Big Zuu Fronts BAFTA, Digital Cinema Media Emerging Talent Campaign – Global Bulletin

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A weekend concert by Hong Kong acting and singing superstar Andy Lau Tak-wah attracted a record-breaking 350 million viewers on Douyin, the mainland Chinese sister company of TikTok. The concert ran for two hours and attracted 100 million viewers in the first 30 minutes, with tens of millions more joining by the end. The figures beat Lau’s own previous record on the platform, which he set in July last year at a concert to celebrate his 40 years in the business. The South China Morning Post said the record numbers were swelled by a recent wave of nostalgia for Canto-pop or Cantonese-language contemporary music, though the paper also noted that Lau also performed a couple of Mandarin-language classics.

K.J. Yossman The U.K.’s cross-party DCMS Committee, which scrutinizes the spending, policies and administration of the government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is set to interrogate BBC bosses on impartiality, the license fee and earnings. The committee, which is chaired by Julian Knight, is set to convene on Tuesday, Sept. 6 to question BBC director general Tim Davie, BBC chair Richard Sharp and BBC COO Leigh Tavaziva. They will ask questions on topics including how the corporation “plans to remain relevant and effective in the modern media landscape,” “how the BBC’s offering is impacted by a more polarised political atmosphere” and the future of the license fee in light of soaring inflation rates.

K.J. Yossman Altitude has acquired Georgia Oakley’s feature “Blue Jean” for distribution in the U.K. and Ireland. The film, from U.K./French outfit Film Constellation, is headed to Venice, Toronto and the BFI’s London Film Festival this fall. It will premiere in Venice on Sept. 3. In “Blue Jean,” Rosy McEwen (“Vesper”) stars as lesbian P.E. teacher Jean, who lives against the backdrop of the 1980s U.K. where being gay is still stigmatised. When a new girl arrives at the school, Jean finds herself facing a crisis that will challenge her to her core.

K.J. Yossman Ann-Helén Laestadius’ novel “Stolen” is getting a Netflix adaptation. Elle Márjá Eira (“The Sámi Have Rights”) is set to direct the feature based on a screenplay by Peter Birro (“Monica Z”). Laestadius will exec produce. “Stolen” will be Eira’s feature film debut. The film, about a young indigenous woman’s struggle in the face of xenophobia, climate change and the patriarchy, will go into production in Sápmi next year and is set to premiere in 2024. “I am over the moon!” said Laestadius. “For me as an author it is of course a dream to see my book adapted into a film and reach a whole new audience across the world. And I’m incredibly happy that Netflix – with their reach – chooses to highlight a Sami story in a big way.”

K.J. Yossman Keira Knightley, Kit Harington, Emeli Sandé and Toby Jones are among the celebrities who’ve signed up to explore their family histories in Wonderhood Studios show “My Grandparents’ War.” The second season of the show, which airs in the U.K. on Channel 4, will explore how the stars’ grandparents navigated global conflicts from the killing fields of Kenya to the mountains of Monte Cassino in Italy. The first season starred Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas and Carey Mulligan. All3Media International distributes the show, which will air on PBS in the U.S., SBS in Australia and CBC in Canada.

K.J. Yossman “The English” is set to get a star-studded red-carpet premiere in Cannes this October during Mipcom. Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer and writer/director Hugo Blick are all set to attend the Oct. 16 premiere of the high-octane Western, which will open the festival. Mipcom runs from Oct. 17-20. The six-part series is set to air in November on BBC Two and iPlayer in the U.K. and on Prime Video in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand Drama Republic, a Median company, and Eight Rooks produce the show in association with All3Media, who are distributing the series. “Dancing With The Stars” is coming to Latvia and returning to Estonia after BBC Studios upped its deal with All Media Baltics.

Naman Ramachandran “Escape From Kabul Airport,” a documentary airing on BBC Two in September, will tell the inside story of the 18 days in August 2021, when the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, and the subsequent evacuation of thousands of Afghan citizens from Kabul airport after the Taliban seized the city. The documentary is an Amos production for the BBC, in association with HBO and in collaboration with Arte France. It is produced by Emmy and BAFTA-winning Dan Reed (“Leaving Neverland”) and directed by Jamie Roberts (“Four Hours At The Capitol”). The film combines never before seen on-the-ground archival footage from the evacuation, alongside interviews with evacuees, eye-witnesses, U.S. Marines and Taliban fighters.

Charles S. Cohen’s Cohen Media Group, which owns the Landmark Theatres chain of art-houses, has acquired HanWay Films, the U.K.-based international film sales giant founded by Jeremy Thomas and long run by his partner Peter Watson.

EXCLUSIVE: In an eye-catching independent deal, Charles S. Cohen’s Cohen Media Group, owner of Landmark Theatres and UK cinema group Curzon, has added to his arthouse fleet with the acquisition of blue-chip international sales company HanWay Films, co-owned by stalwart Brit producer Jeremy Thomas and his partner Peter Watson.

