Serbia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

TinyBuild has acquired a selection of Bossa Studios’ games for $3million (roughly £2.5million). Additionally, Russian Studio Konfa Games has also been acquired by the publisher for $5.4million (roughly £4.2million). The intellectual property in question includes Surgeon Simulator, I Am Fish, and I Am Bread, with the payment being upfront.

Christopher Vourlias On a recent visit to Serbia, actor John Malkovich announced plans to team up with fellow leading men D.W. Moffett and Matt Dillon to build a state-of-the-art film, music and media production facility in neighboring North Macedonia, a small, mountainous country of just two million inhabitants.It might seem a risky gambit for a country with a modest domestic film industry that services few foreign shoots.

Marta Balaga Dina Duma’s upcoming feature “Skateboarding Is Not for Girls” turned heads at Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry section CineLink this year. The story about a Romani Muslim girl from Skopje, Adela, trying to save her sister from being sold to the bridal market and dreaming of joining a group of female skaters, received the Film Center Serbia and the Female Voices awards.

Christopher Vourlias Croatian writer-director Juraj Lerotić’s “Safe Place,” an emotional story of a family reeling in the wake of a suicide attempt, took the top prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival, which wrapped a record-setting 2022 edition in the Bosnian capital on Friday night.The Heart of Sarajevo Award for best feature film was given by a jury headed by Austrian filmmaker Sebastian Meise (“The Great Freedom”), which included French filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilović (“Earwig”), Croatian writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (“Murina”), Serbian actor Milan Marić (“Dovlatov”) and Israeli producer and consultant Katriel Schory.“Safe Place” plays on Lerotić’s own pained family history, with the Croatian multihyphenate taking on the lead role in his deeply personal story — a performance that also earned him the award for best actor in Sarajevo. Fresh off a triumphant world premiere in Locarno, where the film won three awards including best first feature, “Safe Place” was described by Variety’s Guy Lodge as a “supremely poised and moving first feature” and a “shattering” debut, “with a long trail of further festival bookings surely ahead.”Ukrainian director Maryina Er Gorbach was named best director for “Klondike,” which portrays the brutal realities of the war unfolding in Ukraine’s Donbass region through the lens of a pregnant farmstead owner whose life and home fall apart.

Eight films battled it out in competition at the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, but Austrian director Sebastian Meise’s jury—including French director Lucile Hadžihalilović , Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, Serbian actor Milan Marić and Israeli producer Katriel Schory—spread the love quite widely.

The latest piece of the international Warner Bros. Discovery management puzzle has slotted into place, as the wider reshaping of the business continues. WBD General Manager Warner Bros. Discovery CEE, Baltics and Middle East (CEE MENAT) Jamie Cooke, who took on his post in June, has unveiled his team. Senior roles have gone to the likes of Lee Hobbs and long-serving Warner Bros. sales exec Roni Patel.

tiff.net.The full list of new additions:TIFF DOCS“752 Is Not a Number,” Babak Payami | Canada“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras | USA“Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On,” Madison Thomas | Canada“Casa Susanna,” Sébastien Lifshitz | France, USA“Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels,” Mila Turajlic | Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro“The Colour of Ink,” Brian D.

Christopher Vourlias When it comes to creative pedigree, it would be hard to argue with the bona fides of Bosnian crime drama “The Hollow,” which was co-created by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanović (“No Man’s Land”) and had a splashy premiere Saturday night at the Sarajevo Film Festival. The series is directed by Tanović and Bosnian filmmaker Aida Begić, whose latest feature, “A Ballad,” also received the red-carpet treatment this week in Sarajevo’s official competition.More than just a prestige drama from a region that’s increasingly exporting its shows to the world, however, “The Hollow” could represent a paradigm shift in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, where global streaming services have been acquiring titles such as “The Paper” (Netflix) and “The Silence” (HBO Max) but are yet to put significant investment into local production.

Christopher Vourlias Croatian production house Antitalent has signed an option agreement to develop and produce a local version of the best-selling global format “Your Honor,” the hit drama whose American remake for Showtime stars Emmy winner Bryan Cranston.The series follows a judge who must deal with the fallout when his son is involved in a hit-and-run that gets him embroiled with an organized crime family. Facing impossible choices, he discovers how far a father will go to save his son’s life.The Balkan remake will travel across the former Yugoslavia with a story that spans Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, according to Antitalent’s Danijel Pek.

Marina Lazarevska U.S. actor John Malkovich is backing a plan to build Stonebridge Studios, a film, music and media production facility in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Christopher Vourlias Croatia’s Drugi Plan and Bulgaria’s Agitprop, two of the leading production outfits in Southeast Europe, have been attached to co-produce the upcoming drama series “Sabre,” a political thriller revolving around the 2003 assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic produced by Belgrade-based This and That Productions.Created by Goran Stanković and Vladimir Tagić, the series will star Serbian-Danish actress Danica Curcic, known to international audiences for her lead role in the Netflix psychological thriller “The Chestnut Man,” as a reporter investigating the shocking murder.The companies announced the deal on Monday at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where This and That’s “Bad Blood” and Drugi Plan’s “The Silence” were among the top Balkan drama series vying for Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards, which were handed out at a ceremony in the Bosnian capital on Sunday night. “Sabre” was first pitched in Sarajevo three years ago during the CineLink Drama co-financing forum, where it was named best drama project.

