Having made a splash with tense and brutal petty crime caper short “No Key,” an Indie Short Fest winner that also screened at Fantastic Fest, Casablanca-born director Walid Messnaoui and fast-building Moroccan production house Caestus Films are preparing Messnaoiu’s first feature, “The Last Beast of Atlas,” described as a twilight Western and drama.  “The Last […]

The 28th Black Nights Film Festival, known as PÖFF, wrapped Nov. 22 with an awards ceremony in Tallinn where filmmakers took centre stage to ask for the end of war in the Middle East, solidarity with Georgia under Russian influence and the defence of culture. Oscar-nominated British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi – whose debut feature “The Teacher” […]

TALLINN, Estonia — Industry @ Tallinn & Baltic Event, one of the leading industry events in Northern Europe, closed Nov. 22 with an awards ceremony where the focus country Germany dominated the list of 15 winning projects at various stages of development or post-production, on top of two accolades to promising producers.  For the first time, […]

Lina Soualem’s Spain-set family tale “Alicante,” Walid Messnaoui’s gangster Western “The Last Beast of Atlas” and Linda Lô’s search-for-identity drama “Lucky Girl” rank as buzz titles at the 7th Atlas Workshops, running Dec. 1-5 at the Marrakech Festival.  “Mud” director Jeff Nichols has already been announced as this year’s Workshops tutor.  They will also unveil […]

Alseni Barthily, who headed Cannes 2020 main competition breakout “Gagarine” is set to star in “Lucky Girl,” the feature debut of Linda Lö set up at France’s Maneki Films, which is shaping up as one of the buzz titles at the Marrakech Festival’s 2024 Atlas Workshops. Selected in the Workshops’ Projects in Development showcase, “Lucky […]

On the heels of a world premiere at the 28th Annual Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival’s First Feature Competition and ahead of its screening at Latin America’s largest film market, Ventana Sur, Paris-based sales outfit MPM Premium and Santiago-based Infractor Films have given Variety exclusive access to the trailer for Chilean filmmaker Diego Figueroa’s frantic psychological thriller, […]

“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 […]