In 2018, Saudi Arabia removed its religious ban on cinema and revealed its intentions to transform itself from an oil-based economy into an entertainment powerhouse. The goal was to use the country’s wealth to not only invest in media companies, but to lure studios to the kingdom through a combination of tax incentives and state-of-the […]
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – JUNE 06: Dolly Parton speaks onstage during Kicking Off CMA Fest: A Special Conversation With Dolly Parton Hosted By Rachel Smith at Music City Center on June 06, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/WireImage) Dolly Parton shared a new health update with fans in an Instagram video. Though she didn’t specify exactly what health issues she’s facing, Parton noted previous challenges with her kidney health as well as weakened immune and digestive systems. T
Julia Louis-Dreyfus stopped by Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” for one last interview before the CBS late night franchise comes to an end on Thursday, May 21. While she was on to promote her new movie, “The Sheep Detectives,” Louis-Dreyfus had a ruthless surprise in store for Colbert when she resurrected her “Veep” character Selena […]
European Film Promotion is playing host at the Cannes Film Festival to up-and-coming European producers, selected for its Producers on the Move program. Variety invited the producers to share details of their upcoming projects, which include “Vanda,” Clémence Poésy’s debut feature as a director. Lixi Frank, AustriaProject: “Fanny Is Alive”Director: Alexandra MakarováIn 1947, Fanny is […]
Indonesian-Australian producer Intan Kieflie will present a focused genre slate at the Cannes Film Market through her companies Kraken Entertainment and Anak Negeri Films, including the market launch of “Ibu: Mother of the Lost,” a bilingual maternal horror project in pre-production with talent including Yayan Ruhian and Christine Hakim. Kieflie operates between Jakarta and Melbourne […]
A doomed love story, especially one based on real-life young people braving their own “The Fault in Our Stars”-style tale, is bound to shatter even the coldest of hearts. Earnest, disarming and unapologetically conventional, prolific graphic artist Phuong Mai Nguyen’s elegantly animated feature debut “In Waves” grasps this fact on such a philosophical level that […]
Vietnamese sales and distribution company Mockingbird Pictures is bringing a commercial slate to the Cannes Market anchored by “Zero Meets Hero,” a multigenerational comedy-drama from Huỳnh Lập, director of “The Ancestral Home,” one of the highest-grossing Vietnamese films ever made. Produced by Hồng Tú and 17 Production, “Zero Meets Hero” is positioned as one of […]
Bangkok-based sales and distribution outfit Fearfolks has acquired world sales rights to “Someone Special,” a Thai-Chinese thriller co-directed by Petong Sakulchai and Ariel Cheng, and will represent the title at the Cannes Market. Sirat Intarachote (“4 Kings,” “4 Kings 2,” “App War”) stars as Rain, a young painter crippled with deep-seated violent tendencies who confronts […]
“Elephants in the Fog,” which will world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, has landed its first distribution deals. It is sold internationally by Best Friend Forever. The trailer debuts below. The film will be co-distributed in France by Arizona Distribution and Les Valseurs Distribution. Germany and Austria rights were sold to missingFILMs and […]
Luxbox has closed a French distribution deal and shared an exclusive first trailer with Variety for Katharina Rivilis’ “I’ll Be Gone in June,” which has its world premiere in Cannes Un Certain Regard. Nour Films will release the film in France, with a release date to be set for later this year. The English-language feature […]
London-based sales and impact outfit Together Films has picked up international rights to the Swedish love drama “Lisa & Lilly,” produced by Fifth Season’s Scandi production powerhouse Nordic Drama Queens. The project, due to start lensing in August, marks the feature length debut of helmer Julia Lindström, credited for Netflix’ “Young Royals” Season 3, “The […]
