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Beirut’s beloved Metropolis Cinema – championed by Lebanese filmmakers as an indie cinema beacon amid bombings, despair and dysfunction – came back to life on Saturday with the inauguration of a new venue in a highly symbolic opening graced by messages of support from Nadine Labaki and Cate Blanchett.

The inauguration came amid Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah following months air strikes and artillery attacks. The new Metropolis Cinema location is located in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael district right across from where the tragic Beirut port blast occurred on Aug. 4, 2020 — one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded — in which more than 200 people died.

After the previous venue was shuttered four years ago, the new state-of-the-art Metropolis complex –featuring two indoor screens, an outdoor cinema, and a garden area with a café – opened Saturday with a gala cine-concert featuring a montage of of vintage shorts from Arab archives accompanied by live...

Exclusive: Mad Distribution, the theatrical arm of Cairo-based studio Mad Solutions, has acquired Mena rights to Tunisian director Amel Guellaty’s coming-of-age road movie Where The Wind Comes From ahead of its world premiere in Sundance.

The movie – described by Mad Distribution as “a refreshing comedic ode to Tunisia’s youth” – revolves around fearless Alyssa and sensitive artist Mehdi, who have been best friends since childhood and feel cramped in their life on the outskirts of the capital of Tunis.

When Alyssa discovers an artist contest in Djerba that might be their ticket out, she pulls Mehdi into a fantastical journey across Tunisia which will put their friendship to the test.

The film, which was previously called Tunis-Djerba, will world premiere alongside nine other titles in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition, which has previously spotlighted films such as Girls Will Be Girls, Scrapper, The Souvenir, Yardie and The Nile Hilton Incident.

“The Sand Castle” is made up of intentionally simple elements: an abandoned island, a creaky old lighthouse, an intermittently working radio. And at its center is a family of four: a doting mother, a resourceful father, a moody teen son and a daydreaming daughter. Their survival depends on the increasingly Sisyphean task of waiting and scavenging, hoping and praying. Help, they hope, will soon come their way. But what at first feels like a modern-day “Robinson Crusoe” adventure soon turns into something darker and altogether more timely. While Matty Brown’s dreamy film plays more like a children’s fable than the harrowing thriller it sometimes flirts with becoming, its oblique stab at storytelling ends up muddling its ambitious vision and well-intended message.

Survival stories hinge on the grit and resilience of its characters. Food is scarce and fresh water elusive. Sleep is near impossible and shelter close to untenable.

It has been known for some time, but it turns out that the main way Netflix picks its content is through an algorithm that calculates the popularity value of the cast among other things. As such, having “Capernaum”’s Nadine Labaki and Zain Al Rafeea might be what propelled the streamer to pick “The Sandcastle” for its Middle East program, along with the fact that the theme seems to be about Palestine. It turns out, however, that the algorithm can make mistakes, and that star quality is not always enough. Let us take a closer look though.

The Sandcastle is screening at Red Sea Film Festival

A family of four, Nabil, Yasmine and their children, Adam and Jana, find themselves stranded on an island that looks both picturesque and post-apocalyptic, with the ominous presence of a lighting house playing a crucial role in both actually. The reasons for them being there are not exactly clear,...

Former mk2 films acquisition and sales agents Olivier Barbier and Ola Byszuk are joining forces with ex-Orange Studio exec Lenny Porte to create international sales company Lucky Number.

The trio, who have worked on hundreds of auteur titles between them, including Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist to name but a few – are currently building their slate for an early 2025 market launch.

Their aim is to handle 10 French and international auteur films a year, split roughly between two to three animated features, and seven to eight fiction films and docs, including work by new voices.

The trio want to offer a boutique service, which also involves financing and distribution strategies from the earliest stages of development, to ensure maximum impact on international markets.

“In an industry that has become increasingly complex both in terms of production and distribution,...

Netflix has officially boarded “The Sand Castle” that sees Lebanese multi-hyphenate Nadine Labaki reunite on screen with “Capernaum” siblings Zain and Reman Al Rafeea.

The streaming giant has set a Jan. 24, 2025, global drop date for the hotly anticipated thriller.

U.S. director Matty Brown — whose shorts have won accolades — makes his feature film debut with “The Sand Castle” which is the tale of an Arabic family of four stuck on a seemingly idyllic island. There, the family begins to uncover dark secrets that they struggle to keep from their youngest, Jana.

“As events spiral out of control and the line between reality and fiction blurs, the family is forced to confront harsh truths and difficult choices, testing their resilience and their hopes of making it back home,” says the provided synopsis.

The film’s ensemble cast also features Palestinian actor Ziad Bakri (“Meet the Barbarians”).

