Spanish sales agents are on some kind of roll. The European Film Market during the Berlinale proved robust, and Malaga Film Festival better still.
“Malaga was great for our movies,” Latido Films’ Antonio Saura reported at its conclusion. “We have one of the best lineups in our history covering all genres and all very marketable.”
That lineup includes Jim Sheridan’s drama “Recreation,” starring Vicky Krieps, and “La Casa” and “Saturn Return,” both Malaga standouts that together won seven awards.
With the market more receptive to Spanish projects, it’s important to pick the right genre mix. “Definitely for thrillers, for animated films, things are good. Spanish thrillers are prestigious now. They’ve performed well theatrically in many countries,” says Filmax’s head of international Iván Diaz. But for comedies, dramas or romantic comedies, it’s a bit more arduous. “If you’re trying to sell Spanish romantic comedies, however,...
“Malaga was great for our movies,” Latido Films’ Antonio Saura reported at its conclusion. “We have one of the best lineups in our history covering all genres and all very marketable.”
That lineup includes Jim Sheridan’s drama “Recreation,” starring Vicky Krieps, and “La Casa” and “Saturn Return,” both Malaga standouts that together won seven awards.
With the market more receptive to Spanish projects, it’s important to pick the right genre mix. “Definitely for thrillers, for animated films, things are good. Spanish thrillers are prestigious now. They’ve performed well theatrically in many countries,” says Filmax’s head of international Iván Diaz. But for comedies, dramas or romantic comedies, it’s a bit more arduous. “If you’re trying to sell Spanish romantic comedies, however,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
In one of the first deals to emerge from the San Sebastian Film Festival, powerhouse indie studio, Filmax, which celebrates its 70th anniversary at San Sebastian Festival, has snapped up international rights to LGBTQ+ dramedy “Norbert(a)” from Imposible Films, the producers of hits “Truman,” “The People Upstairs” and “Stories not to be Told.”
Directed by newcomers Sonia Escolano, who also penned the script, and Belén López Albert, it is toplined by Luis Bermejo (“Magical Girl”), Adriana Ozores (“Alba”), Mariona Terés (“The Girls at the Back”) and María Romanillos.
Norbert(a) follows Norberto and María, who’ve been married for decades and live what seems like an ordinary life in their working-class neighborhood. But little do people know that every night, to supplement their meager incomes, Norberto dresses up as a woman and carries out petty robberies while Maria waits for him in the getaway car.
But Norberto later confesses...
Directed by newcomers Sonia Escolano, who also penned the script, and Belén López Albert, it is toplined by Luis Bermejo (“Magical Girl”), Adriana Ozores (“Alba”), Mariona Terés (“The Girls at the Back”) and María Romanillos.
Norbert(a) follows Norberto and María, who’ve been married for decades and live what seems like an ordinary life in their working-class neighborhood. But little do people know that every night, to supplement their meager incomes, Norberto dresses up as a woman and carries out petty robberies while Maria waits for him in the getaway car.
But Norberto later confesses...
- 9/22/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Amy Adams, Paul Rudd and Tessa Thompson have joined the cast for the comedy ‘The Invite,’ based on Cesc Gay’s Goya-winning 2020 Spanish film ‘Sentimental.’
The feature tells the story of Joe (Rudd) and Angela (Adams), who after 15 years of marriage, find that their relationship is in a rut. Desperate to have a conversation that isn’t focused on their marital woes, Angela invites their boisterous neighbours, Kayla (Thompson) and Shane, over for cocktails. Joe irritated at having to engage with this disruptive couple, plans to use the occasion to confront them; however, both he and Angela get far more than they bargained for as sparks fly and they discover Shane and Kayla are hosting weekly orgies and have an invite of their own to offer.
Jonathan Dayton will direct from a script by Emmy nominee Rashida Jones and Academy Award winner Will McCormack. Producers include Academy Award nominee...
The feature tells the story of Joe (Rudd) and Angela (Adams), who after 15 years of marriage, find that their relationship is in a rut. Desperate to have a conversation that isn’t focused on their marital woes, Angela invites their boisterous neighbours, Kayla (Thompson) and Shane, over for cocktails. Joe irritated at having to engage with this disruptive couple, plans to use the occasion to confront them; however, both he and Angela get far more than they bargained for as sparks fly and they discover Shane and Kayla are hosting weekly orgies and have an invite of their own to offer.
Jonathan Dayton will direct from a script by Emmy nominee Rashida Jones and Academy Award winner Will McCormack. Producers include Academy Award nominee...
- 5/5/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Barcelona-based production-distribution-sales studio Filmax, producer of the original “The Red Band Society,” has taken on international sales on its own production “Dating in Barcelona,” which is backed by Amazon Prime Video and Catalan public network TV3.
