In an on-stage talk Wednesday at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, Sarah Jessica Parker teased Season 3 of “And Just Like That” and her recent appointment to the judging panel of the prestigious U.K. literary award, the Booker Prize. In a wide-ranging discussion, Parker talked about her extensive acting career that began […]

Marisa Tomei, who is attending the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia this week, is looking for film and stage roles that address the themes confronting women in the post #MeToo era, she tells Variety. Tomei, who won the 1993 Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for “My Cousin Vinny” and received […]

The jury for European Shooting Stars, the program that promotes rising actors from Europe, has revealed its 2025 lineup. Shooting Stars from previous editions have included Riz Ahmed,  Leonie Benesch, George MacKay, Carey Mulligan, Alba Rohrwacher, Bill Skarsgård, Alicia Vikander and Maisie Williams. The actors will be presented to the international press, film industry and […]

Jeremy Renner, who suffered a near-fatal snow plow accident in January 2023, spoke Tuesday about his recovery at an on-stage talk at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival. Asked if there were any “limitations” imposed by his injuries he said, “I don’t think of it as limitations – even though I’m 25% titanium, so fuck […]

Spike Lee spoke about his upcoming film “Highest 2 Lowest” – which will see the director reunite with lead actor Denzel Washington – during an on-stage talk Tuesday at the Red Sea Film Festival, where he is the president of the competition jury. The film is inspired by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller […]

Speaking at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia this week, Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux spoke with passion about his love of cinema. “If you love cinema, cinema will love you,” he said with emphasis. He also sought to explain what made a “good film” for the world’s leading film festival. Frémaux, […]

At the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia Sunday, Brendan Fraser paid tribute to the emotional support provided by his horse Pecas – which means “freckles” in Spanish – during the years when his career looked to be finished. Speaking about how he spent those fallow years, he said: “I had a horse for […]

Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy and Algerian director Merzak Allouache will be honored this week by Variety at the Red Sea Film Festival in the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Hefzy will receive the Variety International Vanguard Producer Award, while Allouache is being bestowed with the Variety International Vanguard Director Award. Both honors are […]

Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” won best film, director, screenwriter and actress at the 37th European Film Awards, which were held Saturday in Lucerne, Switzerland. The best film nominees included narrative features “The Room Next Door,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” “The Substance” and “Vermiglio,” as well as documentaries “Bye Bye Tiberias,” “Dahomey,” “In Limbo,” […]

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival kicked off its fourth edition on Thursday with the world premiere of Karim Shenawi’s Egyptian drama “The Tale of Daye’s Family” and a glitzy red carpet featuring Will Smith, Emily Blunt, Cynthia Erivo, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eva Longoria, Michelle Yeoh, Minnie Driver, Michael Douglas and Vin Diesel, the latter of […]

British actor Emily Blunt, who is being honored Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, told an audience earlier in the day about Benny Safdie’s MMA fighting drama “The Smashing Machine,” in which she stars alongside Dwayne Johnson. During a public interview, which runs as part of […]

Arab independent films are enjoying a resurgence in terms of festival and commercial success affirms Antoine Khalife, the Red Sea Film Festival’s director of Arab programs and film classics, citing the example of Egyptian thriller “Flight 404,” which has grossed over $4 million in Saudi Arabia this year. Khalife praises the modern spirit of recent […]

In just four years, the Red Sea Souk has become the largest film market in the Arab world. Nested within the dates of the Red Sea Film Festival and under the banner of the Red Sea Film Foundation, this year’s industry program at the Souk has been expanded to five days and will run from […]

Production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film has unveiled the cast for its crime-drama series “Smilla’s Sense of Snow,” and the first-look images from the show. The series stars Filippa Coster-Waldau, Elyas M’Barek and Henry Lloyd-Hughes. Other cast members include Morten Suurballe, Amanda Collin, Set Sjöstrand and Alexandre Willaume. The series is directed by BAFTA winner Amma Asante. […]

“Home” is the theme of the 4th edition of the Red Sea Film Festival as it returns to its original location, but in a sleek custom-built venue, in the recently renovated Al-Balad district in Jeddah, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Kaleem Aftab, the fest’s head of international programming, says that home is a fitting theme […]

Focus, the end-of-year meeting place for the international production community, returns Dec. 10 to 11 in London. The 10th edition remains free to attend for industry professionals and gathers thousands of attendees across film, TV, advertising, animation, games and XR. “Last year was our biggest event by quite a margin,” says Jean-Frederic Garcia, managing director […]

As countries improve tax incentives and develop larger numbers of qualified crews and state-of-the-art facilities, Europe has become a buzzing international production hub for film and TV. With a wealth of options to choose from, how are line producers deciding where to shoot? And how are service providers attracting clients? “It doesn’t take a lot […]

Justine Triet, who is best-known for Oscar and Palme d’Or-winning courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall,” says she could have become a lawyer, if she had not veered into filmmaking to dissect reality using a somewhat forensic approach. In a wide-ranging conversation held Saturday by Triet at the Marrakech Film Festival with “Anatomy of a Fall” producer and […]

Sales agent Syndicado has boarded Irish debut filmmaker Myrid Carten’s “A Want in Her,” which had its world premiere earlier this month in IDFA’s International Competition section. In the documentary, Carten returns from London to Ireland to look for her troubled mother Nuala. Once a successful social worker, Nuala suffered a mental breakdown after the […]