Brown co-wrote “Sand Castle” with...

Exclusive: Against the odds, Lebanon has submitted Mira Shaib’s social dramedy Arzé as its candidate for the Best International Feature category at the 97th Academy Awards.

The drama – produced by L.A. and Cairo-based production company Ambient Light – stars Lebanese actress Diamand Abou Abboud as the titular Arzé, a single mother whose home-cooked pizza delivery business is jeopardized when her scooter is stolen.

Determined to retrieve their main source of income, she takes her teenage son on a journey across sectarian Beirut.

The drama is billed as both a gripping family tale and a tribute to Beirut, as a “a kaleidoscopic portrait of the city, rich in complexity and resilience”.

Shaib as well as writers/producers Faissal Sam Shaib and Louay Khraish describe the feature – filmed in more than 20 locations across Beirut – as an ode and love letter to the city.

The selection of the picture...

Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired global distribution rights for anthology film Disorder exploring Lebanon’s recent tumultuous years through the eyes of four directors.

The picture, which is due to premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival later this month, brings together Lebanese writers and directors Lucien Bourjeily (Heaven Without People), Bane Fakih (Keep It Together), Wissam Charaf, and Areej Mahmoud (Beirut 6:07).

The launch comes as the global spotlight is on Lebanon due to the flare-up in the conflict between Israel and Shiite Muslim political party and militant group Hezbollah, which has resulted in close to 2,000 deaths, and also displaced more than 350,000 people over the last two weeks.

The feature is curated and produced Bechara Mouzannar under the banner of Unbranded, in collaboration with Nadine Labaki and Khaled Mouzanar who take executive producer credits. The trio previously collaborated on Labaki’s 2018 film Capernaum

Blending drama and dark comedy,...

Dubai-based Front Row Filmed Entertainment has secured world rights to Disorder, an anthology feature that explores Lebanon’s recent tumultuous years.

Blending drama and dark humour, the film comprises four shorts – The Group, Motherland, Don’t Panic, and A Piece of Heaven – directly respectively by Lucien Bourjeily, Bane Fakih, Wissam Charaf, and Areej Mahmoud.

Curated and produced by Bechara Mouzannar through his Beirut-based outfit Unbranded, the film is executive produced by Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki of Cannes award-winner Capernaum.

The film is set to premiere out of competition at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (Oct 24-Nov 1).

As well as handling world sales,...

Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired world rights to anthology film “Disorder,” which depicts different aspects of Lebanon’s recent turbulence and the toll taken by the country’s disarray on its new generations.

The timely portmanteau film comprises four shorts helmed by prominent Lebanese writers and directors: Lucien Bourjeili (“Heaven Without People”), Bane Fakih (“Keep It Together”), Wissam Charaf and Areej Mahmoud (“Beirut 6:07”).

The shorts, titled “The Group,” “Motherland,” “Don’t Panic” and “A Piece of Heaven,” feature top Lebanese talents such as Manal Issa (“The Swimmers”), Rodrigue Sleiman (“The Traveller”), Farah Shaer (“Heaven Without People”) and Hanane Hajj Ali (“Bab El Shams”).

“Disorder” will world premiere out-of-competition at Egypt’s upcoming El Gouna Film Festival.

Curated and lead-produced by prominent advertising exec Bechara Mouzannar – who is a former creative chief of ad agency Leo Burnett in the Middle East and Africa and now runs a production...

CAA’s Roeg Sutherland is set to be honored with the Zurich Film Festival’s Game Changer Award for his outstanding achievements and contributions within the film industry.

The co-Head of CAA’s Media Finance department as well as its International Film Group, will be presented with the award during the festival’s industry-focused Zurich Summit, which takes place in October within the framework of the 20th Zurich Film Festival (Zff).

As part of the recognition, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner will host the Game Changer Award recipient conversation, in which he will speak with Sutherland about his journey.

“Roeg is a passionate cinephile and industry leader, who has not only discovered, but also nurtured and developed the careers of countless artists. In the past several years, he has secured financing and sold some of the most important and critically acclaimed films, both domestic and international,” commented Zff Artistic Director Christian Jungen.

James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli was one of the guests at a gala dinner hosted by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) and the Media City Qatar (McQ) on the fringes of the Venice Film Festival on Monday evening.

The veteran producer’s presence added fuel to recent reports that she is attempting to secure Qatari finance for ex-James Bond actor Daniel Craig’s big screen passion project Othello, with well-placed sources hinting on Monday night that talks were ongoing.