Christopher Vourlias Croatian miniseries “The Last Socialist Artefact” was the big winner at the Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards, which were handed out Sunday night during the Sarajevo Film Festival.The six-part limited series, which is adapted from Robert Perišić’s novel “No-Signal Area,” tells the story of two urban transplants who take over an abandoned turbine factory for a mysterious client in a remote, economically depressed Balkan town. The show took home awards in five of the eight categories for drama series, including best series, best leading actor for Izudin Bajrović and best director for Dalibo Matanić.Created by Ankica Jurić Tilić and Dalibor Matanić, “The Last Socialist Artefact” is produced by Tilić for Zagreb-based Kinorama, in co-production with Serbia’s Sense Production, Slovenia’s Perfo Production and Finland’s Citizen Jane.

Produced in conjunction with Serbia, Slovenia and Finland, Croatian six-part mini-series The Last Socialist Artefact had the perfect pedigree to take top honors in the Hearts of Sarajevo Awards for TV Series, a regional award set up to celebrate the past year’s best small-screen talent from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Slovenia.

Christopher Vourlias Belgrade-based Firefly Productions has closed a raft of deals in the run-up to this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival, where the Serbian production powerhouse leads the pack with 19 nominations at the Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards, including best drama series nods for supernatural drama “Block 27” and psychological thriller “Black Wedding.”As Variety previously reported, Beta Film has acquired international distribution rights to “Block 27” (pictured), a science fiction-mystery series about the disappearance of a teenager in Belgrade. Firefly has also closed deals with Australian public broadcaster SBS on “Black Wedding,” which follows a government agent investigating a killing spree and its links to ancient folklore, and “The Family,” a five-part miniseries about the arrest of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević.

Lazio president Claudio Lotito has broken his silence on Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's future amid interest from Manchester United.

Christopher Vourlias Beta Film has added two new titles to its growing slate of titles from Central and Eastern Europe, acquiring international distribution rights to Serbian supernatural drama “Block 27” and the Czech crime series “Ultimatum,” the company announced on the eve of the Sarajevo Film Festival.Veronika Kovacova, Beta’s VP of international sales and acquisitions for Eastern Europe and Turkey, said the deals underscore the company’s continued commitment to the fast-growing region. “We are there for the creators, for the producers, to help them and to support what they want to produce,” she said.Directed by Momir Milosevic and Milica Tomovic, and produced by Belgrade-based Firefly Productions, “Block 27” is a science fiction-mystery that follows the disappearance of a teenager in Belgrade, and the search by his twin sister to find him—a journey that finds her traveling to another dimension.

Manchester United are considering a €68million (£57.5m) bid for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Austria’s ORF Joins Big Budget Central Europe Drama Series ‘Rise Of The Raven’

K.J. Yossman “Stranger Things” star Nikola Djuricko has been tapped to present the Serbian edition of NBCUniversal Formats’ entertainment series “Hollywood Game Night.” This is the 24th international edition of the series, joining adaptations in the U.K., France, Greece, Hungary and Thailand, among others. The show pairs celebrities with contestants as they compete in a variety of party games.

Reports from Italy suggest Manchester United are preparing to offer £42million for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

EXCLUSIVE: Darko Perić, the Serbian actor best known for his breakout role as Helsinki in Netflix’s award-winning Spanish series Money Heist, has signed with Artist International Group for management.

Venice Critics’ Week Unveils 2022 Selection

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBoutique West Australia film festival, CinefestOZ announced its 2022 program featuring 270 film screenings and events.In its 15th edition, the six day destination film festival will be held from Aug. 23-28, 2022 across 35 locations in Western Australia’s South West, famous as a top wine producing region. Veteran actor, Richard Roxburgh ( “Moulin Rouge,” “Elvis”) was named as chair of the Jury that will award a A$100,000 ($65,000) film prize for best Australian feature film or feature-length documentary.Competing for the prize is director Gracie Otto’s feature film debut “Seriously Red” (which screened at SXSW earlier this year) which stars the film’s writer Krew Boylan as a Dolly Parton impersonator.

Laying down the law on and off the court. Following Novak Djokovic’s controversial views about refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. Open has made it clear that he’s not welcome to participate unless he receives the shot.

Novak Djokovic will not be allowed to play in the US Open due to his vaccination status.WATCH: Prince George's adorably shy moment with Novak Djokovic caught on camera The US Open confirmed on Wednesday their entry requirements for all players, with tournament organizers sharing that "all eligible players are automatically entered into the men's and women's singles main-draw field based on ranking 42 days prior to the first Monday of the event". WATCH: Prince George's must-watch moment with Novak DjokovicThe tournament begins on 29 August. However, although there is no vaccine mandate specifically from the organization, the US government requires all guests flying into the country to be vaccinated, and organizers confirmed that they would "respect the U.S. government's position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-U.S.

The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled its competition line-up for this year’s festival, with Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage and Ukrainian helmer Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s documentary ‘Liturgy Of Anti-Tank Obstacles’ selected in the feature film and documentary categories respectively.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Goran Stolevski-directed horror-drama “You Won’t Be Alone,” was Thursday named the best film at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Korea’s leading genre film event.The Australia-U.K.-Serbia co-production is set in Macedonia and stars Noomi Rapace in a 19th century tale about a young girl who is transformed into a witch. It premiered at the Sundance festival in January and recently played in Sydney.

A creep 'visually raped' a woman by installing secret spy cameras in her home and watching her have sex with her boyfriend.

Prince William and Kate Middleton made an appearance at Wimbledon on Tuesday to watch day nine of the iconic tournament. But as the royal couple watched on they became distracted by Kate's mum, Carole Middleton, who playfully stuck her tongue out at them. Her daughter, 40, and son-in-law, also 40, who were spectating from the Royal Box, were left in fits of giggles as they noticed the funny moment before they got stuck into the game.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge enjoy a tennis match from the Royal Box during day nine of the 2022 Wimbledon tournament at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Tuesday (July 5) in London, England.