong Sangsoo.“Noise” is a “multi-sensory and realistic horror” film that intertwines societal motifs of “floor noise” with suspenseful elements. Directed by Kim Soo-jin, the film centers around a woman with a hearing aid haunted by inexplicable sounds linked to her sister’s disappearance in her own apartment and attracting a malevolent presence.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Multi-hyphenate Nicole Ansari-Cox has a lot going on. The London-based actor, producer, writer and activist just shot Southern Italy-set rom-com “Under the Stars” directed by Michelle Danner where she stars alongside Toni Colette, Andy Garcia and Alex Pettyfer. In addition, she appears in Austrian director Kat Rohrer’s “What a Feeling” that premiered recently at the BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China- and Netherlands-based sales firm Fortissimo Films has picked up the international rights to new Chinese sports feature film “Wild Punch.” It will launch the film in territories outside mainland China next week at the Cannes Market. Co-directed by well-established director Yu Lik-wai and Wang Jing (“The Best Is Yet to Come”), “Wild Punch is a sports and action drama about a top mixed martial arts athlete who has passed the peak of his career and faces competition from his young and gifted trainee. Both with something to prove, the two will have to face each other in the ring. Yu has directed four feature films, including Cannes competition title “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and Venice title “Plastic City.” He is also well-established as a cinematographer who has worked on films including “Still Life,” “A Touch of Sin,” and “Mountains May Depart” by Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye’s “Love and Bruises” and Ann Hui’s “A Simple Life.” “Wild Punch” is produced by Momo Pictures, the subsidiary of the NASDAQ-listed Zhiwen Group, which is best-known for its Momo instant messaging mobile application.

After debuting early last weekend, Universal’s The Fall Guy expanded to 78 overseas markets during its sophomore session, adding $25.4M for a running total of $36.9M at the international box office. That’s in line with Bullet Train and above The Lost City at the same point in release. Globally, the David Leitch-directed action romance is at $65.4M. 

At the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy, Mitsuhiro Mihara’s Takano Tofu clinched the Golden Mulberry prize, the top honor at the festival’s audience awards.

Olivia Cooke (Sound of Metal) and BAFTA Award winner Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers) have signed on to lead Italian filmmaker Nathalie Biancheri’s latest pic Takes One To Know One. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Takano Tofu” claimed double honors on the closing night of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. It won the Golden Mulberry audience award and the MyMovies Purple Mulberry award. Directed by Mihara Mitsuhiro, “Takano Tofu” is a melodrama about an elderly tofu-making craftsman, who is stuck in his ways but is also experimental and who is kindly, but whose stubbornness brings suffering on those around him.

The Visa Cash App RB F1 Team is bringing a couple of very colorful cars to the Miami Grand Prix this weekend!

Jamie Lang International Emmy-winning French animation producer-distributor Dandelooo has closed a deal with Korea’s Dream Factory Studio for the latter’s new CG preschool series “PongPong Dino.” Targeted at 2-4-year-olds, “PongPong Dino” is a new IP produced by Dream Factory and directed by animator Tacken Chae. In the show, the audience is invited to a world where playing with your food is an important part of each meal.

Almost a year after Kevin Spacey was found not guilty of sex crimes, Channel 4 and Max in the U.S. are set to air testimony from more men detailing their experiences with the double-Oscar winner.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Cinephil has sold Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó’s feature documentary “Agent of Happiness” to a wide range of key international territories ahead of the film’s Hot Docs debut this weekend. Deals are confirmed in the U.K.

Manchester United and Chelsea are reportedly battling it out to sign RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba.

the Telegraph, admitting that the ordeal was “rough.”“This is not grandfather’s day, this is parents’ day. I say ‘I am a parent!’,” he told the outlet.