Beta Film Adds Serbian, Czech-Slovak Dramas to Growing Central and Eastern Europe Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

The Venice Film Festival has announced two new initiatives in collaboration with The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk to support and raise awareness about directors, filmmakers, and artists who have been arrested or imprisoned around the world during the past year.

media reports. Jonathan Young, VP of original programming and production at HBO Max for Europe, Middle East and Africa; Christian Wikander, VP of original programming for the Nordic region; and Annelies Sitvast, who oversees unscripted original programming were all let go as part of the conglomerate’s latest consolidation move.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Venice Film Festival is launching two initiatives to support directors, filmmakers and artists who have been arrested or imprisoned around the world during the past year. In tandem with the International Coalition Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), a panel will be held on Sept. 3 at the Palazzo del Casinò press conference room titled: “Filmmakers Under Attack:Taking Stock, Taking Action.” Panelists will include fest chiefs Alberto Barbera (Venice);  Vanja Kalurdjercic (Rotterdam); Orwa Nyrabia (Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival); Turkish producer Nadir Öperli; European Film Academy president Mike Downey and an unspecified Iranian director. 

Manori Ravindran International Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is laying off 29 people in Europe over the next 15 months as it shifts its originals model for HBO Max, Variety has confirmed. Variety was first to report in July of HBO Max’s decision to retreat from original programming in a number of European markets, and warn of layoffs within the programming team. Under the new model, Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to invest in local European commissions and acquisitions but original programming will be handled by the local linear and streaming teams. No shows will be commissioned solely for streaming.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Discovery is letting go of 29 staff in Europe, including key programming execs, as it moves to phase out HBO Max European originals and shift towards a new local commissioning model, Deadline can reveal.

Eight films battled it out in competition at the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, but Austrian director Sebastian Meise’s jury—including French director Lucile Hadžihalilović , Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, Serbian actor Milan Marić and Israeli producer Katriel Schory—spread the love quite widely.

Christopher Vourlias Beta Film has acquired international distribution rights for the Ukrainian documentaries “Mariupol. Unlost Hope” and “9 Lives” through its subsidiary Autentic Distribution, the sales arm of the documentary label Autentic, which is owned by the Munich-based production and distribution powerhouse.“Mariupol.

The latest piece of the international Warner Bros. Discovery management puzzle has slotted into place, as the wider reshaping of the business continues. WBD General Manager Warner Bros. Discovery CEE, Baltics and Middle East (CEE MENAT) Jamie Cooke, who took on his post in June, has unveiled his team. Senior roles have gone to the likes of Lee Hobbs and long-serving Warner Bros. sales exec Roni Patel.

EXCLUSIVE: Charlie Hall (Bel-Air, Single Drunk Female) has booked a trio of TV and film projects with HBO Max and Disney+.

Winner of Love Island 2022, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu appeared on Lorraine this morning (August 15) to talk to Christine Lampard, 43, about her experience on the show and update viewers on her current plans. The Turkish beauty, 27, revealed details of a moment from the series which was never shown when she described having a panic attack during the filming of Casa Amor scenes over what partner Davide Sanclimenti, 27, might be up to.

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video has added Israeli dramas Kvodo and Just for Today to its service in the U.S.

Marta Balaga Tom Hardiman’s feature debut “Medusa Deluxe,” which premiered at Locarno on Saturday, has already seduced multiple international distributors with its mixture of humor, grief and competitive hairdressing.Now Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has sealed further deals for the unusual murder mystery in Spain (Elastica Films), Benelux (Filmfreak), Scandinavia and the Baltics (NonStop Entertainment), Variety has learnt in exclusivity.As previously reported, A24 has acquired North American rights to the film, produced by Emu Films with the support of BFI, BBC Films, and Time Based Arts.MUBI holds the rights to U.K./Ireland, France, Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, India and Southeast Asia. “The buyers are excited about ‘Medusa Deluxe’ because it’s a quirky, original piece of cinema which can appeal to younger audiences, especially since A24 and MUBI will lead the way on global marketing,” said New Europe Film Sales CEO, Jan Naszewski.Hardiman, a self-confessed hairdressing aficionado, has joined forces with celebrity hairstylist Eugene Souleiman in order to show a community struggling with tragic loss yet still striving for perfection.“There is this cathartic moment at one point, two people genuinely caring about each other, and you have this hairstyle with a boat on the top.