An exclusive promo of the six-episode series will be unveiled at MipTV, underscoring how Filmax has consolidated in a matter of years on Spain’s independent production of scene whose ecosystem has solidified during the so called Golden Age of the streamers. Filmax now intends to keep up its momentum despite more general slowdown.
Minimalistic in concept, the series does what its title promises, delivering in 50-minute episodes a deep exploration of modern day dating using a multifaceted Barcelona as its background, capturing not only its plush architecture but nooks and crannies.
This means a lot given the top-tier roster: the ever wonderful Carmen Machi (“Piggy”) and also Manuela Vellés (“Guilt”), Carlos Cuevas (“Smiley...
An exclusive promo of the six-episode series will be unveiled at MipTV, underscoring how Filmax has consolidated in a matter of years on Spain’s independent production of scene whose ecosystem has solidified during the so called Golden Age of the streamers. Filmax now intends to keep up its momentum despite more general slowdown.
Minimalistic in concept, the series does what its title promises, delivering in 50-minute episodes a deep exploration of modern day dating using a multifaceted Barcelona as its background, capturing not only its plush architecture but nooks and crannies.
This means a lot given the top-tier roster: the ever wonderful Carmen Machi (“Piggy”) and also Manuela Vellés (“Guilt”), Carlos Cuevas (“Smiley...
- 4/14/2023
- by Emiliano Granada
- Variety Film + TV
Ringo Starr helped The Beatles chart a course toward stardom. The band needed a drummer who could handle studio work, and he was perfect for their needs. Happy to be the fourth wheel when he joined, Ringo eventually praised his drumming skills with the Fab Four. Geoff Emerick was nowhere close to praising the drummer when he worked on his solo debut. Emerick said Ringo was uptight all the time, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter.
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr | Daily Mirror/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images ‘Ringo Starr was just uptight all the time,’ according to Beatles insider Geoff Emerick
Ringo started working on his solo debut, Sentimental Journey, in October 1969, with the Beatles still barely a band. The album came out around the time the Fab Four finally fractured in 1970. He covered several big-band standards on Sentimental Journey, which in some ways was a...
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr | Daily Mirror/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images ‘Ringo Starr was just uptight all the time,’ according to Beatles insider Geoff Emerick
Ringo started working on his solo debut, Sentimental Journey, in October 1969, with the Beatles still barely a band. The album came out around the time the Fab Four finally fractured in 1970. He covered several big-band standards on Sentimental Journey, which in some ways was a...
- 3/3/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
TelevisaUnivision reached a deal with Hemisphere Media Group to acquire Pantaya, a U.S. streaming platform for Spanish-language movies and TV series, snapping up the rival streamer to bolster the ViX service.
The companies didn’t disclose a value for the Pantaya deal. Last year, Hemisphere Media bought out the remaining 75 stake of Pantaya it didn’t own from Lionsgate for about 124 million in cash; Pantaya was launched in 2017 as a joint venture of Lionsgate and Hemisphere.
The pact will add Pantaya’s content, subscribers and management team to TelevisaUnivision’s own subscription-streaming platform, ViX+, which is expected to launch in the second half of 2022. In April, TelevisaUnivision launched ad-supported VOD service ViX, which combined Univision’s PrendeTV and Televisa’s Blim TV.
The deal for Pantaya comprises cash and includes the transfer of some of TelevisaUnivision’s Puerto Rican radio stations, including Wkaq-am and KQ105-fm, to Hemisphere (which...
The companies didn’t disclose a value for the Pantaya deal. Last year, Hemisphere Media bought out the remaining 75 stake of Pantaya it didn’t own from Lionsgate for about 124 million in cash; Pantaya was launched in 2017 as a joint venture of Lionsgate and Hemisphere.
The pact will add Pantaya’s content, subscribers and management team to TelevisaUnivision’s own subscription-streaming platform, ViX+, which is expected to launch in the second half of 2022. In April, TelevisaUnivision launched ad-supported VOD service ViX, which combined Univision’s PrendeTV and Televisa’s Blim TV.
The deal for Pantaya comprises cash and includes the transfer of some of TelevisaUnivision’s Puerto Rican radio stations, including Wkaq-am and KQ105-fm, to Hemisphere (which...
- 5/9/2022
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Face/Off and Hacksaw Ridge producer David Permut has acquired Steve Lillbuen’s true crime book The Devil’s Cinema about Canadian filmmaker Mark Twitchell who was convicted of first degree murder in 2011.