Naman Ramachandran On Aug. 24, Ukraine independence day, the Venice Film Festival has revealed that it will host a Ukrainian Day on Sept. 8, as part of the festival’s Venice Production Bridge initiative. The day will kick off with a panel discussion introduced by the president of the Biennale, Roberto Cicutto, and the artistic director of the 79th festival, Alberto Barbera. Panelists include the Ambassador of Ukraine to Italy, Yaroslav Melnyk; the head of the National Cinema Institution of Ukraine, Marina Kuderchuk; the director of the film “Luxembourg, Luxembourg” (which will screen in competition in the festival’s Horizons strand), Antonio Lukich; the director of the film “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (screening out of competition), Evgeny Afineevsky; the exhibiting artist in the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 59th Biennale Arte, Pavlo Makov; the curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 59th Biennale Arte, Boris Filonenko; the representative of Ukraine’s Council for State Support of Cinematography, Polina Tolmacheva; the Cultural Attaché of Ukraine, the actor and filmmaker Daria Tregubova; and the producer and head of civic organization Andriy Nogin. The panel will be moderated by Volodymyr Ostapchuk.

Naman Ramachandran “Mariupol. Unlost Hope,” one of two Ukrainian documentaries recently acquired by Beta Film’s Autentic Distribution, will be released in 40 cities across the world, which are similar to Mariupol either by population or as a port and/or industrial center, or cities that are twinned with Mariupol, on Aug. 24, Ukraine independence day.The film shows the Ukraine war through the eyes of ordinary people who lived through the first month of the invasion in Mariupol.

BAFTA Launch Filmmaking Campaign With Digital Cinema Media BAFTA and Digital Cinema Media have launched a new campaign titled ‘Behind every BAFTA’ based around a national cinema ad that highlights the diverse range of skills that contribute to the production of award-winning films, games, and television with the aim to inspire the next generation of creative talent. DCM’s creative arm DCM Studio produced the ad, which is narrated by double BAFTA-winner Big Zuu and features rare behind-the-scenes content and clips from films including Skyfall, Get Out and 1917. The ad premieres on Friday, August 19, across the UK and will run for seven weeks, appearing alongside films such as Jordan Peele’s latest NOPE, Olivia Wilde’s Venice-bound Don’t Worry Darling, and the Brad Pitt-starrer Bullet Train.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorZurich Film Festival has revealed the lineup for its Hashtag section, which is devoted to “a topic that is trending on social media,” the event said Thursday. This year’s section screens films under the title #MyReligion, and deals with “questions of faith, euphoria and modern deities.”“Whether in the U.S.A., Russia or the Middle East, we are seeing a comeback of religions,” Christian Jungen, ZFF artistic director, said.

Naman Ramachandran HBO Max has revealed the first teaser for Max original “García!” (6 x 60′), which will have its world premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest in September and European premiere at Sitges.Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Santiago García and Luis Bustos, the series is set in a present-day Spain, which is divided and on the brink of political chaos. It follows an inquisitive millennial investigative reporter Antonia (Veki Velilla) who stumbles on a decades-old conspiracy: the existence of a cryogenically frozen super-agent, García (Francisco Ortiz), created in a laboratory in the 1950s by General Franco’s fascist secret services.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “Nope,” directed by Jordan Peele and starring Daniel Kaluuya, debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £1.8 million ($2.2 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.In second position, Sony’s Brad Pitt vehicle “Bullet Train” sped to £909,264 and now has £5.06 million after two weekends.

Naman Ramachandran The Dutch adaptation of Amazon original series “Modern Love” will premiere on Prime Video this winter. The series features stories about love and relationships, with each episode based on the popular column from The New York Times. The stories in the Dutch series all take place in Amsterdam, from central station, the Amstel to Amsterdam-Noord and Zuidoost.“Modern Love Amsterdam” is produced by NL Film, part of Banijay Benelux, with Sabine Brian as producer and Robert Alberdingk Thijm as showrunner.

Naman Ramachandran On the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day on Aug. 15, the first teaser of Bollywood war epic “Pippa” has been revealed and Dec. 2 has been set as the release date.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterJordan Peele’s science-fiction thriller “Nope” landed at the international box office, generating a so-so $6.4 million from 19 territories.The film had the biggest start in the United Kingdom and Ireland with $2.1 million, which ranked below the $2.6 million haul that the opening of Peele’s debut feature “Get Out” amassed in the same territory. In Australia, “Nope” scored $1.2 million, which falls below “Get Out’s” $1.4 million debut in the country.

according to Forbes, after opening on Aug. 5.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThomasin McKenzie (“Life After Life,” “Jojo Rabbit”) and Devon Terrell (“Rap Shit”) star in “Totally Completely Fine,” a series co-production between Sundance Now and Australia’s Stan, which has now started production in Sydney. McKenzie plays a young woman whose life was a mess even before she inherited her grandfather’s coastal clifftop house and became tasked with helping people who come too close to the edge. Strangely though people respond to her chaotic, nihilistic brand of psychology.