Global IP powerhouse Superprod Group and international media group and rights owner Coolabi Group are teaming to develop and produce a trans-media universe based on the best-selling children’s high fantasy book series “Beast Quest” that will include video games and an animated series. There aren’t many IPs the size of “Beast Quest” that haven’t already […]

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has unveiled the winners of its TV Beats Co-Financing Market, intended to foster creative collaborations in series co-production and empower independent producers. Finnish drama “The Women I Think About at Night” took the event’s top honor, the Series Co-Production Development Award and its €50,000 ($52,780) purse, part of the Pilot […]

Ventana Sur’s Blood Window long ago established itself as one of the most important platforms for genre cinema in Latin America. This year, the sidebar returns with a seven-title lineup for its Blood Window Screenings program. The diverse lineup includes classic slashers, sci-fi flicks, supernatural tales and psychological thrillers that emphasize the range of stories […]

A star-studded edition of the Seville European Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, with Ludovich and Zoran Boukherma’s French coming-of-age drama “And Their Children After Them” taking home the Giraldillo de Oro, the Festival’s top honor. Its lead, Paul Kircher, also scored a best actor win. This year’s Official Selection jury included legendary British […]

Paris-based sales company Loco Films has picked up world rights to Sebastian Parra R’s Colombian low-fi sci-fi thriller “Seed of the Desert” (“Semilla del Desierto”), premiering in competition at this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Variety has been given exclusive access to the film’s trailer, seen below. The feature debuts on Monday, Nov. 18, […]

Boris Guts’ “Deaf Lovers,” an Istanbul-set romantic drama, has been acquired by Antipode Sales International for global sales. Already a noteworthy title in this year’s Tallinn Black Nights competition lineup, the film garnered extra attention last week when the State Film Agency of Ukraine called on the fest to pull the film from its lineup. […]

Emilios Avraam’s debut feature, “Smaragda – I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump,” a coming-of-middle-age story set in Cyprus, is world premiering in competition tonight at this year’s Tallinn Dark Nights Film Festival. The film’s titular protagonist suffers from environmental sensitivities, failed relationships and a stagnant career as a TV entertainer. Not content with her […]

Huelva’s main Competition titles, all premieres in Spain, pick up on big festival standouts that still merit further attention. Some brief details: “Bionico’s Bachata” (Yoel Morales, Dominican Republic) The film which won Morales, production house Mentes Fritas and producer and co-writer Cristián Monica a South by Southwest 2024 Audience Award. A mockumentary, shot in a […]

In its 23rd year, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event has expanded in its scope and reach without moving away from its core: training, promoting Baltic film and TV filmmakers and connecting them with the rest of the world. According to industry honcho Marge Liiske, this year’s event will focus on the role of cinema in larger […]

In 2011, French thesps Omar Sy and Anne Le Ny co-starred in the comedy hit “Untouchable.” Now, the two are reunited in the domestic thriller “Out of Control,” with “Lupin” star Sy in one of the leading roles next to Elodie Bouchez (“All Your Faces,” “The Dreamlife of Angels”), José Garcia (“Totems,” “The Ax”) and […]

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has removed Russian director Boris Guts’ “Deaf Lovers” from its Standing with Ukraine program after “serious backlash,” according to festival director Tiina Lokk. In a release, Lokk said the Estonia-Serbia co-production, which will still world premiere in Tallinn’s official competition, has received negative reactions from both Ukrainians and Russians, even […]

“This film is important, but the most important [thing] for us right now is to bring the hostages back home and for the Israel-Middle East conflict to stop as fast as possible,” says Nir Bergman, one of Israel’s most esteemed filmmakers, in a conversation with Variety about his Tallinn competition entry “Pink Lady.” Bergman, whose […]

Hybrid doc series “The Letelier File,” drilling down on what is often said to be the first act of international terrorism committed on U.S. soil, looks like one potential highlight among 11 projects selected for one-to-one meetings at Ventana Sur’s Latam Series Market. “The Letelier File” unites big creative forces in Chilean film-TV – “Prison […]

Covered with laurels for his recent series “Soviet Jeans” (audience award at Series Mania 2024) and for his features “Modris” (Latvia’s Oscar submission 2014) and “Oleg” (Cannes Director’s Fortnight entry 2019), Latvian writer/director Juris Kursietis is competing at Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival’s Official Selection with “The Exalted,” due to world premiere Nov. 14. The […]

As Spanish film festivals go, few have demonstrated the mainstream clout and drawing power of this year’s Seville European Film Festival (SEFF), which boasts one of its most audience-friendly lineups of stars and films to date. Sevilla aims to bring the best in European cinematographic culture to the south of Spain for dialogues between new […]

The Seville European Film Festival kicks off tonight in the Andalusian capital city. So, we’ve scoured this year’s program to pick ten titles that show off the selection’s breadth and quality. “The Girl With the Needle” Magnus von Horn (Denmark) Denmark’s submission to the International Feature race unspools in the years after World War II […]

The 21st Sevilla European Film Festival (SEFF) will take place this Nov. 8-16 under the stewardship of renowned Spanish producer and leading industry figure Manuel Cristobal. Among his directives in his sophomore year at the helm, Cristobal wants to strengthen the bonds between the festival, the city of Seville and its people. To do that, […]

Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro’s CG-animated family feature “Night of the Zoopocalypse” is making its market premiere at this year’s AFM, co-represented globally by Anton and Charades. Viva Pictures handles distribution in the U.S. and will release the film on March 7, 2025. Elevation Pictures will release the film next year in Canada, and Apollo […]

Spanish sales company Film Factory Entertainment has picked up the rights to director Manuel Rios San Martín’s “The Cavern Crimes” and is pitching the feature to potential buyers at this year’s AFM. Alfa Pictures will lead a Spanish domestic theatrical release for spring 2025. The investigative thriller is set in Burgos near the Atapuerca archaeological […]