Twitchell is serving a life sentence for the murder of John Brian Altinger, whom he lured into a “kill room” set up in his garage-turned-film-studio. Twitchell bludgeoned and stabbed Altinger, before cutting him apart and then dumping his remains in garbage bags. His arrest and trial attracted substantial media attention since his crimes were inspired by TV series Dexter and lead character Dexter Morgan, prompting some outlets to refer to Twitchell as the “Dexter Killer”.
The shocking story will be featured this month on an upcoming episode of CBS’s true crime series 48 Hours.
Brit filmmaker Sam Hobkinson, whose credits include true-crime doc Kleptocrats, Netflix factual feature Misha And The Wolves and the same streamer’s mob series Fear City,...
Twitchell is serving a life sentence for the murder of John Brian Altinger, whom he lured into a “kill room” set up in his garage-turned-film-studio. Twitchell bludgeoned and stabbed Altinger, before cutting him apart and then dumping his remains in garbage bags. His arrest and trial attracted substantial media attention since his crimes were inspired by TV series Dexter and lead character Dexter Morgan, prompting some outlets to refer to Twitchell as the “Dexter Killer”.
The shocking story will be featured this month on an upcoming episode of CBS’s true crime series 48 Hours.
Brit filmmaker Sam Hobkinson, whose credits include true-crime doc Kleptocrats, Netflix factual feature Misha And The Wolves and the same streamer’s mob series Fear City,...
- 4/12/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Spanish distributors, who have enjoyed a strong track record selling remake rights to local pics, have received a major boost this year with the Malaga Festival Industry Zone’s (Mafiz) inaugural Remake Day event on Thursday.
Leading film sales companies, among them Cinema Republic, Latido Films, Filmax and Feel Content, presented showcases of films considered particularly adaptable to foreign markets. Not surprisingly, comedies and genre pics made up most of the selections.
David Castellanos’ Cinema Republic offered one strong example with Borja Cobeaga’s hit 2009 romantic comedy “Pagafantas,” which has over the years sold to Germany, Italy and Mexico.
Cinema Republic also touted Icíar Bollaín’s “Rosa’s Wedding” (“La Boda de Rosa”), about a woman in her mid-40s who decides to finally take charge of her life and fulfill her dream of starting a business.
In Robert Bellsolà’s 2014 laffer “Dos a la Carta” (“Menu for Two”), another Cinema Republic title,...
Leading film sales companies, among them Cinema Republic, Latido Films, Filmax and Feel Content, presented showcases of films considered particularly adaptable to foreign markets. Not surprisingly, comedies and genre pics made up most of the selections.
David Castellanos’ Cinema Republic offered one strong example with Borja Cobeaga’s hit 2009 romantic comedy “Pagafantas,” which has over the years sold to Germany, Italy and Mexico.
Cinema Republic also touted Icíar Bollaín’s “Rosa’s Wedding” (“La Boda de Rosa”), about a woman in her mid-40s who decides to finally take charge of her life and fulfill her dream of starting a business.
In Robert Bellsolà’s 2014 laffer “Dos a la Carta” (“Menu for Two”), another Cinema Republic title,...
- 3/24/2022
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The directing team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine) will direct The People Upstairs, a film that will be financed by FilmNation. Rashida Jones & Will McCormack wrote the script. David Permut will produce with FilmNation. Production is planned for later this year.
The film is an English-language remake of Sentimental, the Goya-winning Spanish film that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2020. Permut picked up the rights shortly after seeing it there. Dayton & Faris are very particular about their projects. They last directed the 2017 Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs film Battle of the Sexes.
The People Upstairs is about a middle-aged couple who are feeling stagnant in their relationship and invite the younger and livelier couple from the apartment upstairs for a get-together that takes an unexpected turn. The original comedy was directed by Cesc Gay, who also wrote and directed the play the film was based on.
The film is an English-language remake of Sentimental, the Goya-winning Spanish film that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2020. Permut picked up the rights shortly after seeing it there. Dayton & Faris are very particular about their projects. They last directed the 2017 Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs film Battle of the Sexes.
The People Upstairs is about a middle-aged couple who are feeling stagnant in their relationship and invite the younger and livelier couple from the apartment upstairs for a get-together that takes an unexpected turn. The original comedy was directed by Cesc Gay, who also wrote and directed the play the film was based on.
- 3/14/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Euro distributor and producer Ascot Elite Entertainment has secured remake rights to successful Spanish comedy Sentimental for Switzerland and all German-speaking parts of Europe from Filmax and is producing a Swiss remake called The People Upstairs (Die Nachbarn Von Oben).
In the 2020 Spanish original, which was nominated for five Goyas, a couple who spend most of their time arguing decide to invite their upstairs neighbors for dinner despite their differences. As the night goes on, various secrets about the couple come to light.
