Berlinale Competition Title ‘Return to Dust’ Sells to U.K., Ireland, Spain (EXCLUSIVE)

Netflix announced Monday.Set in the private, elite secondary school Las Encinas, “Élite” follows an ensemble cast of students that constantly find themselves involved with various murder and police investigations. When they’re not running into trouble with the law, the mixed group of working class and wealthy teenagers navigate intense relationship dramas and the heavy workload of their demanding institution.Season 5 of “Élite” follows the students as they recover from the Season 4 finale, which saw Guzmán (Miguel Bernardeau) murder a man named Armando (Andrés Velencoso) and go on the run after his friends help cover it up. Season 4 cast members Itzan Escamilla, Omar Ayuso, Claudia Salas, Georgina Amorós, Carla Díaz, Martina Cariddi, Manu Ríos, Pol Granch and Diego Martín return for the new season, joined by new cast members Valentina Zenere, André Lamoglia and Adam Nourou.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Documentaries about the conflict in Ukraine, the Cuban migrant situation and the Palestinian refugee crisis were among top winners at MiradasDoc, Spain’s foremost documentary film festival which wrapped its 15th edition on March 12. Based in Tenerife, Canary Islands, the festival was an in-person event running March 4-12, while its market (March 8-11) remained virtual for the second consecutive year.The best international documentary prize went to “Option Zero” (“La Opcion Cero”) by Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltran while the best debut feature award was extended to “Trenches” by French journalist Loup Bureau who has covered the Arab Spring in Egypt, the Syrian War and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the Donbas region. “Trenches” follows the intrepid young men and women who are fighting Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterParamount Pictures is calling home its speciality label Paramount Players, folding the lower-budget and genre operation under the stewardship of the studio’s larger motion picture group. As a result of the decision, current Paramount Players chief Jeremy Kramer is exiting his post.Paramount motion picture group co-heads Daria Cercek and Michael Ireland will run point on the unit moving forward.

Paramount Players is getting merged under Paramount Motion Picture Group Co-Heads Mike Ireland and Daria Cercek.

Canneseries 2022 has unveiled its Long Form Competition finalists, with Academy Award winners Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Punishment and Jean-Xavier De Lestrade’s The Inside Game, Seeds of Wrath featuring alongside the likes of Zentropa’s The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen. 

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLatido Films, one of Spain’s biggest vendors of Spanish-language arthouse and crossover movies, has swooped on international sales rights to “Unfinished Affairs” (“La Maniobra de la Tortuga”).Domestic distribution in Spain is handled by A Contracorriente Films, one of Spain’s top independent producer-distributors.World premiering in main competition at this year’s Malaga Festival, “Unfinished Affairs” marks the second feature from Juan Miguel del Castillo whose debut, 2015’s “Food and Shelter,” proved one of the breakout Spanish debuts of the last decade.A modern-day part of Spain’s great social-issue arthouse film tradition, “Food and Shelter” cast Natalia de Molina (“Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed”) as a single mother threatened with eviction and struggling to put food on the table for her 10-year-old son.

Manchester City are among the teams linked with Villarreal's Yeremi Pino, according to reports.

Jane Seymour on TV, with the actress starring in an all-new murder mystery on Acorn TV in addition to her recurring role on the CBS sitcom,. Ahead of ’s April debut, ET has the exclusive first trailer for the series, which sees Seymour’s character starting a detective agency after retirement. Created and co-written by David Logan, Harry Wild follows a woman named Harriet who finds herself at a crossroads after retiring from her long career as a university literature professor.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has shared his delight at returning to action for Manchester United in their win over Leeds.

Jamie Lang Spanish Academy Award-winning filmmaker David Pérez Sañudo (“Ane is Missing”) is shifting his gaze to the small screen, writing the upcoming eight-part drama series “Detective Touré,” which he will co-pen with novelist and TV writer Carlos Vila (“Los misterios de Laura”).Based on the “Detective Touré Saga” books by Basque author John Arretxe, the series is produced by Oscar-winning studio Tornasol (“The Secret In Their Eyes”) and DeAPlaneta, a prolific sales-distribution outfit now focused on producing literary adaptations  (“Ana. All In”).Just this week, the project was picked as one of 15 finalists selected to pitch at next month’s Series Mania Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, with a €50,000 ($56,000) cash prize on the line.

