Ava DuVernay, Jane Tranter, Ted Hope Join LFF; ‘The Gypsy Bride’ Director; Fudge Park/BBC Studios Deal; Topic Acquires Cineflix Series — Global Briefs

Jake Kanter International TV EditorBBC Studios has inked a “multi-year” co-production and content sales deal with Chinese entertainment platform Bilibili, which aims to bring UK content to China and Chinese programming to the world.Under the agreement, Bilibili has already committed to co-producing BBC Studios’ landmark natural history shows The Green Planet, Dynasties II and The Mating Game. A new science series is also on the agenda, titled Odyssey into the Future and featuring Chinese author

David Viramontes Even for celebrated Latinx performers like John Leguizamo, finding success in the entertainment industry is a hard-fought and seemingly never-ending battle. But as a newcomer to the business, Leguizamo recalls being galvanized by the struggle into telling his own stories.“I just kept getting put into these really negative roles that I felt I was contributing to the downgrade of the Latinx image in the media,” he tells Variety.

Manori Ravindran International EditorDeepa Mehta’s latest film, an adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai’s Sri Lanka-set coming-of-age novel “Funny Boy,” has been picked up by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing, and will land worldwide on Netflix this December, Variety can reveal.The Oscar-nominated “Earth” and “Midnight’s Children” director wrote the screenplay for the film alongside Selvadurai, whose debut 1994 novel is set in Sri Lanka during the 1970s and 1980s and was ground-breaking in its

Ava DuVernay is re-teaming with Netflix for an adaptation of New York Times bestsellerCaste: The Origins of Our Discontents. DuVernay, who worked with the streamer on both her Oscar-nominated documentary The 13th andEmmy winning series When They See Us, will writer, direct and produce the feature version of Isabel Wilkerson's novel.

Also Read: Ava DuVernay to Narrate 'One Perfect Shot' Film History Series at HBO Max“Caste” is DuVernay’s first feature film at Netflix after she directed the limited series “When They See Us,” which received 16 Emmy nominations.

Whether it’s as a director or a producer, filmmaker Ava DuVernay is one of the busiest folks in Hollywood. And now, it appears the director is ready to tackle yet another project for Netflix.

Amanda N'Duka pmc-editorial-managerAva DuVernay is set to direct, write and produce her first feature film for Netflix, an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s NYT bestseller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.The project reunites DuVernay with Netflix exec Tendo Nagenda after the two collaborated on A Wrinkle in Time, the 2018 Disney sci-fi adventure pic that cemented DuVernay as the first Black woman to direct a live-action film that grossed more than $100 million at the

Angelique Jackson After the success of her documentary “13th” and miniseries “When They See Us,” Ava DuVernay has set her first feature film at Netflix.The Oscar-nominated filmmaker will write, direct and produce the feature adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s critically-acclaimed novel “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.”The film adaptation, titled “Caste,” will use a multiple-story structure to examine the “unspoken system that has shaped America and chronicles how our lives today are

Naman Ramachandran Ava DuVernay, filmmaker and founder of the Array collective, is a firm believer in the power of Netflix to send content across the world and democratize filmmaking.Speaking about her Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning documentary “13th” during a BFI London Film Festival panel on Wednesday, DuVernay said, “That film has been seen in more countries than all of my previous work put together, including ‘Selma,’ distributed by Paramount, God bless them, nice people, and ‘Wrinkle in

Tom Grater International Film ReporterAva DuVernay has said film and TV industry gatekeepers should be taking action on racial inequality with the motivation of being “excellent”, calling the current state of the biz “mediocre”.The trailblazing filmmaker of 13th and Selma was speaking at an industry event during the BFI London Film Festival. She said that the industry is in need of more diverse voices to shake up the status quo.“The way we’ve been existing is mediocre,” she commented.

Angelique Jackson Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Alliance stepped outside the box to unveil the next phase of its Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP).This week, LEAP debuted call-to-action messages on billboards, kiosks and atop taxicabs in South Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York City. The messaging on the outdoor media campaign, titled “Flowers,” reads: “Flowers are beautiful.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorIt’s day two of virtual Mipcom. Deadline will keep this page updated with some of the day’s most notable deals, so hit refresh for updates.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorDisney APAC Boss Uday Shankar Quits Uday Shankar, president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and chairman, Star & Disney India, is to step down at the end of 2020 after less than two years in the role. Shankar said he intends to pursue new entrepreneurial opportunities to “give back to the country.” Before stepping down, he will work with Rebecca Campbell, chair of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international segment, to identify a successor.

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, BBC Studios sells “A Perfect Planet” around the world, Channel 4 announces a World Mental Health Day musical special, “A Space in Time” finds U.K. distribution, ARRI relocates to new Munich headquarters and Evolution Malaga releases full program details for its 2020 festival.BBC Studios has pre-sold its new natural history series “A Perfect Planet” in several major territories.

Idris Elba and John Cena apparently had a good thing going in the upcoming “The Suicide Squad” sequel, because the two actors pitched an action film titled “Heads of State” over Zoom to studios and Amazon Studios just picked up the film.

Ava DuVernay will be among the big names joining this year's 64th BFI London Film Festival industry program, which promises to focus on "key learnings and experiences that have emerged during a tumultuous and historical 2020, a year in which creatives seek new ways to collaborate across fractured media, cultural and social landscapes." Talks and panel events will explore themes arising from the coronavirus pandemic, changing business models and "demands to tackle systemic bias in the cultural

Naman Ramachandran Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay (“Selma,” “13th”) and “Succession” executive producer Jane Tranter are among a range of figures participating at this year’s British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival’s industry program.The program, which is virtual this year, is headlined by two ‘Spotlight’ conversations. DuVernay will be in conversation with the crew from her non-profit media and social justice organization ARRAY.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorUKTVEverywhere, the illegal streamer that beamed BBC and ITV channels into the homes of Americans, has been shut down as part of a settlement with BBC Studios and ITV Studios.Under the agreement, UKTVEverywhere has accepted that it streamed BBC and ITV content, such as Doctor Who and Love Island, without seeking or having any form of license or authorization from the British broadcasters.UKTVEverywhere’s website now directs users to BritBox, the BBC and ITV’s