‘Bridgerton’s’ Florence Hunt, Jim Sturgess and Teresa Palmer Join ‘Mix Tape’ Series Now Shooting in Dublin (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran The international documentary market Sunny Side of the Doc concluded its 35th edition in La Rochelle, France on June 27, drawing 2,100 participants from 68 countries. The four-day event, themed “Mapping the Future,” showcased 90 exhibitors and hosted 250 international decision-makers.

Anna Marie de la Fuente The Mediapro Studio’s “El 47,” the rousing true story of “a man, a bus and a neighborhood’s fate,” bows its official international teaser in Variety. Helmed by multi-Goya award-winner Marcel Barrena (“Mediterraneo”), it follows bus driver Manolo Vital who is frustrated with the Barcelona City Council’s claim that public transport cannot reach the Torre Baró district due to narrow and unsafe roads. He seizes control of the route 47 bus to prove them wrong.

Sunny Side of the Doc, the world’s biggest documentary-focused marketplace in the world, wrapped its 35th edition Thursday, after gathering 2,100 participants over four days in La Rochelle, France.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Baby,” which premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week where it won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for joint acting lead Ricardo Teodoro, has closed further sales. Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal have sold the distribution rights to Ama Films for Greece, Mezipatra z.s for Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Falcon for Indonesia.

Naman Ramachandran The 32nd Raindance Film Festival (June 19-28) has revealed its jury award winners, reflecting a renewed focus on emerging filmmakers. Korean thriller “Sleep,” directed by Jason Yu and starring Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Yu-mi, took home the Discovery Award for best debut feature. The film marks Lee’s final role before his passing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The family drama “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” has become the highest-grossing Thai film of all time in The Philippines, distributor Westec Media claims. The company, which released the film, does not quantify the receipts or the record. But there is little doubt of the film’s hit status across Asia.

K.J. Yossman Federation Stories U.K.’s creative director Arielle Gottlieb has exited the company following an internal restructure, Variety has learned.

Canada’s Sphere Media has acquired Abacus Media Rights, the UK-based distributor that sells Leaving Neverland and Scrublands.

Invention Studios has launched two film and television development programs in Australia and Kenya dedicated to supporting top local writers and creators and bringing their projects to the world market. “We are thrilled to be expanding our international work to find the greatest emerging creators capable of developing wildly original and world-class movies and shows,” said Invention CEO Nicholas Weinstock.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is now available to stream internationally.The first part of the stage production ran in Japan from January to February 2020, with the second part returning in August 2021, and is now available to watch in international territories around the world.As of June 21, viewers in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa can watch on Crunchyroll.An official synopsis for the adaptation reads: “One day in Japan during the Taisho era, Tanjiro, a kind young man who sells coal, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. Worse yet, the only survivor, his younger sister Nezuko, is turned into a demon.“Despite his hopeless situation, Tanjiro makes up his mind to become a Demon Slayer in order to turn his sister back into a human and slay the demon who killed his family.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced the juried and audience award winners for its 2024 edition, which took place June 18-24. Over $25,000 in cash prizes and five Academy Award-qualifying honors were presented to the winning films, which included Esteban Pedraza’s “Bogotá Story” and Jadwiga Kowalska’s animated film “The Car That Came Back from the Sea.” See a full list of winners below.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Making further inroads into markets in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, Studiocanal, one of Europe’s top production-distribution-international sales powerhouses, has clinched further sales on premium daily drama “The Vow” (“La Promesa”), closing Poland and two Baltic States, as well as France. Produced by Spain’s Bambú Producciones (“Velvet,” “Cable Girls”), a Studiocanal company, Studiocanal and national Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, “The Vow” has been acquired by Polish pubcaster TVP Poland, state-backed network ERR Estonia and state-owned LTV Latvia. In additional new sales, Dubai TV has closed rights to MENA territories.

EXCLUSIVE: Synchronicity Films is adapting Hanif Kureishi’s The Body as a series with the novelist and screenwriter on board as an exec producer and Emmy-nominated director Paul McGuigan attached. There are scripts from crime writer Robert Murphy and the producers will relocate the action from the UK to the U.S. for the series.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Karla Sofía Gascón, who delivered a breakthrough performance as a ruthless narco gangster transitioning in Jacques Audiard’s crime musical “Emilia Pérez,” has revealed how she fought to get the part. “At the beginning, (Audiard) did not consider me for the role (of Juan “Manitas” Del Monte), he only wanted me to play the female role after the transition,” the Spanish actress said during a masterclass at the Biarritz’ Nouvelles Vagues Festival, speaking in a packed theater.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Launched in November, Banijay Branded Entertainment (BBE), has closed strategic partnerships aligned with software, insights and data company, Launchmetrics, and Banijay Iberia’s creative agency IMA, in order to enhance the expertise and appeal to clients of BBE’s 360° production, marketing and measurement services. Made at Spain’s Conecta Fiction, the announcement comes hours before Carlotta Rossi Spencer, head of branded entertainment business development, Banijay Entertainment, will talk on a panel at the forum, as producers and companies look for ever more engaging ways to promote their content and brands – and measure the results of their campaigns.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Delivering a masterclass on the first full day of Conecta Fiction in Spain’s Toledo, Javiera Balmaceda – Amazon Studios’ head of international originals, Latin America – underscored one of the perils of frequent air travel, in her case around South America: a voice reduced at times to a near gasp. All credit to her; she soldiered on, and her ideas came over loud and clear. Takeaways from her masterclass, one of the highlights of early Conecta Fiction.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Flow,” a director-driven animated feature which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and just swept three awards at Annecy Film Festival, has been embraced by a raft of major distributors in key territories, including the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy. The movie is represented internationally by Charades.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Teresa Azcona, a driving force behind the build of the Spain Film Commission’s emergence as one of the key institutional players on Southern Europe’s locations scene, has been named general manager of the Madrid Audiovisual Cluster. While Barcelona has a thriving new generation of auteurist movie directors and producers and a building animation scene, Madrid has reaped the largest benefit of Spain’s building, decade-long TV boom. Spain’s Mediaset, Atresmedia, Movistar Plus+, The Mediapro Studio, Secuoya Group and Netflix’s European Production Hub are all located in a golden triangle stretching from northern Madrid to satellite town Tres Cantos, a 25-minute drive north of the Spanish capital.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Now on its 8th edition, the international TV forum Conecta Fiction & Entertainment (CF&E), held in the ancient Spanish city of Toledo from June 18 to 21, is turning its focus to Brazil and Portugal. The South American country is haltingly reactivating its audiovisual industry under President Lula de Silva’s new government, which earmarked nearly $1 billion for the sector last year.

The Grand Jury Prize for International Competition at Sheffield DocFest has gone to At the Door of the House, Who Will Come Knocking, the feature directorial debut of Maja Novaković, a filmmaker from Bosnia-Herzegovina.