The company has set Sabine Boss (I Am The Keeper) as director and cast will comprise Swiss stars Sarah Spale (Needle Park Baby), Max Simonischek (Zwingli), Ursina Lardi (The White Ribbon) and Roeland Wiesnekker (Heart Of Stone).
Pic will be produced by Ascot Elite’s Karin G. Dietrich (CEO), Ralph S. Dietrich (CEO), Stephan Giger (CEO) and Roger Kaufmann (producer). Ascot Elite plans a theatrical release...
In the 2020 Spanish original, which was nominated for five Goyas, a couple who spend most of their time arguing decide to invite their upstairs neighbors for dinner despite their differences. As the night goes on, various secrets about the couple come to light.
The company has set Sabine Boss (I Am The Keeper) as director and cast will comprise Swiss stars Sarah Spale (Needle Park Baby), Max Simonischek (Zwingli), Ursina Lardi (The White Ribbon) and Roeland Wiesnekker (Heart Of Stone).
Pic will be produced by Ascot Elite’s Karin G. Dietrich (CEO), Ralph S. Dietrich (CEO), Stephan Giger (CEO) and Roger Kaufmann (producer). Ascot Elite plans a theatrical release...
- 3/2/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” Jasmila Žbanić’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” and Juho Kuosmanen’s “Compartment No. 6” are the five nominees for best film at the upcoming 34th European Film Awards, which see no clear frontrunner this year.
The more than 4,100 academy members will now vote for the winners, who will be honored at a Dec. 11 ceremony in Berlin.
And the nominees are: European Film
“Compartment No. 6,” Juho Kuosmanen
“Quo Vadis Aida?” Jasmila Žbanić
“The Father,” Florian Zeller
“The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino
“Titane,” Julia Ducournau
European Comedy
“Nijababy,” Yngvild Sve Flikke
“The Morning After,” Méliane Marcaggi
“The People Upstairs,” Cesc Gay
European Documentary
“Babi Yar. Context,” Sergei Loznitsa
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen
“Mr Bachman and his Class,” Maria Speth
“Taming The Garden,” Salomé Jashi
“The Most Beautiful Boy in the World,” Stina Gardell
European Animated Feature Film
“Even Mice Belong in Heaven,...
The more than 4,100 academy members will now vote for the winners, who will be honored at a Dec. 11 ceremony in Berlin.
And the nominees are: European Film
“Compartment No. 6,” Juho Kuosmanen
“Quo Vadis Aida?” Jasmila Žbanić
“The Father,” Florian Zeller
“The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino
“Titane,” Julia Ducournau
European Comedy
“Nijababy,” Yngvild Sve Flikke
“The Morning After,” Méliane Marcaggi
“The People Upstairs,” Cesc Gay
European Documentary
“Babi Yar. Context,” Sergei Loznitsa
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen
“Mr Bachman and his Class,” Maria Speth
“Taming The Garden,” Salomé Jashi
“The Most Beautiful Boy in the World,” Stina Gardell
European Animated Feature Film
“Even Mice Belong in Heaven,...
- 11/9/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The European Film Academy has announced nominations for the 34th European Film Awards which will be handed out in Berlin on December 11. Julia Ducournau’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner, Titane; Florian Zeller’s 2020 drama and double Oscar winner The Father; and Jasmila Zbanic’s Quo Vadis Aida?, which was nominated for an Oscar at the 93rd edition, are tied with four mentions each.
Titane is the Oscar submission from France this year and, likewise, several other candidates for the International Feature Academy Award figure at the EFAs. They include Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God and Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6, from Italy and Finland, respectively. Each of those films, alongside the titles above, is nominated in the European Film 2021 category, and both figure in three races.
Ducournau, Zeller, Zbanic and Sorrentino are all up for European Director 2021 while Radu Jude rounds out the field for his Bad...
Titane is the Oscar submission from France this year and, likewise, several other candidates for the International Feature Academy Award figure at the EFAs. They include Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God and Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6, from Italy and Finland, respectively. Each of those films, alongside the titles above, is nominated in the European Film 2021 category, and both figure in three races.
Ducournau, Zeller, Zbanic and Sorrentino are all up for European Director 2021 while Radu Jude rounds out the field for his Bad...
- 11/9/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Italy’s Lotus Production, producer of 2016 megahit “Perfetti Sconosciuti” (“Perfect Strangers”), has finished its Rome shoot of “Vicini di casa,” the Italian adaptation of Cesc Gay’s Spanish hit comedy “Sentimental” (“The People Upstairs”).
“Vicini di casa” teams Lotus, part of Italy’s Leone Film Group company, with Manuel Tedescos’ Baires Produzioni in association with Mediaset Group’s Medusa Film.