Related: ‘Russians At War’ Teaser: Anastasia Trofimova’s Doc Gives Rare Insight Into Life Of Russian Soldiers On The Frontline In Ukraine – Venice

Broccoli — who is co-head of James Bond producer Eon Productions with Michael G. Wilson — has reportedly been working with Craig for some time on the project, billed as a modern adaptation of the Shakespearean classic set in American army barracks in Iraq.

Related: ‘King Ivory’: Melissa Leo,...

BAFTA-winning “Top Boy” star Jasmine Jobson — recently seen in Andrea Arnold’s Cannes-bowing “Bird” — is set to play trailblazing Somali-British professional boxer, model and Unicef Ambassador Ramla Ali in “In the Shadows.” She takes over from Letitia Wright, who was attached when the project was first announced last year.

Filming has now begun in London on the feature, which will also star Finn Cole (“Last Breath,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Fast & Furious 9”) as Ali’s husband, Richard Moore, while Gershwyn Eustache Jr (“Andor,” “Small Axe,” “Fortitude”) plays her boxing coach.

“In the Shadows” will mark the narrative feature debut of Emmy Award and three-time BAFTA-winning documentarian Anthony Wonke. The film is produced by BAFTA winner and Oscar-nomination producer Lee Magiday, Madeleine Sanderson (“Being AP,” “Fighting for a City”), and presented by Civic Studios (“Christmas Karma, Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust”). The film’s subject Ali will serve as an executive producer.

Exclusive: As it preps for the release of notable titles like Nickel Boys, production company Louverture Films has added a handful of key execs and collaborators, including two principal partners and a chief financial officer.

As those new arrivals come aboard, co-founder Danny Glover has announced he is stepping down as CEO but will remain a partner. Melony Lewis and Adam Lewis have joined as principal partners and Longtime German film finance expert Frank Lehmann is now CFO. Colombian producer Diana Bustamante, a significant figure in South American cinema and former head of the Cartagena Film Festival, is collaborating with Louverture on a number of projects.

Along with the Lewises, the company’s partners include Glover, co-founder Joslyn Barnes, Susan Rockefeller, Sawsan Asfari, Tony Tabatznik and Jeffrey L. Clark.

Louverture is known for a number of acclaimed international co-productions, among them narrative titles Memoria, Zama, Capernaum and documentaries Gunda, Hale...

The stars are out on the Croisette for the 77th Cannes Film Festival, sporting their best looks on the red carpet. Already donning her resort wear best at the first Jury Call photo shoot was Hollywood icon Meryl Streep, who will receive the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival.

This year’s President, Greta Gerwig, will be joined by an illustrious jury that includes Lily Gladstone Eva Green Omar Sy Ebru Ceylan (who co-wrote the 2014 Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”), “Capernaum” director Nadine Labaki, “Society of the Snow” director Juan Antonio Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino and “Shoplifters” director Kore-eda Hirokazu.

The list of star-studded premieres includes George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Oscar-winner Yorgos Lanthimos will debut his next film, “Kinds of Kindness,” starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley on the Croisette.

Cannes Competition jury president Greta Gerwig addressed freelance festival workers considering a strike, saying “I support labour movements.”

“I hope that the festival workers can form an agreement that is good for them and supports them and supports the festival,” said Gerwig, responding to a question from Screen about what message she has for the freelance group.

French collective Sous les ecrans la deche (Broke Behind The Screens) is preparing to protest labour reforms that would cut their unemployment indemnities.

A representative for the group told Screen it was awaiting a meeting between the Cnc and the Cultural Ministry during...

One of the year’s most anticipated films will be on sale for independent buyers at the upcoming Cannes market. We can bring you news that French sales company Goodfellas has boarded Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis ahead of the movie’s world premiere in Competition at the festival.

Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.

Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.

Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...

We’re just two weeks away from the 77th Cannes Film Festival, and this morning the august French institution revealed who will determine the winners of this year’s awards. A cross-section of international talent will join “Barbie” and “Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig, who will lead the panel, in an effort to undoubtedly compare apples to oranges and try to make sense of a diverse slate of films from directors like David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Baker, Ali Abbasi, and many others.

Lily Gladstone, who won several Best Actress awards last year (but not the Oscar!) for her revolutionary turn in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” is the other American joining Gerwig. The actress, currently seen on FX/Hulu’s “Under the Bridge,” is returning to Cannes one year after Martin Scorsese and Apple Original Films brought “Flower Moon” to the French Riviera festival for its out-of-competition debut.

The full Cannes Film Festival competition jury has been revealed.

