Bulgaria Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The CGI animated sequel to “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness,” the hit adventure film based on the Dark Horse comics which sold around the world, has lured buyers ahead of the European Film Market. Titled “Chickenhare and the Very Very (Very) Old Groundhog,” the movie is budgeted at $23 million (a large budget by European production standards) and brings back the creative team behind the first film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Global Screen has closed further deals on major territories for its animated adventure film “Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights.” Variety debuts the new teaser (below). Viva Kids has acquired all rights for North America to the latest feature film in the franchise about a flying reindeer, following worldwide hits “Niko & the Way to the Stars” (2008) and “Niko – Little Brother, Big Trouble” (2012), which were sold to more than 120 countries. Further deals were concluded with Flins y Piniculas for Spain, CDC for Latin America, Nos Lusomundo for Portugal, Grand Entertainment for the Middle East and SVOE Kino for Ukraine.

EXCLUSIVE: Star Trek icon Jonathan Frakes is to direct a ten-part series based on novel and audio book Deathlands.

Moving tributes have been paid to an art dealer who was the 'world's leading expert' on LS Lowry' and whose death at his Bulgarian holiday home remains shrouded in mystery. Dad-of-one Ivan Aird, 57, from Stockport, was found dead at the apartment in the resort of Sunny Beach last June.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba will be coming to the big screen, along with a sneak peek at the new season.Described as an extra-sized blockbuster experience, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- will allow fans to revisit the finale of the Swordsmith Village Arc while also getting a glimpse at the highly anticipated Hashira Training Arc (season four).The upcoming event marks the first time the finale of the Swordsmith Village Arc has ever been shown in cinemas, and also the first-ever showing of the Hashira Training Arc‘s beginning.Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- will screen in UK cinemas from February 23.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Salaud Morisset, the Paris- and Berlin-based sales and production outfit, has closed deals on “Excursion,” Una Gunjak’s feature debut which won the Jury Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival. Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution (Hungary), Hakka Distribution (Tunisia), Fivia (Slovenia), MCF MegaCom (Montenegro & North Macedonia), No Blink Film (Bulgaria) and Silver Screen (Romania).

Viktor Krum was one of the international wizards introduced into to the world of Hogwarts as he sought to win the Triwizard Tournament. He was up against the likes of Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter as well as Clémence Poésy’s Fleur Delacour in the huge competition.

England footballer Gemma Wiseman has died at the age of 33, leaving her wife Laura and daughter, aged 3, “devastated”. Gemma was found dead by a member of the public just days before Christmas, with her body discovered on Rackheath, just outside Norwich, on December 16. An inquest into her death was opened on December 28 at Norfolk Coroner’s Court at County Hall.

Former Bulgarian mystic woman Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, also known as Baba Vanga, has been known to predict many high-profile events before they happen.

The shortlist of 15 films set to vie for a Best International Feature FiOscar nomination has now been revealed, with only a few surprises in the mix. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor European Film Promotion has revealed the 10 emerging actors who will take part in the 27th edition of European Shooting Stars program, which promotes European acting talent. Past Shooting Stars have included Carey Mulligan, Alicia Vikander, Maisie Williams and Riz Ahmed. From Feb.

Filmmaker Stephan Komandarev, whose credits include two previous Bulgarian Oscar entries including the shortlisted The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner, wrapped a movie trilogy about the social ills of post-communist society with Blaga’s Lessons, about the harrowing journey of a retired teacher through the dangerous world of phone scams.

Dimitar Berbatov says Rasmus Hojlund will break his Premier League duck by playing smarter rather than harder, although acknowledged that this ploy may rub off the wrong way on some Manchester United fans.

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has challenged Alejandro Garnacho to build on his stunning goal against Everton.

Naman Ramachandran The 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, concluded on Tuesday with Hollywood veteran Michael Douglas accepting the Satyajit Ray lifetime achievement award for excellence in cinema. Previous winners of the award include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi and Wong Kar-wai. “It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award, a career life achievement.