Directed by Paolo Costella, who was also one of the writers behind “Perfect Strangers,” “Vicini di casa” marks the first big remake sale of “The People Upstairs” by Spanish film-tv studio Filmax.
Currently in post-production, the cast of “Vicini di casa” is headed by Claudio Bisio, a well-known comedian and star of some huge Italian blockbusters such as “Benvenuti al Sud” and “Welcome, Mr. President.”
Vittoria Puccini (“18 Presents”), Vinicio Marchioni (“Into the Labyrinth”) and Valentina Lodovini (“Say it Loud!”) finish out the film’s roster of onscreen talent.
Filmax,...
“Vicini di casa” teams Lotus, part of Italy’s Leone Film Group company, with Manuel Tedescos’ Baires Produzioni in association with Mediaset Group’s Medusa Film.
Directed by Paolo Costella, who was also one of the writers behind “Perfect Strangers,” “Vicini di casa” marks the first big remake sale of “The People Upstairs” by Spanish film-tv studio Filmax.
Currently in post-production, the cast of “Vicini di casa” is headed by Claudio Bisio, a well-known comedian and star of some huge Italian blockbusters such as “Benvenuti al Sud” and “Welcome, Mr. President.”
Vittoria Puccini (“18 Presents”), Vinicio Marchioni (“Into the Labyrinth”) and Valentina Lodovini (“Say it Loud!”) finish out the film’s roster of onscreen talent.
Filmax,...
- 10/13/2021
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Say what you will, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Kenny G. I’m a sucker for the pure, spun-sugar sax appeal of instrumental hits like “Songbird,” “Silhouette” and the aptly named “Sentimental.” At first blush, Penny Lane’s ruthlessly entertaining “Listening to Kenny G” — part hatchet job, part sophisticated meta-inquiry into the slippery subject of aesthetics — makes it sound like that’s something shameful to admit. But as a film critic with fairly esoteric tastes in cinema, I’ve never been embarrassed that my preferences in music are hopelessly square by comparison. Nor should you.
At the risk of further endangering my credibility, there was a time in my life, thanks to the mail-order scam that was the BMG Music Club, when I owned more albums by Michael Bolton than any other artist. But Kenny G was right up there (the two long-haired ’90s play-it-safe phenoms...
At the risk of further endangering my credibility, there was a time in my life, thanks to the mail-order scam that was the BMG Music Club, when I owned more albums by Michael Bolton than any other artist. But Kenny G was right up there (the two long-haired ’90s play-it-safe phenoms...
- 9/14/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s David Galán Galindo, helmer of Netflix movie “Unknown Origins,” is attached to direct comedy series project “Todo mal” (“Ok Boomer”), created by TV entertainment writers Fernando Erre and Manuel Martínez March.
Thesp Alberto San Juan, a double Goya Award winner — for best supporting actor on Cesc Gay’s “Sentimental” and lead actor for Félix Viscarret’s “Bajo las estrellas” – is in talks to topline the series.
“Ok Boomer” features among six TV drama projects developed at Spain’s General Society of Spanish Authors’ Foundation that are being pitched during Conecta Fiction 5, the international TV industry event that takes place over Sept. 13-17 in Navarre’s Pamplona, northern Spain.
The project creators, whose credits take in primetime TV shows such as Tve’s “Y si sí?” and Etb’s Basque flagship series “Vaya Semanita,” aim to find at Conecta Fiction a production and/or a TV window partnership.
Structured at eight half hours,...
Thesp Alberto San Juan, a double Goya Award winner — for best supporting actor on Cesc Gay’s “Sentimental” and lead actor for Félix Viscarret’s “Bajo las estrellas” – is in talks to topline the series.
“Ok Boomer” features among six TV drama projects developed at Spain’s General Society of Spanish Authors’ Foundation that are being pitched during Conecta Fiction 5, the international TV industry event that takes place over Sept. 13-17 in Navarre’s Pamplona, northern Spain.
The project creators, whose credits take in primetime TV shows such as Tve’s “Y si sí?” and Etb’s Basque flagship series “Vaya Semanita,” aim to find at Conecta Fiction a production and/or a TV window partnership.
Structured at eight half hours,...
- 9/14/2021
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Of all the international film festivals to roll out the red carpet this summer in what feels like a global industry reboot, few can fall back on past experience when it comes to the logistics of an in-person pandemic edition. But amid the wave of cancellations that all but wiped out the calendar year in 2020, the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival managed to pull off what few others could, relying on a host of open-air venues to successfully welcome moviegoers to the medieval city of Cluj.