Joining president Greta Gerwig to award this year’s Palme d’Or will be “Killers of the Flower Moon” Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone; “The Three Musketeers” star Eva Green; “Lupin” lead Omar Sy; Ebru Ceylan, who co-wrote the 2014 Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”; director Nadine Labaki, whose “Capernaum” won the Cannes jury prize in 2018; director Juan Antonio Bayona, whose latest film “Society of the Snow” was Oscar-nominated for best international feature; Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who will next appear in Pablo Larraìn’s “Maria” alongside Angelina Jolie; and director Kore-eda Hirokazu, director of the 2018 Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters.”

The competition lineup for the upcoming festival includes “All We Imagine as Light” by Payal Kapadia; Sean Baker’s “Anora”; Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” from Ali Abbasi; Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski; “Caught by the Tides...

The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the eight jurors who will be joining jury president Greta Gerwig for the event’s 2024 edition (May 14-25).

They are American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, French actor and producer Omar Sy, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino.

The jury will award the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition at the closing ceremony on May 25. Anatomy Of A Fall picked up the top prize last year.

Passed over by France’s Oscar-nominating committee, but finding Academy favor nevertheless, Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” has also become an indie champion in mainland China. Its success may hold lessons in a market that has become increasingly impenetrable to content from outside the mainstream.

It is increasingly rare for Western arthouse films to play in Chinese commercial theaters. These are increasingly dominated by local “main melody” titles, with a little room remaining for Hollywood franchise titles and Japanese animation. Nevertheless, “Anatomy of a Fall” released in China on March 29 and has garnered $3 million (RMB22 million) to date. The film’s director, Justine Triet, even made a visit to the country to participate in Q&As at several screenings.

Below, Julien Favre, head of film at Chinese distributor Road Pictures, speaks with Variety about the long process of getting it to screen.

Where did the journey begin?...

In a sudden announcement, Sundance Institute said on Friday that CEO Joana Vicente is stepping down after two and a half years and Amanda Kelso is returning as acting CEO.

Kelso, who is a trustee of the Institute, previously served as acting CEO, co-chair of the technology committee, a member of the finance committee, and was actively involved in the digital festival task force.

She will transition into her role in April, and Vicente will continue to serve as an advisor to her and the board through June.

“After two and half inspiring years, I have made the decision to...

In a sudden announcement, Sundance Institute said on Friday that CEO Joana Vicente is stepping down after two and a half years and Amanda Kelso is returning as acting CEO.

Kelso, who is a trustee of the Institute, previously served as acting CEO, co-chair of the technology committee, a member of the finance committee, and was actively involved in the digital festival task force.

She will transition into her role in April, and Vicente will continue to serve as an advisor to her and the board through June.

“After two and half inspiring years, I have made the decision to...

French legal drama Anatomy of a Fall‘s against-the-odds global box office run isn’t over just yet. The acclaimed courtroom thriller, which won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or in 2023 and the Oscar for best original screenplay last week, has secured a nationwide theatrical release date in China on March 29.

Chinese specialty distributor Road Pictures will handle the local marketing and release of Anatomy of a Fall in partnership with the state-backed China Film Group. The film’s writer and director Justine Triet will attend a local premiere event in Beijing on March 24.

Anatomy of a Fall is being positioned as a specialty release, but its feminist themes could align well with a recent trend of women-focused stories being a major box office force in China. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie defied early expectations last year to become a word-of-mouth hit by resonating with China’s young urban women,...

Oscar-nominated Mexican sound designer Martin Hernandez has given new details about his latest project, Netflix documentary series The Master Of Monarchs [working title], which will launch on the platform later this year.

The series takes flight with the story of the Monarch butterfly and its journey from Canada to El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve, a nature reserve in Mexico. The keeper of the reserve, environmental activist Homero Gomez, was murdered in 2020. It is believed he was killed because he stood up against organised crime groups.

The Master Of Monarchs will feature interviews with Gomez’s wife and children.

“It’s a great documentary.

Industry executives, creatives and international buyers came together to preview an exclusive selection of upcoming high-end German series at the Up Next: Germany showcase at the Berlinale Series Market, the dedicated serial content arm of the EFM running between Feb. 19-21.

Four projects were selected for the showcase: Dystopian drama “A Better Place” imagines the aftermath of a revolutionary state-led program that eradicates all German prisons. Directors include Anne Zohra Berrached and “Capernaum” editor Konstantin Brock. Studiocanal TV handles world sales on the French-German-Austrian co-production.

“Young Berlusconi” is a three-party documentary trailing the early stages of Silvio Berlusconi’s career and his pivotal role in revolutionizing commercial television in Italy and across Europe. “Goodbye Darling, I’m Off to Fight” director Simone Manetti helms the series, with Arte on board as the German broadcaster and Mediawan handling world sales.

ZDFneo brought two series to the event: “Love Sucks,” an unconventional...