Blaga’s Lessons, Bulgaria’s International Film Oscar submission, has set a release in multiple countries.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Matteo Garrone’s “Io Capitano” is getting a special screening on Wednesday in Brussels, where hundreds of EU parliament members will watch the timely immigration drama on which Pathè has announced a slew of sales. The film, which is Italy’s Oscar candidate for best international feature film, world premiered to strong reviews in September at Venice Film Festival, where it won best director for Garrone and best emerging actor for its co-star Seydou Sarr.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Cinema has sold the North American rights for “Adios Buenos Aires” to Outsider Pictures, which plans to release the charming comedy drama in spring 2024 throughout the U.S. and Canada.

the musical “Parade” and Tom Stoppard’s play “Leopoldstadt.” The problem is that while “Harmony” is about a sextet of singers whose voices blend like milk and coffee, its elements do not similarly fuse into a cohesive and satisfying musical.The show, directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, has been tinkered with by Manilow and lyricist/book-writer Bruce Sussman for nearly 30 years, but on its largest stage yet it still doesn’t quite work.Structural flaws that were mostly forgivable when the production played the more intimate Museum of Jewish Heritage downtown last year are detrimentally exacerbated by Broadway’s imposing size. The musical, therefore, is lopsided.

J. Kim Murphy The Bulgarian producer of an espionage thriller sued Abigail Breslin, one of the film’s stars, on Friday, alleging that her “hysterical” and “imaginary” allegations against co-star Aaron Eckhart have imperiled the film’s release. Dream Team Studios produced the film, entitled “Classified,” in Malta earlier this year.

This may be the comeback of the decade. In her first film role in almost 30 years, Bulgarian actress Eli Skorcheva — who had gone into self-exile from cinema, changing careers and working odd jobs including as a cleaning lady – stars in Blaga’s Lessons, which earned her the Best Actress Award at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival and is Bulgaria’s 2024 International Film Oscar submission.

A student police officer has been sacked after claiming to be sick whilst he was flying back from holiday. PC James Lanigan was due to attend a training course in June 2022 but was in fact flying back from Bulgaria, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Funny Birds,” an heartwarming comedy-drama starring Andrea Riseborough, Catherine Deneuve and Morgan Saylor, has sold in key territories in the run up to the AFM. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the movie is directed by Marco La Via and Hanna Ladoul.

A man has ditched his 'shoebox' flat and is now living out of his car after being 'sick' of paying extortionate rent in the cost of living crisis. Yavor Dantzarov, 33, was renting a tiny flat in south London for £600 a month before he decided to convert his Ford Fiesta into a home.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Iranian drama film “Empty Nets” was Monday named winner of the AFF Feature Fiction Award at the Adelaide Film Festival. Directed by Behrooz Karamizade, it collected an A$10,000 ($6,320) cash prize.

The Wombles is set to recieve a modern remake half century after the original series aired.As reported by Deadline, the new reboot is being written by How to Train Your Dragon’s Will Davies and produced by Altitude TV, and will once again centre on Uncle Bulgaria and co. in their underground home in Wimbledon Common.The outlet confirmed that the new version will modernise the series, although no further details have yet been revealed.Based on the characters created by Elisabeth Beresford in her series of children’s novels that were published between 1968 and 1976, The Wombles originally aired between 1973 and 1975 on BBC1, with the late Bernard Cribbins narrating.The Wombles has since returned on a couple of occasions — first in a reboot in the late ’90s and then a short-lived CGI version that was intended for release in 2015 but was ultimately cut short due to financial complications.In addition to TV appearances, The Wombles also saw success with a number of popular novelty songs, including 1974’s ‘Remember You’re A Womble’.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome Film Fest opener “There’s Still Tomorrow,” a bold period dramedy that marks the directorial debut of popular Italian actor Paola Cortellesi, has scored a slew of international sales. The film, shot in black-and-white and set in post-World War II Rome, riffs on Italy’s neorealist past, albeit with a female empowerment element angle and a contemporary A-list Italian cast.

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.

ruled that the government of Bulgaria violated European human rights law by failing to legally recognize same-sex marriages, reports Human Rights Watch.Liliya Babulkova and Darina Koilova, two Bulgarian women who were legally wed in the United Kingdom in 2016, brought the case to the court three years ago, after Bulgarian authorities refused, multiple times, to recognize their marriage.The couple claimed, in their complaint, that the refusal to recognize their marriage is discriminatory and violated their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.The court found that the Bulgarian government violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to private and family life.The court — as it previously did with similar cases from Ukraine and Romania — ruled that Bulgaria must take some action to recognize same-sex relationships or remove discriminatory portions of its laws, although it did not require the country to take specific actions, such as legalize same-sex nuptials. It also ordered the government to pay 3,000 euros to the couple to cover legal costs.“The decision is fundamental for the development of Bulgarian legislation in the field of equality and LGBT rights,” a lawyer for the couple said in a statement.