Poland Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Poland‘s Ministry of Culture has dismissed Radosław Śmigulski as director of the Polish Film Institute (PFI) in a move that has sent shockwaves across the local film industry even if it was not wholly unexpected.

Pearl Jam have announced a special ‘Dark Matter-verse’ event to take place in London on the same day as the release of their new album.‘Dark Matter’, the band’s 12th studio album, is set for release on April 19 via Monkeywrench Records, and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here. The band have already shared the title track and its follow-up single ‘Running’.And now, they have revealed details of the ‘Dark Matter-verse’, which will take place at Outernet in London on April 19, from 2pm to 7pm.

Well Go USA has landed North American rights for Dutch action thriller Invasion about a daring military operation in the wake of a hostile attack on the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading European distributor Global Screen, part of Telepool, has secured further international sales of high-end drama “Davos 1917” at MipTV. New acquisitions of the six-part thriller include SBS Australia, TVP in Poland and Big Tree Entertainment in India and the subcontinent. “Davos 1917,” which launched at the end of last year on SRF in Switzerland and ARD in Germany, has already been bought by a strong lineup of premium international broadcasters and streamers across North America, Europe and Asia.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Netflix has taken worldwide rights on the horror-thriller “Don’t Move,” a new genre entry from producer Sam Raimi (“The Evil Dead,” “Drag Me to Hell”). The project is led by Kelsey Asbille, breakout on the FX anthology series “Fargo” and “Yellowstone,” alongside frequent Ryan Murphy player and “The Big Short’ star Finn Wittrock. It follows a seasoned serial killer who injects a grieving woman with a paralytic agent while the two of them are isolated deep in the forest.

Annika Pham Picked by Variety as one of the hottest shows at MipTV, ZDF Studios’ comedy drama “The ‘Zweiflers” about a colourful, dysfunctional yet loving Jewish family in contemporary Germany, had a rapturous reception April 7 at its world screening in Canneseries. “It was a profound experience to see how much [the Cannes] audience loved it, not only because of the way it was done but because of the subject matter,” said Aaron Altaras (“Unorthodox”), cast as Samuel, grandson of the patriarch Symcha Zweifler (Mike Burstyn), torn between his Jewish origins and his love for his British Caribbean girlfriend and mum-to-be (Saffron Coomber).

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based DR Sales has secured major sales on the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Visions du Réel Grand Angle entry “A New Kind of Wilderness.” The film, directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, has been acquired by ZDF and Arte for Germany and France, Cinema Delicatessen for the Netherlands, Dalton Distribution for Belgium, Against Gravity for Poland, Kino Pavasaris for the Baltics and Stardust for Japan. “From the moment ‘A New Kind of Wilderness’ was presented to us, we fell in love with the film,” said DR Sales’ Freja Johanne Nørgaard Sørensen.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Calling all Latino filmmakers, John Travolta wants to work with you. Swinging by Panama to present his 1978 musical rom-com “Grease” at the 12th Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama), Travolta professed his great love for “Mexico, Central America, South America, all of its parts.” “There is an incredible humanity that prevails and is different from anywhere else in the world,” he told Variety. Surprised to hear that Robert de Niro had starred in the Argentine series “Nada,” Travolta exclaimed: “I would have loved that, I would have enjoyed being lured to South America to play a part for a while.” The closest he’s come to working with a Latino director was with Alfonso Cuarón, who produced the short film streaming on Disney+ “The Shepherd,” based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1975 novella, which follows a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home for Christmas across the North Sea.

The alleged murder of a dad who had moved abroad in search of a better life remains unsolved nearly three years on. Andrew Walch was stabbed to death in Tenerife in May 2021.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Growing up in Israel meant that “We Were the Lucky Ones” actor Amit Rahav was taught about the Holocaust at any early age. His childhood in Tel Aviv included a school trip to concentration camps in Poland. “It’s mandatory in the curriculum,” Rahav tells Variety.

Ben Croll Questions about the free ad-supported streaming TV services (FAST) model and concerns about AI will take the foreground at the many conference panel sessions and keynotes organized for this year’s MipTV. If both are familiar subjects at the audiovisual market – as last year’s MipTV held a standing-room only FAST summit while the Mipcom “Unlocking AI” summit drew similar attention this past October – the interest they provoke reflects their topicality.

EXCLUSIVE: Canadian indie Boat Rocker Studios has struck a deal with Shark Teeth Films for a trio of upcoming unscripted shows.

Ellise Shafer TikTok is returning as the official entertainment partner for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. This marks the social media platform’s third year teaming up with Eurovision, the world’s largest music event.

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based sales agent Reason8 Films has sold 2023 Venice title “The Red Suitcase” to HBO for Europe and Suraya Filem for Malaysia and Brunei. The 15 territories covered under the HBO deal include Albania, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Reason8 Films said that advanced negotiations are on for North America and Latin America.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor-turned-executive Ella Wahlestedt on Wednesday announced the launch of Quarterlife Pictures, an L.A.-based production company dedicated to developing and producing women-centric and impactful narratives across film and TV.

A recycling company has been hit with a huge fine after illegally exporting 10 shipping containers to Poland filled with 247 tonnes of waste.

K.J. Yossman The long-awaited adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novel “The Mirror and the Light” has wrapped.

Tributes have been paid to one of the British aid workers killed in the Israeli air strike in Gaza. James Kirby was among seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers killed in strikes by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday.