“Anatomy of a Fall,” Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or-winning and Oscar-nominated film, is getting a theatrical release in mainland China.

The film will open in China on March 29, some two weeks after the Oscars ceremony, where it is in the running for five Academy Awards including best picture, director, actress (for Sandra Hüller), screenplay and editing. “Anatomy of a Fall” also just won a pair of Golden Globes for foreign-language film and screenplay (for Triet and Arthur Harari); and is vying for seven BAFTAs and 11 Cesar Awards (France’s top film honors).

“Anatomy of a Fall” was passed over by France’s Oscar selection committee in favor of “The Taste of Things,” but embraced by Oscar voters. Its stateside awards campaign has been championed by North American distributor Neon.

The upcoming release in China is supported by indie distribution firm Road Pictures, which was founded in 2014 by Cai Gongming,...

Orange Studio has boarded true-crime-tinged psychological thriller “An Ordinary Case” and will launch sales at this week’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris. Top-lined, co-written and directed by French cinema stalwart Daniel Auteuil, this pulled-from-the-headlines drama also boasts “Borgen” and “Westworld” star Sidse Babett Knudsen alongside acclaimed actor Grégory Gadebois (“An Officer and a Spy”).

Auteuil adapted the feature from the work of Jean-Yves Moyart – a jurist-turned-blogger-turned-bestselling author who wrote of his experiences in the French legal system – and will star as Jean Monier, a disillusioned lawyer defending a man accused of murdering his wife. While all signs point to the accused’s guilt, Monier remains steadfast in his presumption of innocence. What begins as an ordinary case turns out to be anything but.

Following in the footsteps of Alice Diop’s Venice and César winner “Saint Omer,” of Cédric Kahn’s Cannes-acclaimed “The Goldman Case,” and of Justine Triet’s...

The moves comes as the leading Mena distributor ramps up activity.

Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has promoted Nicolas Torloting, Carine Chaiban and Elie Touma to partners as the company increases activity in the region.

The trio joined in early 2019 as part of a revamp of the company, which is one of the leading distributors of independent and genre films in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). Torloting is Front Row’s COO, with Chaiban heading post-theatrical sales and Touma leading acquisitions and theatrical distribution.

The company, founded by Gianluca Chakra in 2003, handles the release of more than 200 films per year,...

Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region indie distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment is promoting company execs Nicolas Torloting, Carine Chaiban and Elie Touma to partners as it ramps up operations.

The trio joined the company, headed by Gianluca Chakra, in early 2019 as part of an initial revamp. Torloting, a former Disney exec in the region, is currently Front Row’s COO, while Chaiban, who is an acquisitions and distribution expert, heads post-theatrical sales and Touma is in charge of acquisitions and theatrical distribution. The announcement was made during Saudi Arabia’s ongoing Red Sea Film Festival. Front Row recently scored big at the Saudi box office with the wrestling comedy “Sattar,” released by Front Row Arabia via its joint venture with leading local exhibitor Muvi Cinemas.

Amid the region’s rapidly evolving film distribution landscape, Front Row has grown to establish itself as one of the leading players in...

Untamed Talent, a management and production company led by former Mister Smith Entertainment executive Antone Saliba, is launching with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions, a joint venture of leading Middle East distribution companies Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment.

Front Row Productions will provide capital and strategic value to support Untamed Talent’s goals to innovate new business models covering the South West Asia and North Africa region, the fastest-growing entertainment market in the world. The focus will be not only on representing filmmakers from established Middle East industry hubs of Egypt and Saudi, it will also identify, develop and promote talent from traditionally underrepresented countries within the region such as Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey and Iran.

Untamed will work on a non-exclusive basis with all production and distribution parties in the region, as well as U.S. and international studios and streamers to maximize opportunities for its clients.

Road Pictures, one of China’s most consistently successful distributors of Japanese anime and international prestige cinema, is preparing a major expansion into the anime IP and physical entertainment business. At the upcoming Tifcom content market in Tokyo this week, the Beijing-based company will unveil a new venture to license, promote and monetize high-value Acgn properties (animation, comics, games and YA novels). Road Pictures says the new entity, which will go by the name GuGuGuGu in Chinese and Animation Valley in English, will pursue three core activities — content distribution, merchandizing and experiential services — carried out by both online and offline channels, including a network of proprietary IP stores, themed cafes and theme parks.

Road Pictures first caught the international film world’s attention in 2018, when it marketed and distributed Nadine Lebaki’s small-budget arthouse drama Capernaum to a bofo $54 million box-office total in China. In 2023, the company generated two huge...