One year later, for what in a different era might have been a splashy 20th anniversary edition, TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu admits, “I thought this year would be easier.” Just days after confusion over Pcr tests and vaccine certificates reigned on the Croisette, however, Giurgiu and the TIFF organizing team have realized that as the coronavirus’ deadly Delta variant sweeps across the globe, a return...
One year later, for what in a different era might have been a splashy 20th anniversary edition, TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu admits, “I thought this year would be easier.” Just days after confusion over Pcr tests and vaccine certificates reigned on the Croisette, however, Giurgiu and the TIFF organizing team have realized that as the coronavirus’ deadly Delta variant sweeps across the globe, a return...
- 7/22/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Jury includes ‘Amores Perros’ screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga.
Transilvania International Film Festival has revealed the 12 films that will screen in its official competition and its international jury.
Each title competing for the Transilvania Trophy will receive its Romanian premiere at the 20th edition of the festival, which is set to take place in-person in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
They include What Do We See When We Look At The Sky?, by Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze, which played in competition at the Berlinale, and Lili Horvát’s Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time, which was Hungary’s Oscar submission.
Transilvania International Film Festival has revealed the 12 films that will screen in its official competition and its international jury.
Each title competing for the Transilvania Trophy will receive its Romanian premiere at the 20th edition of the festival, which is set to take place in-person in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
They include What Do We See When We Look At The Sky?, by Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze, which played in competition at the Berlinale, and Lili Horvát’s Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time, which was Hungary’s Oscar submission.
- 7/2/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Romanian festival sets opening film for in-person event.
Transilvania International Film Festival has selected Cesc Gay’s Spanish comedy The People Upstairs as the opening film of its 20th edition, marking a new collaboration with San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The opener is part of a Spanish focus planned for this year’s festival, which TIFF artistic director Mihai Chirilov said had been in the works for some time.
“We had been thinking for the last couple of years about having a more consistent focus on Spanish cinema and had been discussing with [Ssiff director] Jose Louis Rebordinos and [programmer] Roberto Cueto about...
Transilvania International Film Festival has selected Cesc Gay’s Spanish comedy The People Upstairs as the opening film of its 20th edition, marking a new collaboration with San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The opener is part of a Spanish focus planned for this year’s festival, which TIFF artistic director Mihai Chirilov said had been in the works for some time.
“We had been thinking for the last couple of years about having a more consistent focus on Spanish cinema and had been discussing with [Ssiff director] Jose Louis Rebordinos and [programmer] Roberto Cueto about...
- 5/24/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The People Upstairs, the Spanish comedy which debuted at San Sebastian last year and is up for multiple Goya Awards in 2021, is getting the English-language treatment after producer David Permut, whose credits include Hacksaw Ridge and Face/Off, acquired remake rights.
The Spanish movie comes from Truman filmmaker Cesc Gay and features an all-star local cast including Belén Cuesta, Javier Cámara, Alberto San Juan, and Griselda Siciliani. The pic is a contained comedy exploring the complexity of modern relationships.
The film is nominated for five Goya Awards, Spain’s premium awards ceremony, including Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor. Winners will be crowned on March 6.
Permut will produce through his Permut Presentations banner alongside his director of development, Alex Astrachan who will act as a co-producer on the project. The company worked with Ivan Diaz at Filmax to purchase the remake rights.
“Without giving too much away, the film...
The Spanish movie comes from Truman filmmaker Cesc Gay and features an all-star local cast including Belén Cuesta, Javier Cámara, Alberto San Juan, and Griselda Siciliani. The pic is a contained comedy exploring the complexity of modern relationships.
The film is nominated for five Goya Awards, Spain’s premium awards ceremony, including Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor. Winners will be crowned on March 6.
Permut will produce through his Permut Presentations banner alongside his director of development, Alex Astrachan who will act as a co-producer on the project. The company worked with Ivan Diaz at Filmax to purchase the remake rights.
“Without giving too much away, the film...
- 3/2/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Carolina Astudillo’s “Song to a Lady in the Shadow,” Fabrizio Ferraro’s “The Luminous View,” Jo Sol’s “Armugan,” and Miguel Angel Blanca’s “Magaluf Ghost Town” feature among a 31-title lineup hosted by promotion board Catalan Films at an European Film Market virtual screening room.
Produced by Cornelius Films, “Song” marks the third feature outing of director Carolina Astudillo. A doc-fiction hybrid, it turns on a family whose father is exiled in France after fighting for the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War. Echoing Homer’s Penelope, his wife stays behind with their children in a Catalan village suffering hunger, deprivation, economic crisis and unemployment.
Another awaited documentary, “Magaluf,” is produced by Boogaloo Films in co-production with France’s Les Films d’Ici. Director Blanca depicts the consequences of unbridled tourism in a popular destination in the Balearic Islands, with a touch of comedy.
