Catalan Carlos Marqués-Marcet’s best film win at Toronto’s Platform for “They Will Be Dust” points to a larger trend. Backed by generous government support, experienced producers and sales and distribution companies with impeccable track records domestically and abroad, there is a generation of Catalan filmmakers that is hitting its stride with some of the most […]

Ahead of its European bow in San Sebastian as part of the fest’s New Directors Competition, Turkish writer-director Belkis Bayrak reveals the first look trailer for her riveting debut feature, “Gülizar,” shared exclusively with Variety. “It is, of course, an honor to be in competition at San Sebastian with my debut feature,” Bayrak relayed. “I can’t […]

Catalan films have impressed at festivals and awards ceremonies around the world for years now as the region continues to punch far above its weight in the screen industries. As the fall festival season transitions into awards season, we wanted to take a look at the buzziest Catalan titles set to make their debut sometime […]

Esther Acebo, best known for playing Stockholm in Netflix’s global smash hit “Money Heist,” has signed on to star in Nestor Ruiz Medina’s upcoming feature “In the End, Everything Will Be Fine” (“Al Finald Toda va a Estar Bien”). Described as a “critique on today’s society in the vein of Ruben Östlund,” the film will […]

New York-based indie sales outfit Visit Films has acquired international distribution rights to Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato’s pensive second feature “Surfacing” (“La Llegada Del Hijo”) ahead of its global debut on Sunday as part of the San Sebastián Film Festival’s prestigious New Director’s Competition. “We have had the privilege of helping launch films in San […]

French animation producer La Cabane Productions has unveiled key voice casting and writing talent additions to its animated TV special project “A Lamb’s Stew” and released a first teaser that will be screened during a pitch at Cartoon Forum in Toulouse. Today’s teaser release unveils the casting of British actor T’Nia Miller (“Years and Years,” […]

Production kicked off in Seoul on Sept. 3 for “Hana Korea,” an ambitious Denmark-Korea co-production based on the real-life story of a North Korean defector. “Hana Korea” is co-written and directed by Danish documentary filmmaker Frederik Sølberg and co-written by Sharon Choi, a filmmaker and Bong Joon-ho’s interpreter, who accompanied the director in his 2019 […]

Nick Hamm’s “William Tell” is a throwback. It’s a big-budget — roughly $45 million — action pic based on popular folklore and loaded with rousing action sequences, inspiring speeches from the frontlines and a glossy blend of digital and practical effects. It screens Sept. 10 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Set in 1307, the […]

Paris-based Millimages, one of Europe’s oldest indie animation studios, is shaking up its sales team ahead of the fall market and festival season. Citing a “rapidly changing animation market,” Millimages’ reorg is being executed to increase operational efficiency, improve responsiveness to its commercial partners, standardize the company’s sales strategy and support further growth for its […]

TrustNordisk has closed several distribution deals for a 4K remastered version of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Pusher” trilogy, including “Pusher,” “Pusher II – With Blood on My Hands” and “Pusher III – I Am the Angel of Death.” Distribution deals have been closed in Benelux with September Film Rights, Switzerland with Praesens Film, Germany with Plaion […]

Anjelica Huston, one of cinema’s most iconic witch portrayers, has been cast to star in the upcoming live-action/hybrid feature “The Christmas Witch Trial of La Befana,” the first animated film produced by Canada’s HighballTV. Based on a popular Italian folk tale, “The Christmas Witch Trial of La Befana” tells the story of a group of […]

This year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival will feature the most eye-catching list of international superstars it has ever hosted, including A-list actors such as Cate Blanchett and Javier Bardem – who will both receive Donostia career achievement awards, Andrew Garfield, Pamela Anderson, Tilda Swinton and Lupita Nyong’o and filmmakers like local legend Pedro Almodovar […]

Serial Maven Studios has given Variety exclusive access to the trailer for Neil Diamond and Joanne Robertson’s “So Surreal: Behind the Masks,” a Native American documentary world premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond (“Reel Injun,” “Red Fever”) as he studies the anthropological connection between Yup’ik and […]

France’s Miam! distribution has picked up distribution rights to Silex Animation’s adult animated series “Mare the Mermaid,” one of the continent’s big buzz titles in adult series animation, after impressing at Cartoon Forum in 2023. Commissioned by France Télévisions for their young adult platform Slash, the show is set for delivery in Q4 2026. The […]

The 30th edition of the Unifrance Rendez-vous in Le Havre is just around the corner. The French film market plays host to hundreds of buyers and a vast range of titles being sold across genres and mediums. Autour de Minuit, the Oscar-nominated production company that recently turned heads co-producing 2022’s “Unicorn Wars” (granted the Best […]