The Toronto International Film Festival kicked off its TIFF Visionaries talks, one-on-one discussions with leading figures in international cinema, with Nadine Labaki, the acclaimed Lebanese director of Caramel, Where Do We Go Now? and Capernaum. The Hollywood Reporter is the media partner of the TIFF Visionaries series.

Born in a small village in Lebanon in 1974, Labaki grew up during the country’s civil war — “which robbed me of my childhood” — where movies were her only escape. “The highlight of my day was the moment we had power so that we could watch a film,” she said, speaking onstage at the Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC headquarters in Toronto. “Very early on, I knew I wanted to become a filmmaker, to create stories that can allow me to escape my reality.”

In a wide-ranging talk, Labaki traced her career path, first through directing advertising and music videos — “where I learned...

Labaki kicked off the TIFF Visionaries strand of on-stage discussions.

Lebanese director Nadine Labaki has discussed the modern challenges of cancel culture and restrictive regimes, saying “it’s becoming difficult for artists to spread their wings.”

Speaking at a Visionaries on-stage conversation at Toronto Film Festival, Labaki was asked about any backlash she had received to her films, especially in the context of portraying the queer Lebanese community.

“When you’re living in such a difficult situation – social pressure, religious pressure, religious authorities getting involved in everything, especially arts, and censoring whatever we need to say – there’s always backlash,...

Many Lives And Deaths Of Christopher Lee

Abacus Media Rights has pre-sold the feature documentary “The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee,” to Sky Arts, Sbs Television Australia; to NonStop Entertainment for Scandinavia, Iceland and the Baltics and to Movistar for Spain.

Lee is known as the Dracula character and for transitioning from 1960s Hammer horror films to a distinguished acting career that encompassed James Bond films, the “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” franchises.

Less well-known are his aristocratic Italian roots, a close family connection to James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, Lee’s wartime experiences in the British and Finnish military, post-war Nazi-hunting adventures and a side career as a heavy metal rock singer. As an actor, Lee achieved a Guinness world record for the highest number of screen appearances.

Produced in association with the British Film Institute and Trigger Films by Canal Cat Films, “Life and Deaths...

Caleb Landry Jones is set to star in U.K. drama Harvest from Greek director Athina Rachel Tsangari (Chevalier) and produced by Ken Loach and Rebecca O’Brien’s Sixteen Films, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

News of the film answers a major question hanging over the Venice Film Festival, where Landry Jones touched down this week as the lead in Luc Besson’s dark thriller Dogman. At the film’s press conference on Thursday and in later interviews, Landry Jones spoke throughout with a thick Scottish accent, with Besson saying that he was method acting for a new role. “It’s not his normal voice,” the director explained. “He needs to stay in character.”

THR can now reveal that this role is for Harvest, Tsangari’s first feature since her multi-award-winning comedy-drama Chevalier.

Based on the award-winning 2013 novel of the same name by Jim Crace, the feature is to be...

The Toronto Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its Visionaries informal conversation series presented by The Hollywood Reporter, led by Spike Lee, Guillermo del Toro, Nadine Labaki and The King’s Speech producer See-Saw Films.

Oscar-winning director Lee will be on hand to discuss his long career in Hollywood, which includes the groundbreaking 1992 biopic Malcolm X. French filmmaker Ly will also be in Toronto for the world premiere of Les Indésirables, the follow up to his debut feature Les Miserables, which won the Jury Prize in Cannes and earned an Oscar nomination for best international feature at the 2020 Oscars.

And del Toro, who has shot many of his movies in Toronto, including the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water, will take part in the Visionaries series to talk about his cinema of fantastical worlds, as will See-Saw founders Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, whose prestige film output includes Lion and Jane Campion...

Production has kicked off on “A Better Place,” which is produced by Komplizen Serien and Studiocanal Series in Germany.

Komplizen Serien, headed by David Keitsch, is the TV arm of leading movie production company Komplizen Film, whose credits include “Spencer,” for which Kristen Stewart was Oscar-nominated, and “Toni Erdmann,” which was Oscar-nominated in the foreign language film category.

“A Better Place” is the first German TV show to be produced by Studiocanal Series, the German TV arm of the French production powerhouse. Studiocanal Series is headed by Nicolas Loock.

The series will be shown on German streaming platform Ard Mediathek and broadcast channel Das Erste at the end of 2024. Studiocanal is handling international distribution.

It is shooting in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany from August to December. Alexander Lindh is the showrunner. Anne Zohra Berrached and Konstantin Bock (the editor on Oscar-nominated “Capernaum”) are directing.

The show poses the question: What if...

Toronto — TIFF today unveiled the 10 World Premiere features that comprise the Platform programme for 2023, along with the 2023 Platform jury members: Academy Award–winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, joined by Cannes Jury Prize–winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki, and 2022 Platform Prize–winning filmmaker Anthony Shim.

