“Quinografía,” a portrait of the famously timid Mafalda cartoonist Quino, and “Habana Libre,” a take on rebellious youth in Cuba, look like potential standouts at Ventana Docs, a selection of 12 doc features from across Latin America and Spain.   A notable number have been developed at prestigious labs, whether Sundance Festival programs (“Bleeding Heart,” “Violent-House-Fiction”) […]

Klaus Härö tells the story of a complicated real-life hero, Abraham Stiller, in World War II drama “Never Alone.” When Jewish refugees sought shelter in Finland, Stiller, a respected member of Finland’s Jewish community, tried to save some of them from deportation. But he “wasn’t flawless,” argued the director after the premiere at Tallinn.    […]

The Mediapro Studio’s “The 47,” placing star Eduard Fernández is a pole position in the Best Actor Goyas race, is breaking box office records in Spain.  Directed by Marcel Barrena, who already showed in “Mediterráneo: The Law of the Sea” his sense of broad audience appeal on movies engaging social issues, results for “The 47” […]

For a brief period, over 1982-86, the U.K. enjoyed a remarkable film renaissance. Four films – “Chariots of Fire,” (1982) “Gandhi,” (1983) “The Killing Fields” (1985) and “The Mission” (1986) – won a total 19 Academy Awards, including Best Picture two years running. All of those films, save “Gandhi,” were produced by David Puttnam. To […]

Ukraine’s Kateryna Vyshnevska is set to receive the very first Honorary TV Beats Producer Award at Tallinn. But she’s not planning to slow down anytime soon, teasing upcoming shows “Moloch” and “A Girl from Tallinn.”  Set in the contemporary world of high politics and secret service intrigue in Central Europe, “Moloch” is produced by Bionaut […]

From the day that Christopher Columbus set sail from Huelva to beach up in the Caribbean, the Spanish city has always had strong ties to Latin America.  With Spain still laboring under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, when a group of young film buffs at Huelva’s Film Club aimed to galvanize the city’s culture, “It […]

The unique joy of friendship is at the fore in helmers Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge’s “Don’t You Let Me Go.” Produced by Uruguay-based Agustina Chiarino’s Bocacha Films, the feature clinched the Noah Ephron Award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. It marks Guevara and Jorge’s third collaboration with Bocacha, a production company at the […]

Firmly established as one of Europe’s biggest dedicated showcases for movies from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival celebrates its 50th edition with a bang, with a high-caliber main Competition, a new showcase on Spain. Following, some highlights and trends at this year’s festival, which runs Nov. 15-23. Paz Vega: A Director […]

In the light of current world events, defiance will be in sharp relief at the 48th Göteborg Film Festival, which runs Jan. 26 – Feb. 4, 2025 Under the banner “Focus: Disobedience,” the festival will highlight themes of civil resistance and pose such questions as: “When does rebellion become a moral obligation? When can it […]

Camila José Donoso’s “Antitropical,” William Reyes’ “Eva,” and Manuel Ponce de Leon’s “In All My Journeys I Am Returning” are potential highlights at this year’s Ventana Sur industry centrepiece, its Primer Corte, and Copia Final pix-in-post screenings. Penned with “Chile, ’76” co-scribe Alejandra Moffat, the fourth film from José Donoso whose “Nona: If They Soak […]

A Locarno world premiere this August, “Rita,” the directorial debut of Spanish star Paz Vega (“Spanglish,” “Lucia & Sex”), has clinched first key market sales, rolling off the American Film Market. Sales company Filmax has closed the U.K. and Ireland with Signature Entertainment, whose recent and upcoming releases include “The New Boy,” “Unicorns” and Viggo […]

Tiina Lokk, the founder and managing director of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (known as PÖFF), one of the largest festivals in Northern Europe, has put together with her team of 15 programmers, another strong and varied harvest for the fest’s 28th edition unspooling Nov. 8-23 in the Estonian capital.  Split into six main competition strands and another 37 sections, […]

One fast-consolidating industry lore, compounded by Toronto dealing – or lack of it – has it that non-English-language dramas don’t sell. Try telling that, however, to Filmax. “The Teacher Who Promised the Sea,” chronicling the tragedy of barbaric slaughter  in the Spanish Civil War, has not only sold but opened in Italy and Australia to boffo […]

Latido Films, the sales company on Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” and “The Platform,” has unveiled a slew of over 30 sales deals on a wide-ranging slate of titles, led by a U.S. pick-up on “All the Names of God,” a bouquet of transactions on “Aire,” the Dominican Republic’s Oscar entry, and an HBO regional licensing […]

Jim Sheridan and David Merriman’s real crime re-imagination “Re-Creation,” Alberto Rodríguez’s big-scale “Los Tigres,” Paz Vega’s directorial debut “Rita” feature in Spain’s lineup at this year’s AFM. They are joined at the Spanish Screenings on Tour by “Nightfall,” a Federico García Lorca focused real life horror film from “Wounded” director Fernando Franco, and “Wolf Night,” […]

Delimar Vera finally tells her kidnapping story on her own terms in “The Hand That Robbed the Cradle,” as Fremantle shares in exclusivity with Variety the trailer of the film. “For a long time, I shut the media out. I was diagnosed with PTSD and it wasn’t something I was interested in. Now, my life […]

Russell Crowe starrer “The Last Druid” must rate as one of the highest-profile projects being brought to market at this week’s American Film Market. Its partners – Range Media Partners, Spain’s Nostromo, CAA Media Finance and AGC International – are aiming to shoot in Spain.  Norman Reedus, star of  AMC Networks “The Walking Dead: Darryl Dixon” […]

Spanish production-sales-distribution house Filmax has boarded “Dismantling an Elephant,” the latest film from Barcelona-based Arcadia Motion Pictures, producer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s foreign-language Cesar winner “The Beasts” and Academy Award-nominated animated feature “Robot Dreams.” Sold outside Spain by Filmax, “Dismantling an Elephant” toplines Emma Suárez, the triple Goya-winning star of Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta,” and Natalia de […]

Looking to IP and the resilient market for live action family fare, Filmax has swooped on kids adventure caper “The Footballest II,” the second big-screen adaptation tapping into the children’s book saga created by Spain’s Roberto Santiago which has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. “The Footballest and the Mystery of the Pirate Treasure” will […]