Video: Thousands of Spanish farmers march to demand action (Reuters)Hungry for love? Lemurs get Valentine treatHong Kong rules out citywide lockdownTrudeau invokes emergency powers to quell protestsExpect market volatility for next 'month or two' -investorGermany ready to discuss European security with RussiaSaudi Arabia turns to saxaul tree for climate defenseInvestigate entourage is 'bare minimum': advocateParis police kill man who attacked themNew Zealand protesters refuse to disperseHundreds evacuate as fire rages in ChileBengals fans celebrate first touchdown in Super BowlOSCE's U. S.

Hollywood’s Covid safety protocols have been extended to April 30 and updated to redefine “fully vaccinated” to include booster shots, effective March 15.

ITV viewers have spotted a major blunder in the new drama No Return with the car number plates. Fans tuned in for the latest instalment of the drama starring Sheridan Smith as Kathy Powell, a mother of one who becomes entangled in a murder investigation while on holiday with her family in Turkey. The gripping new series began with Kathy’s 16 year old son, Noah, played by Andy Serkis's son Louis Ashbourne Serkis being accused and arrested for murder of another young boy.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorChinese Berlinale Competition title “Return to Dust” has been sold to several European distributors with more about to close deals. M-Appeal is handling world sales.

EXCLUSIVE: Saban Films is continuing to expand its international footprint, having recently inked a deal with distribution partners in Switzerland and Benelux. The L.A.-based company has signed with WW Entertainment in Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) and Ascot Elite in Switzerland, which it will add to deals it already has in place in the UK and Ireland (Altitude), Germany and Austria (Splendid), France (ACE Entertainment), Spain (Key2Media), Scandinavia (Mis.Label) and Australia and New Zealand (Defiant Screen Entertainment).

Caitlin Quinlan In her debut feature, “Fogaréu,” director Flávia Neves interweaves the broader impact of colonialism in Brazil with a close-up tale of insidious goings on in Goiás, her home town in central Brazil. Having gained support from the CNC’s Aide Aux Cinemas du Monde, “Fogaréu” is an accomplished first film that offers a nuanced critique of power dynamics within a bold, cinematic thriller framework.

Christopher Vourlias Germany’s Sola Media has closed a wave of international sales for the animated feature “Finnick,” produced by Riki Group, which will be released by Sony Pictures Russia in Russia and CIS on March 24.The CGI-animated comedy follows the adventures of 13-year-old Christine, who befriends the young prankster Finnick – one of the furry and usually invisible beings known as Finns. The odd couple has to team up as detectives to solve the mysterious events happening in their city.The Stuttgart-based sales agency has inked deals with Eagle Pictures (Italy), Independent Films (Benelux), Koch Films (German/Austria/Switzerland), Vertigo Releasing (U.K.), Tanweer (Greece), Selmer Media (Scandinavia), Myndform (Iceland), Rialto (Australia and New Zealand), and Black Sheep Films (South Africa), and holds exclusive distribution rights in multiple additional territories.

Javier Bardem at Saturday’s Goya prize ceremony. The prizes marked both Leon and Bardem’s seventh Goya wins. Produced by El Reposado and The Mediapro Studio, and a workplace dramedy skewering the abuse of power practised by a seemingly benign factory owner, “The Good Boss” also won best director and original screenplay for León, as well as best score and editing.Blanca Portillo beat out “Parallel Mothers’” Oscar-nominated Penélope Cruz, thanks to Portillo’s powerful performance as Maixabel Lasa, the real life widow of former Basque Country governor Juan Mari Jauregui who agreed in 2011 to meet one of his ETA killers. Her forgiveness, and Portillo’s portrait, has touched a large nerve in Spain.