Since its introduction in 2015, Platform has celebrated and showcased films with unique directorial perspectives. The 10 films in the 2023 programme are eligible for the Platform Prize, an award of $20,000 Cad given to the best film in the programme, selected by an in-person international jury.

“I am delighted to announce that we have an international dream jury with acclaimed filmmakers Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki, and Anthony Shim as jury members for the Platform programme at TIFF,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Together, they represent the bold and independent spirit of the Platform Prize.”

Platform is TIFF’s competitive programme that champions bold directorial visions. The...

“Dream Scenario,” a bizarre comedy starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, will be one of 10 films competing in the Platform program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Wednesday.

The films will be competing for the Platform Prize, a $20,000 Cad award that will be given to the film chosen as the section’s best by a jury consisting of directors Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim (who won the Platform Prize last year for “Riceboy Sleeps”).

In a statement released by TIFF, programming director and Platform lead Robyn Citizen singled out “Dream Scenario,” which will serve as the section’s opening-night film, and said, “This surrealist satire-comedy has sharp, timely observations about social media culture — especially ‘going viral’ — and its impact on the way that we interact with others in our day-to-day life. Cage delivers some of his finest work.” She went on to say,...

“The Chosen,” Dallas Jenkins’ historical drama about the life of Jesus as seen through his closest followers, has found its network home. The CW will air the first three seasons of the global hit with the first episode set to debut on Sunday, July 16 at 8/7c p.m. It will continue its run through the fall and will air its finale on Christmas Eve.

Weeks ago Lionsgate announced it had acquired the global distribution rights to the crowdfunded project. “The Chosen” comes from the Angel Studios app. According to the studio, the series has drawn over 110 million viewers in 175 countries around the world. There are also currently plans to make the series available in 600 languages.

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“’The Chosen’ is based on the biggest IP of all time and is truly a one-of-a-kind series that tells this historically significant story in a captivating,...

The Cannes Film Festival is designed to showcase the best of the best upcoming movies, meaning it's not surprising that many films shown there are met with praise and celebration. But in the decades since the festival kicked off in 1946, an unusual phenomenon has developed: movies at Cannes tend to receive very, very long standing ovations.

For example, on May 20, Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" received nine minutes of applause. Meanwhile, a five-minute or less standing ovation can sometimes be seen as a sign that the film didn't quite live up to expectations, with Variety reporting that "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" received a "lukewarm" five-minute ovation.

Ahead, learn more about standing ovations at Cannes.

What Movies Received the Longest Standing Ovations at Cannes?

The longest recorded standing ovation at Cannes was for "Pan's Labyrinth," which received a 22-minute-long block of applause in 2006, per Quartz.

Lauded “Capernaum” director Nadine Labaki was presented with the Variety International Filmmaker Award at the sophomore edition of the Red Sea Film Festival. During an in-depth conversation with Variety’s senior vice president of global content and executive editor Steven Gaydos, the Lebanese filmmaker and actor spoke about her passion for uplifting female voices to the great applause of an audience filled with young aspiring female filmmakers.

“It’s important because the world needs this other vision of the world,” she said of the importance of creating opportunities for women in film. “There are many things that we need to express and we need to talk about deeply. Things that we don’t share with men, things that we feel as women. There’s so much that has been unsaid and what better way to say it than cinema?”

“We learn to censor ourselves so much as women. It’s our shared history,...

“Cinema is not pages and it’s not minutes: it’s the way you look at the minute that passes,” Syrian director Ameer Fakher Eldin is talking about the 55-page script of “Yunan,” his follow up to “The Stranger” (Al Garib), which played at Venice Days in 2021. Eldin knows from the experience of editing his first film that one page doesn’t equal one minute. “It’s a two hour film,” he says.

Eldin’s second feature is due to film in the first half of 2023 and is currently being presented at this week’s Red Sea Souk Project Market of the Red Sea Film Festival. Iconic figure of New German Cinema Hanna Schygulla and Syrian actor Bassem Yakhour have both been cast in the production. They join Lebanese actor Georges Khabbaz (“Capernaum”), and German actor Sibel Kekilli, from “Game of Thrones” and Fatih Akin’s “Head On.”

Filming will...

The Red Sea Film Festival and Variety will be partners on two new awards: the Intl. Vanguard Filmmaker Award, which will go to Nadine Labaki, and the Intl. Vanguard Actor Award, which goes to Ranbir Kapoor.

An actor, director, musician and activist, Labaki has carved a distinctive path on the international film circuit. As a child, she would spend hours at a small theater run by her grandfather, in the dark but never alone, lit by the images flickering on screen. From that young age, Labaki knew that she wanted to pursue filmmaking, though the circumstances of Lebanon’s wartorn 1980s didn’t always make such opportunities apparent.