Selected at this year’s Forum showcase,...
Produced by Cornelius Films, “Song” marks the third feature outing of director Carolina Astudillo. A doc-fiction hybrid, it turns on a family whose father is exiled in France after fighting for the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War. Echoing Homer’s Penelope, his wife stays behind with their children in a Catalan village suffering hunger, deprivation, economic crisis and unemployment.
Another awaited documentary, “Magaluf,” is produced by Boogaloo Films in co-production with France’s Les Films d’Ici. Director Blanca depicts the consequences of unbridled tourism in a popular destination in the Balearic Islands, with a touch of comedy.
Selected at this year’s Forum showcase,...
- 2/26/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Barcelona-based film-tv studio Filmax has acquired international sales rights to Cesc Gay’s new comedy “Stories Not to Be Told,” which is currently shooting.
Filmax will also handle Spanish distribution to the latest outing from Gay, whose 2021 Goya Awards contender “The People Upstairs,” has sold to major territories in Europe and North America.
Written by Gay and regular co-scribe Tomás Aragay “(“In The City,” “Truman”), Gay’s ninth feature is produced by Marta Esteban at Imposible Films and backed by Spanish pubcaster Tve, Movistar Plus and Catalan pubcaster Tvc.
The film takes in five comedic tales that criss-cross at random and focus on the emotions of the main characters, Gay said, adding that the stories are “told with a lot of rhythm and action and characterized by acerbic, yet tongue-in-cheek tone, as the title suggests.”
The short stories are sparked by a chance meeting, the suffering of public humiliation or an absurd decision.
Filmax will also handle Spanish distribution to the latest outing from Gay, whose 2021 Goya Awards contender “The People Upstairs,” has sold to major territories in Europe and North America.
Written by Gay and regular co-scribe Tomás Aragay “(“In The City,” “Truman”), Gay’s ninth feature is produced by Marta Esteban at Imposible Films and backed by Spanish pubcaster Tve, Movistar Plus and Catalan pubcaster Tvc.
The film takes in five comedic tales that criss-cross at random and focus on the emotions of the main characters, Gay said, adding that the stories are “told with a lot of rhythm and action and characterized by acerbic, yet tongue-in-cheek tone, as the title suggests.”
The short stories are sparked by a chance meeting, the suffering of public humiliation or an absurd decision.
- 2/26/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Salvador Calvo’s “Adú” leads the way at Spain’s annual Goya Awards nominations with 14 nods, including for best film and best director.
“Las niñas” and “Akelarre” followed with nine nominations each, while “Rosa’s Wedding” has eight.
In the running for the best film Goya are “Adú,” a Netflix acquisition; “Ane” by David Perez Sanudo; “La boda de Rosa” by Iciar Bollain; “Las niñas” by Pilar Palomero; and “Sentimental” by Cesc Gay.
Competing for the best direction Goya will be Salvador Calvo for “Adú”; Juanma Bajo Ulloa for “Baby”; Iciar Bollain for “La boda de Rosa”; and Isabel Coixet for “Nieva en Benidorm.”
In the running for best European film are Jan Komasa’s “Corpus Christi”; Florian Zeller’s “The Father”; Viggo Mortensen’s “Falling”; and Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy.”
Mortensen was the big draw at the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival where “Falling” played, and where he received the Donostia Award.
“Las niñas” and “Akelarre” followed with nine nominations each, while “Rosa’s Wedding” has eight.
In the running for the best film Goya are “Adú,” a Netflix acquisition; “Ane” by David Perez Sanudo; “La boda de Rosa” by Iciar Bollain; “Las niñas” by Pilar Palomero; and “Sentimental” by Cesc Gay.
Competing for the best direction Goya will be Salvador Calvo for “Adú”; Juanma Bajo Ulloa for “Baby”; Iciar Bollain for “La boda de Rosa”; and Isabel Coixet for “Nieva en Benidorm.”
In the running for best European film are Jan Komasa’s “Corpus Christi”; Florian Zeller’s “The Father”; Viggo Mortensen’s “Falling”; and Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy.”
Mortensen was the big draw at the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival where “Falling” played, and where he received the Donostia Award.
- 1/18/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Netflix drama Adú, directed by Salvador Calvo, is the frontrunner for the 35th Goya Awards, Spain’s top film honors, with 14 nominations, including for best film and best director.
Calvo’s sophomore feature follows three interconnected stories all set in Africa. Two members of its ensemble cast Álvaro Cervantes and Adam Nourou, picked up Goya nominations for best supporting actor and best newcomer actor, respectively.