Searchlight Pictures announced on Tuesday that its dramedy A Real Pain, marking the sophomore feature of actor-turned-filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, will hit theaters in the thick of awards season, on October 18.

If it’s April, that means many of Hollywood’s studios and distributors are figuring out their fall release plans. It also means many awards season movies are about to plant a flag on one opening day or another.

infamously did with an epithet before a key game against Notre Dame — appeared to be wearing pink nail polish and had shiny lips, leading them to claim that he was wearing pink lip gloss or lipstick.The NCAA Division I women’s basketball X account shared the video of Williams, who reposted it, writing, “Vibes onlyyyyy supporting our girls.” Vibes onlyyyyy supporting our girls https://t.co/MBULWWdubT— Caleb Williams (@CALEBcsw) March 26, 2024Anti-LGBTQ trolls immediately began feigning outrage over his look, accusing him of being gay, gender-nonconforming, and pushing a social agenda. Others were angered over his visibility, arguing that it was not acceptable to appear to wear pink, a color stereotypically associated with women and that doing so was “gross.”“OMG, the Chicago Bears are finally in a position to draft a franchise quarterback, and Caleb Williams is a Dylan Mulvaney wannabe.

YouTube star Adam Moran nearly bit off more than he could chew after tackling the latest food challenge. He travelled to Scotland from Leeds to take on a whopping burger - and all the sides.

Jaden Thompson Georgia Hunter is still in disbelief that her family’s story of surviving the Holocaust has been adapted into the Hulu limited series “We Were the Lucky Ones” headlined by Logan Lerman and Joey King. Based on Hunter’s novel of the same name, the show stars Lerman as her grandfather, Addy, and King as his little sister Halina, two of five Polish siblings trying to stay alive and bring their family back together during World War 2. “It’s surreal,” Hunter said at the March 21 premiere of the show, held at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.

Tommy Kail knew all about the book “We Were the Lucky Ones” by Georgia Hunter years before it became a best-selling novel.“I met Georgia in 1999 before I graduated college,” he told the NY Post in an exclusive interview, “and she married one of my best friends.”The New York Times bestselling book is inspired by the unbelievable true story of Hunter’s Jewish family who were living in Radom, Poland at the onset of World War II.Somehow, despite being flung all over the globe and facing unbelievable hardships and danger, they managed to survive.The sweeping epic is now a Hulu mini-series, starring Joey King, Logan Lerman, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Marin Hinkle and several Israeli actors including Ido Samuel, Michael Aloni and Amit Rahav.Kail directed two of the episodes and is also an executive producer.He shared that he “supported” Hunter as “she was going through the process of researching it and then deciding to turn it into a book proposal, and when it was finally published even conducted a Barnes & Noble interview on the Upper West Side.“I obviously read the book and it just stayed with me,” he shared.

Selena Kuznikov Co-composers Rachel Portman and Jon Ehrlich have only met in person once, and collaborated across the globe while scoring Hulu’s “We Were the Lucky Ones.” Despite this, both Portman and Ehrlich said that working across continents was one of the best parts of the process. Erhlich said: “She would work on something, and then I would wake up in the morning and go to the studio and unwrap a gift. Then by the end of my day, I was handing it off to her, and she could kind of pick up where I left off.

If you're looking to bring the spa experience into your own bathroom, ESPA is one of the best beauty and wellness brands for doing just that.The downside is that it can be pricey – but we've found a way for you to save over £100 on some of the brand's top products. LookFantastic's Edits are a great way to save money on some bestselling beauty treats, and the e-tailer has partnered with ESPA for its latest one.The LookFantastic x ESPA Edit contains six gorgeous hair, skin, body and wellness products worth £164 in total – but it only costs £50 for shoppers to buy.

Alex Ritman French TV giant Banijay is losing its second C-suite exec in just over a month. The company has confirmed to Variety that COO Peter Langenberg is departing, with his last day set to be March 31. Langenberg will remain with Banijay on a consultancy basis in the ESG (environment, social and governance) space.

Aramide Tinubu There has been no shortage of television series centering the horrors of the Holocaust. Last year alone, Netflix’s “Transatlantic” depicted a group of resistors living in Marseille, and National Geographic’s “A Small Light” offered a retelling of Anne Frank’s experience through the eyes of Miep Gies, the woman who aided the Franks during their years in hiding. Though both of these series and those like them are important, Hulu‘s “We Were the Lucky Ones,” an adaptation of Georgia Hunter’s best-selling novel based on a true story, showcases something different.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” the Berlinale Golden Bear-winning film helmed by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, has been sold to a raft of international territories by Les Films du Losange. Along with being acquired by Mubi in key markets, “Dahomey” has been acquired in Australia & New Zealand (Rialto), China (Hugoeast), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nitrato Filmes), Greece (One From the Heart), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainement), Benelux (Cinéart), Bulgaria (Beta Films), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Romania (Voodoo), Baltic Countries (Taip Toliau), Poland (New Horizons), Ukraine (Kyivmusicfilm), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), Indonesia (PT Falcon) and Sudu Connexion in Africa.

EXCLUSIVE: After smashing records in Vietnam, Tran Thanh’s hit romance drama Mai has now set a new milestone for an opening weekend at the international box office, becoming the first Vietnamese title to score a $1M debut outside the home market.