“There were no films being done at that moment,” she told Variety in 2019. “So when I started dreaming about making a film it was almost impossible.”

After honing her talent directing music videos for local TV and winning international acclaim for her graduation film “11 Rue Pasteur,...

Lebanese writer-director and actor Nadine Labaki and Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor are set to be honored with Variety International Vanguard Awards at the upcoming second edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival.

Labaki’s first feature, “Caramel,” was set in a Beirut beauty salon, and premiered in the Cannes Director’s Fortnight section in 2007, followed by “Where Do We Go Now?,” in which Christians and Muslim villagers coexist in an uneasy peace. The latter film was in Un Certain Regard in 2011. Labaki has gained prominence with works that highlight aspects of everyday life in Lebanon. She is also the first female Arab director to have been nominated for an international Oscar for “Capernaum”(2018) which shed light on Beirut’s desperation.

Her acting work comprises turns in Mouna Akl’s ecology-themed drama “Costa Brava, Lebanon” and in the Arabic adaptation of hit dramedy “Perfect Strangers.” Labaki will be...

Global humanitarian organization Unicef is given the spotlight this year at the International Film Festival of India (Iffi).

The festival is carrying a package of six films that reflect on children and factors impacting childhood. Alongside Nadine Labacki’s Oscar-nominated “Capernaum,” five of the six hail from Iffi host country India with the selection spaning works from the past seven years

They include Nagesh Kukunoor’s Hindi language “Dhanak” (aka “Rainbow”) from 2015; Akashadiyta Lama’s Nagamese film “Nani Teri Morni”; Amol Gole’s Marathi-language film “Sumi”; 2021 Bengali film “Dostojee” (aka “Two Friends”) by Prasun Chatterjee; and Swaroopraj Medara’s Hindi-language film “Udd Jaa Nanhe Dil.”

“Nfdc’s collaboration with Unicef at Iffi carries forward our legacy of highlighting relevant issues concerning civil society,” said Ravinder Bhakar, MD of the National Film Development Corporation and Iffi director. “Through the six films that are being screened, we bring audience attention to children...

Exclusive: Mumbai-based Impact Films is planning theatrical releases in India for Brendan Fraser starrer The Whale, Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness and Cannes best actor winner Broker, emboldened by its recent success with indie global breakout hit Everything Everywhere All At Once.

The company is releasing Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale on December 30, three weeks after its release in the U.S. through A24. Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle Of Sadness is being lined up for release in January 2023, around the same time that the Oscar nominations are announced. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Broker will go out theatrically around the same time, following its U.S. release through Neon on December 26.

Impact Films founder Ashwani Sharma says he got the confidence to give these films a theatrical release after Everything Everywhere All At Once clicked with Indian audiences and grossed more than 200,000, despite releasing in September, six months after its U.

Lebanese actress and director Nadine Labaki enjoyed breakout success with Oscar-nominated and Cannes Jury Prize-winning third feature Capernaum in 2018 and there is now anticipation over what will be her next directorial feature project

However, the star, who is currently at the Marrakech International Film Festival as a member of its jury, told Deadline this week that it could be a while before she gets behind the camera.

“I have to start writing the next feature film. There’s nothing tangible I can talk about yet,” she said.

The weight of Lebanon’s political and economic crisis since 2019, which was exacerbated by the pandemic, and the deadly and devastating August 2020 Beirut explosion had made it difficult for her to focus on a personal project, she said.

“It has been a very difficult three years. We’ve all been sort of living like zombies. We’re alive but not really and it...

Marrakech — Lebanese producer Pierre Sarraf from Né à Beyrouth Films and Sahar Yousefi at Canada’s Nava Projects have boarded one of the most buzzed about titles at the Atlas Workshops industry and mentoring platform at the Marrakech Film Festival. The Atlas Workshops opens its doors today.

“Pigeon Wars” marks the first feature from the Canadian-Lebanese filmmaker and Oscar hopeful, Dania Bdeir, whose gender-defying short film “Warsha” has won over 60 awards – three of which are Oscar qualifying, at Sundance, Outfest and Tokyo’s Short Shorts. The film is currently shortlisted for the 2023 César Awards.

Sarraf is producing the feature with Yousefi serving as the co-production partner. Ne a Beyrouth Films was also a producer on “Warsha,” which follows a Syrian migrant working as a crane operator at a construction site in Beirut who has a secret passion.

In “Pigeon Wars,” Rana, 20, a competitive young woman trying to avoid a difficult secret from her past,...