Canada Selects ‘Eternal Spring’ As Best International Feature Film Entry At The Oscars

Global anime destination Crunchyroll will release the anticipated One Piece Film Red in the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 4.

Brent Lang Executive Editor It was supposed to be all about the movies. But even here at the Toronto International Film Festival, an ocean away from the United Kingdom, the death of 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II has loomed large. It has provided an opportunity for festival organizers, filmmakers and talent to reflect on the life and legacy of a monarch whose 70-year reign ranks as the longest in her country’s history. That’s partly due to Canada’s status as a member of the British Commonwealth, but it’s also because the festival is such an international A-list affair, one that attracts movie stars and directors who have often had personal encounters with the queen.

My favorite Toronto premiere memory was the one where eventual Best Picture winner Spotlight played to a raucous crowd reaction at the Princess of Wales Theatre, the emotion ratcheted up even further when the Boston Globe journalists who cracked the Catholic Church pedophile scandals took the stage and stood next to the actors who played them onscreen. It has been several years since TIFF has been able to show why this is such a special festival, because of the Covid epidemic and Canada’s protective lockdown of its borders. Last night marked a turning point for TIFF as a preeminent showcase for awards season movies, with the back to back Princess of Wales Theatre world premieres of Netflix’s Rian Johnson-directed Knives Out sequel Glass Onion, followed by the premiere of Amblin/Universal’s Steven Spielberg love letter to his family and a movie camera, The Fabelmans. Both of these films land squarely in the awards conversation.

Refresh for latest…: There was a little more excitement at the international box office this weekend, with two local movies leading the charge and a handful of new milestones for Hollywood pics.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The organizers of the annual London TV Screenings announced Thursday that next year’s event – the third edition – will run from Feb. 27 to March 3. As well as the five distributors that founded the event, participants will include 17 others, such as the international distribution arms of NBC, Paramount and Warner Bros. The first in-person event earlier this year, which followed the online event in 2021, was attended by more than 500 international buyers. At the third edition, the founding distributors from the inaugural event in 2020 – All3Media Intl., Banijay Rights, Entertainment One, Fremantle and ITV Studios – are to be joined by a further 17 partners, with others likely to take part.

EXCLUSIVE: UK sales firm 101 Films International has acquired worldwide sales rights (excluding North America) for drama feature Marlene, and will launch sales in Toronto this week.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Munich-based Beta Film, one of Europe’s biggest truly independent TV-film groups, has licensed to PPCW Media for Hong Kong and Macau International Emmy winner “Atlantic Crossing,” starring Kyle MacLachan and Sofia Helin. PPC Media has also acquired Alejandro Amenábar’s Movistar Plus+ original “La Fortuna,” with Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters, a tale of piracy, court room battles and historical justice set between the U.S. and Spain. Reaching more remote places, Beta has also closed Mongolia with Hulegu Media, on “Sisi” a mix of sex, politics and period glam from RTL, Beta and Story House, a modern mindset take on a film icon.  

The royals clearly still enjoy a good giggle – despite all their pomp and ceremony. During his remarkable 99 years on Earth, the late Duke of Edinburgh appeared to instil a strong sense of humour and mischief through the family, and in last year’s BBC documentary Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, Prince William, Zara Tindall and her brother Peter Phillips shared an endearing memory of one of their grandfather’s outlandish practical jokes.They recalled how he would take the lid off a squeezy tube of mustard and put it in their hands. “He would squish your hands together and fire the mustard at the ceiling,” said William.

Carson Burton A new feature film based on the 1986 sports drama “Youngblood,” this time centering on an African American hockey prodigy, is in the works from Aircraft Pictures and Dolphin Entertainment. Rising filmmaker Charles Officer is on board to direct the film, which is slated to begin principal photography in early 2023. The reimagined update follows hockey prodigy Dean Youngblood, who joins the Hamilton Bulldogs and faces toxic behavior throughout his journey to the National Hockey League draft. The original 1986 film, distributed by MGM, was Keanu Reeves’ feature film debut. It also starred Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze, and it has since become a cult classic among hockey fans.

EXCLUSIVE: Electric Panda Entertainment and The Donaldson Company announced the cast for the dramatic thriller Civil.

Naman Ramachandran Vice has signed a worldwide license deal for director and producer Jason Loftus’ “Eternal Spring: The Heist of China’s Airwaves,” Canada’s entry in the Oscars’ international feature film category. Sales agent Sideways Film, which represents the production on behalf of Lofty Sky Entertainment, has also scored domestic deals on the film with Arte for France and Germany, RTS for Switzerland, VG for Norway, Current Time for Russian language European territories and Al Jazeera Doc for the Middle East and North Africa. Through the lens of celebrated comic book artist Daxiong (“Justice League”), the documentary explores a plot by Falun Gong adherents in China to hack state television and expose repression.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based Picture Tree Intl. has added “This Place,” by Canadian debut director V.T. Nayani, to its lineup. The film is to have its world premiere at Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 9 as part of the Discovery and Next Wave Selects sections. The film stars Devery Jacobs, who was the lead actor in “Reservation Dogs” and the upcoming Marvel Studio production “Echo,” and newcomer Priya Guns. The screenplay was co-written by V.T. Nayani, Devery Jacobs and Golshan Abdmoulaie. It tells the story of two young women falling in love for the first time and being jointly challenged by their own family histories, which bear the legacies of loss, migration and displacement.

This was yet another soft weekend at the international box office with no major fresh titles and as summer fully closes out in Europe and beyond.

K.J. Yossman Content studio Propogate, who are currently working on Netflix’s upcoming Anna Nicole Smith documentary, are opening a London office. The company has also appointed Catalina Ramirez and Dan Thunell to co-heads of Propagate International, the company’s global distribution arm. Ramirez has been upped from Propagate International’s vice president of sales and acquisitions. Her new role will include overseeing sales and distribution for LATAM, Asia, and Canada as well as development and production for the company’s Spanish-language content label Propagate Fuego. She will remain based in the L.A. office. Before joining Propogate in 2020, Ramirez worked at Gunpowder & Sky and Magnolia Pictures.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Venice Film Festival’s market is kicking off with an attendance level close to its 2019 pre-pandemic days and strong interest in feature films and VR works being pitched at its gap-financing platform “We already have a total of more than 2,400 industry professionals registered to attend, which is close to pre-pandemic levels since in 2019 the number was 2,700 [at the end of the market],” says Pascal Diot, head of the Venice Production Bridge, as the informal mart is known. Of these, 1,700 are accredited with the VPB’s Golden Trade pass, while the remaining 1,000 are registered as part of film delegations.

Paramount+ has released the trailer for their upcoming original film On the Come Up during the 2022 MTV VMAs.

As Netflix hit Extraordinary Attorney Woo continues its extraordinary run, the Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea has said it intends to designate as a Natural Monument a 500-year-old hackberry tree that features in the series.

The pan-Canadian Selection Committee has chosen director Jason Loftus’ Eternal Spring as its entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.

With no new wide Hollywood tentpole releases until October, we’re in a period of holdovers, and local titles excelling in their home markets (and beyond), while Top Gun: Maverick continues to soar and there’s a will it or won’t it question mark over Jurassic World Dominion‘s shot at getting to $1B global.

tiff.net.The full list of new additions:TIFF DOCS“752 Is Not a Number,” Babak Payami | Canada“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras | USA“Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On,” Madison Thomas | Canada“Casa Susanna,” Sébastien Lifshitz | France, USA“Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels,” Mila Turajlic | Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro“The Colour of Ink,” Brian D.