Brian Eno, Maxine Peake and collaborators headline Factory International's 2024s spring programme

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The line sprawling along the corridors and staircases of De Doelen, the heart of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, alerted passersby that there was a star in town. The actor in question? German thesp Sandra Hüller, at the festival to support Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and to give an in-depth talk about her career and latest projects. Hüller, who landed her first Oscar nomination for best actress last week for Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” said she is “definitely not” used to the growing attention.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sony Pictures‘ “Madame Web,” a standalone origin story in the studio’s array of “Spider-Man”-based Marvel characters, has been granted a theatrical release in mainland China. The film will open in the country on March 1 — two weeks after the title’s Valentine’s Day bow in North America and multiple international territories, including the Chinese-language markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong. The release marks a welcome opportunity for Sony, which, along with the other traditional studios faced difficulty in securing theatrical runs in China over recent years.

Naman Ramachandran Indian star Shruti Haasan will headline India-U.K. film co-production “Chennai Story.” Haasan, who is also a renowned musician, has acting credits across India’s various language film industries and in the U.S. and U.K.

Thania Garcia The third iteration of Chicago’s Sueños Music Festival — an exclusively all-Latin music event — has announced Peso Pluma, Maluma, Ivan Cornejo and Rauw Alejandro as headliners for the two-day celebration on May 25 and 26 at Grant Park. Curated by Aaron Ampudia and Chris Den Uijl of La Familia Presenta, the Sueños lineup also includes rising acts like Xavi and Young Miko, along with Mora, Manuel Turizo, Jowell y Randy, Latin Mafia and Gabito Ballesteros, among others.

In an Oscar stunner, two films considered a lock for nominations failed to be recognized Tuesday morning in the Best Documentary Feature category: American Symphony and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Match Factory has secured the rights for Berlinale Competition title “Dying,” by German director Matthias Glasner. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. Glasner credits include Golden Bear nominees “Gnade” (2012) and “Der Freie Wille” (2006).

The Berlin Film Festival on Monday unveiled the titles selected for its official competition and its sidebar Encounters competitive section.

Brian Brobbey has addressed reports linking him with a move to Manchester United - but the 21-year-old says he will be staying in the Eredivisie with Ajax.

Passengers were 'stuck on the runway' after a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Dublin was forced to divert 500 miles away to Paris on Sunday (January 21).

Manchester United reportedly want to sign Ajax striker Brian Brobbey this month.

David Bowie once played his album ‘Outside’ for him and Gary Oldman before it had been released.Wright and Oldman co-starred in the 1996 film Basquiat alongside Bowie, a biopic focusing on the life of the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. In the film, Wright played the titular artist, while Bowie portrayed Basquiat’s mentor, Andy Warhol. Oldman, meanwhile, played another artist, a character loosely based on the film’s director, Julian Schnabel.In a new interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Wright revealed that in a spare moment during the shooting of the film, Bowie decided to test out his new material on his fellow cast members.“I remember one day we were in the hair and makeup trailer — Gary Oldman was in the film as well — we’re sitting there and David walks in,” Wright said.

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back with you. So much news to get through this week — here’s a pick of the biggest and best stories. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years.

Alex Ritman The nominees for the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards are set to be revealed on Thursday, with Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir — both former BAFTA Rising Star nominees — making the announcement at 12 p.m. U.K. time (4 a.m.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Salaud Morisset, the Paris- and Berlin-based sales and production outfit, has closed deals on “Excursion,” Una Gunjak’s feature debut which won the Jury Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival. Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution (Hungary), Hakka Distribution (Tunisia), Fivia (Slovenia), MCF MegaCom (Montenegro & North Macedonia), No Blink Film (Bulgaria) and Silver Screen (Romania).

Naman Ramachandran June Givanni, film curator, writer and programmer of African and African diaspora cinema and founder of The June Givanni PanAfrican Archive, will be presented with BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award at the BAFTA Film Awards in February. The award is presented to an individual or organization that has made a significant and inspiring contribution to film through a particular project or work – with focus on recognizing work that might not otherwise be eligible in BAFTA’s competitive awards categories.

Vue International, Europe’s largest independent movie theater operator, is in discussions with its shareholders and lenders on a fresh debt-for-equity restructuring. This comes after last year’s dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes caused production delays and pushed a number of titles off of the 2023 and 2024 release calendars. Overall, the industry is facing a severe downturn in ticket sales across the coming year.

Caroline Brew editor The 35th Annual Palm Spring International Film Festival, which took place from Jan. 4 to 15, has announced this year’s jury award winners.

Oscar documentary branch voters can’t be accused of parochialism. They ventured far and wide to select their shortlist of feature documentaries for 2023, tapping films from countries as varied as a U.N. roll call: Ukraine, Uganda, Poland, Denmark, Tunisia, Canada and the United States.

Alex Ritman After just one weekend of international release, “Priscilla” — Sofia Coppola‘s biopic starring Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley and Cailee Spaeny as The King’s (then) teenage bride “Priscilla” — has already hit several major milestones for arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi. Produced by Fremantle’s The Apartment, the film currently sits on a box office in excess of $20 million in the U.S., where A24 released the film on Oct.