Canal Plus Increases Stake in Asian Streamer Viu to 30% – Global Bulletin

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood producer and financier Joseph Cohen (“Brokeback Mountain,” “12 Years A Slave,” “Sicario,” “La La Land”) is launching a new company in Hong Kong called MediaRealm Advisors Asia. It will provide consulting services to Asia-based institutional and professional investors looking to invest in American Entertainment Investors mainstream Hollywood movie projects. He is joined in the venture by Hong Kong and Tokyo based Adam Guy Orlebar Garrett.

Naman Ramachandran Revered Indian actor Waheeda Rehman, who was accorded the Dadasaheb Phalke award, India’s highest film honor, last year, has donated her personal memorabilia to the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) for preservation. Rehman, the 86-year-old grande dame of Indian cinema, has worked with most of the legendary filmmakers of her country during her career and the roles she chose were in films that are considered classics in the annals of Indian cinema.

“We don’t need a lot of content, we just need lots of really good content,” Kelvin Yau, President of Asia Pacific and Marketing iQIYI, concluded when quizzed on his company’s editorial strategy during a keynote session on streaming this morning at Filmart in Hong Kong.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Vivendi saw its revenues rise by 9.5% to €10.5 billion ($11.4 billion) in 2023, bolstered by the performance of Canal+ Group and Havas, as well as the integration of French media and publishing giant Lagardere in December. Vivendi also posted a net profit of $443 million (€405 million). Canal+ Group, which comprises pay TV giant Canal+ and the production-distribution company Studiocanal (“Paddington”), is pursuing its international development, particularly in Asia, the Nordic countries and Africa.

A hike in subscribers for French pay-TV giant Canal+ Group as well as a successful year at the box office in France for Studiocanal helped drive positive 2023 results for parent company Vivendi, which were released Thursday evening after the close of the local stock exchange.

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker and composer Sanjay Leela Bhansali has launched music label Bhansali Music with the soundtrack of Netflix series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.” The first song from the album, traditional composition “Sakal Ban,” with lyrics by Amir Khusro and sung by Raja Hasan, will be released on Saturday. Via the label, the filmmaker will collaborate with musicians and artists to produce compositions for his films and shows and also independent albums.

Naman Ramachandran The South Asian House initiative is back at SXSW with the festival’s first-ever South Asian music showcase. Featured acts include Jay Dhami, Bodur, Simar, Avara, Meetu Chilana, The Tabla Queen, DJ Anupi, Bollyflow and The Diversity Band.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou is to be honored twice over at the Asian Film Awards ceremony on Sunday. He will be presented with a lifetime achievement award and a separate prize for directing the highest-grossing Asian film of 2023.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Studiocanal, the European powerhouse behind “Paddington,” has created a genre label dedicated to the development, production and distribution of horror, thriller, sci fi and action films and TV series. The company has hired Jed Benedict, a well-known executive who previously worked for the U.K. distribution banner Elysian Film Group, to run the new label.

K.J. Yossman Cold War thriller “Whispers of Freedom” has set its principal cast, Variety has learned. “Masters of the Air” alum Cameron Ashplant will play the film’s lead, young East German Chris Gueffroy, while Darragh Cowley (who also appeared in “Masters of the Air”) co-stars as his close friend Christian Gaudian.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Atlas Distribution Company, a U.S. indie distributor, has set Vietnamese-American co-production film “A Fragile Flower” on course for a theatrical release in the U.S. Produced by the duo Mai Thu Huyen and Jacqueline Thu Thao, the romantic musical drama, with a screenplay by Vietnamese singing sensation Nhat Ha, is set debut from Mar.

Naman Ramachandran The Asian Film Awards Academy has revealed several events around the annual Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. Veteran filmmakers, jury president of this year’s awards, Japan’s Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Hong Kong’s Fruit Chan, will share their filmmaking experiences and artistic concepts in a joint masterclass. Thai star Metawin Opas-Iamkajorn (“2gether” series and film) known as Win, will be honored with the AFA Rising Star Award and the event will host the world premiere of his new film “Under Parallel Skies.” There will also be six themed panel discussions featuring actors Wan Fang (Taiwan), Rachel Leung and Yoyo Tse (both Hong Kong), Tergel Bold-Erdene (Mongolia), Awat Ratanapintha (Thailand) and Shirata Mihaya (Japan).

Naman Ramachandran Filming is currently underway in Bali and Milan on “Forza” from Indonesia’s Adhya Pictures (“Glenn Fredly: The Movie”) and U.S.-based Riva Studios. Written and directed by Marco Balsamo, who previously produced “The Brave,” the film tells the story of Bima, an 11-year-old boy, living in poverty in Bali, who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player so he may provide for his loving family. When Bima meets Marco, a professional soccer player from Bali Royal FC who is on the brink of retirement from his football career, Bima’s once unachievable dream becomes a reality because he is given a rare chance to trial with a youth academy in Europe.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Is this now an age of TV caution? A brace of big swings at this week’s London TV Screenings belie that trend, and few come bigger than the English-language action thriller “Paris Has Fallen,” which Studiocanal launches at this week’s London TV Screenings. Like other major LTVS plays, it takes a mainstream genre – such as, elsewhere, the historical drama (“Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light”), true crime (“A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story”) and the bio (“So Long, Marianne”) – and aims to elevate them to another level.

Aimee Lou Wood Comedy ‘Daddy Issues’ Rounds Out Cast

Ernst Lubitsch, Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski are among eight older titles set to play at next month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival. Lubitsch’s 1920 farce “Kohlhiesel’s Daughters,” will be presented with a live music accompaniment by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. And, despite rumors to the contrary, Kubrick’s first feature, “Fear and Desire,” has been preserved intact and will play at the festival with nine minutes of previously deleted footage.

Welcome to Deadline’s London TV Screenings list, our definitive look at next week’s buzzy event taking Soho by storm. If you’re wondering who’s exhibiting, what’s on offer and want to dive deeper into the distribs’ strategy, we’ve done the hard work for you, presenting profiles from nearly 30 exhibiting sales houses. Below, check out profiles for the companies headed over from the States and other nations around the globe. Read on, and find all our London TV Screenings content throughout the week here.

Ellise Shafer Amanda Seyfried reflected on being cast as a mother at the Berlin Film Festival press conference for her new film “Seven Veils,” saying that “it seems like once I popped out a baby, I was just playing mothers.” However, the mom of two does feel the roles she’s been given have “become way richer.” In “Seven Veils,” Seyfried plays Jeanine, a theater director who is forced to deal with repressed trauma as she prepares a production of the opera “Salome.” When asked if she related to the character, Seyfried said she sympathized with Jeanine’s struggles as a mother. “In my career, it’s still a bit new to play a mother.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief North American digital distributor Echelon Studios has come on board “12.12: The Day,” the highest grossing film from Korea last year. The film has been on theatrical release in North America, through 815 Pictures since last year and grossed over $1 million.

K.J. Yossman Banijay U.K. have invested in Immovable Studios, the production outfit co-founded by hip-hop artist, author and entrepreneur Akala and his business partner and manager Chanelle Newman.