The Goya 2021 best film nominees include Ane Is Missing from David Pérez Sañudo, Icíar Bollaín’s La boda de Rosa (Rosa’s Wedding), Pilar Palomero’s The Girls, and The People Upstairs aka Sentimental, from director Cesc Gay. In addition to Calvo ...
Calvo’s sophomore feature follows three interconnected stories all set in Africa. Two members of its ensemble cast Álvaro Cervantes and Adam Nourou, picked up Goya nominations for best supporting actor and best newcomer actor, respectively.
The Goya 2021 best film nominees include Ane Is Missing from David Pérez Sañudo, Icíar Bollaín’s La boda de Rosa (Rosa’s Wedding), Pilar Palomero’s The Girls, and The People Upstairs aka Sentimental, from director Cesc Gay. In addition to Calvo ...
- 1/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Netflix drama Adú, directed by Salvador Calvo, is the frontrunner for the 35th Goya Awards, Spain’s top film honors, with 14 nominations, including for best film and best director.
Calvo’s sophomore feature follows three interconnected stories all set in Africa. Two members of its ensemble cast Álvaro Cervantes and Adam Nourou, picked up Goya nominations for best supporting actor and best newcomer actor, respectively.
The Goya 2021 best film nominees include Ane Is Missing from David Pérez Sañudo, Icíar Bollaín’s La boda de Rosa (Rosa’s Wedding), Pilar Palomero’s The Girls, and The People Upstairs aka Sentimental, from director Cesc Gay. In addition to Calvo ...
Calvo’s sophomore feature follows three interconnected stories all set in Africa. Two members of its ensemble cast Álvaro Cervantes and Adam Nourou, picked up Goya nominations for best supporting actor and best newcomer actor, respectively.
The Goya 2021 best film nominees include Ane Is Missing from David Pérez Sañudo, Icíar Bollaín’s La boda de Rosa (Rosa’s Wedding), Pilar Palomero’s The Girls, and The People Upstairs aka Sentimental, from director Cesc Gay. In addition to Calvo ...
- 1/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Spearheaded by Cannes Film Market and Argentina’s Incaa agency, Ventana Sur, Latin America’s biggest movie market, will put through an out-of-the-box reset of market dynamics. Running Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, it will also register the energetic and exciting build up of women on the Latin American film scene, as directors, producers and market playmakers.
Following is a down-to-the-wire appreciation of 2020’s edition:
A Multi-City Movie Market Revolution?
Movie markets traditionally take place in one physical setting. No more. In an unprecedented move, the brainchild of Cannes Film Market head Jerome Paillard, Ventana Sur looks set for a game changing five city on-site roll-out to run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in Madrid, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile and Colombia’s Bogotá. In some ways, Ventana Sur was unlucky. France’s lockdown lift does not kick in until Dec. 15, nixing planned screenings in Paris, the world’s art film capital.
Following is a down-to-the-wire appreciation of 2020’s edition:
A Multi-City Movie Market Revolution?
Movie markets traditionally take place in one physical setting. No more. In an unprecedented move, the brainchild of Cannes Film Market head Jerome Paillard, Ventana Sur looks set for a game changing five city on-site roll-out to run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in Madrid, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile and Colombia’s Bogotá. In some ways, Ventana Sur was unlucky. France’s lockdown lift does not kick in until Dec. 15, nixing planned screenings in Paris, the world’s art film capital.
- 11/30/2020
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Appropriately blessed by sunshine in Spain, though the whole event went online, the Malaga Film Festival’s Spanish Screenings wrapped Friday, though films will continue to screen another week given the demand for screenings. The equivalent of France’s UniFrance Rendez-vous with French cinema in Paris, the Screenings proved a bellwether for far larger trends coursing the American Film Market and the international market at large. Following, five takeaways:
The French Connection
The Malaga Spanish Screenings rounded their final bend on Friday with news that France’s Playtime Group, one of Europe’s premier film sales-production groups with companies across Europe, has boarded Vaca Films’ “Project Emperor.” The Playtime-Vaca relation stretches back a decade to one of Spain’s biggest modern break-outs, “Cell 211.” It now forms part of a fast multiplying web of Gallic connections with Spain, as French companies buy into the global reach of Spanish-language fiction.
The French Connection
The Malaga Spanish Screenings rounded their final bend on Friday with news that France’s Playtime Group, one of Europe’s premier film sales-production groups with companies across Europe, has boarded Vaca Films’ “Project Emperor.” The Playtime-Vaca relation stretches back a decade to one of Spain’s biggest modern break-outs, “Cell 211.” It now forms part of a fast multiplying web of Gallic connections with Spain, as French companies buy into the global reach of Spanish-language fiction.
- 11/20/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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