Cannes Critics’ Week Title ‘Baby’ Scoops Further Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

A a 10 week old baby stole the show as Annie Mac opened the Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival. Baby Finlay was met with cheers as he appeared on the big screen multiple times. Irish DJ Annie, 45, opened Worthy Farm’s second biggest stage with an hour-long set of dance hits from 11.30am on Friday, 28 June.

Here we are Insiders, the sun is shining and Max Goldbart is present to guide you through the week’s headlines. Read on, and sign up here.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent France’s Les Films du Losange is taking international sales outside Italy on “Sicilian Letters” (“Iddu”), the hotly anticipated drama about Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro – who was dubbed “the last godfather” – directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (“Sicilian Ghost Story”). “Sicilian Letters” pairs two top Italian actors — Elio Germano, who plays Messina (see first-look image above) and Toni Servillo (first-look image below) as his antagonist Catello, a shady secret services operative — working in tandem for the first time.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Playmaker has acquired international sales rights to the provocative satirical thriller “The Protected Men,” based on the novel “Les hommes protégés” (The Virility Factor) by Robert Merle. The film is set in Germany, where a mysterious disease afflicting only men strikes, leading to a women-led government takeover.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Noaz Deshe‘s “Xoftex,” which has its world premiere July 1 in the Crystal Globe Competition of Karlovy Vary Film Festival, has debuted its trailer (below). MAD Solutions is attached as the film’s sales agent. “Xoftex” is Deshe’s second feature film.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Seven Types of Ambiguity,” the Australian TV series involving a mystery told from the shifting perspective of seven characters, is getting an Arabic adaptation as an original production for beIN Media Group’s TOD streaming platform. Titled “Mirage” or alternately (“Sarab”) in Arabic, the first international adaptation of the six-part ABC series – which is based on the acclaimed novel by Australian author Elliot Perlman, revolving around the disappearance of a child in suburban Melbourne — is being transposed to a Middle East setting.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian crime/action genre specialist Stefano Sollima – who is known for milestone TV series “Gomorrah” and Hollywood movies such as “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Without Remorse” – is officially launching a film and TV production shingle named AlterEgo in tandem with ace U.S. showrunner Gina Gardini and longtime collaborator, writer/director Ludovico Purgatori.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Bridgerton” star Florence Hunt, Jim Sturgess and Australia’s Teresa Palmer (“The Clearing,” “The Fall Guy”) have joined the cast of “Mix Tape,” a music-themed drama series. The Australian-Irish co-production shot in Sydney in May and is now underway in Dublin. The series is adapted by Irish writer Jo Spain (“Taken Down,” “Sanditon”) from the popular and critically-acclaimed novel of the same title by Jane Sanderson.

The wait for news is over… Babylon Berlin is officially coming back for a fifth and final season.

Jamie Lang The fifth and final season of the global hit series “Babylon Berlin” has received an official green light, and eight new episodes will be shot this fall. “Babylon Berlin” is produced by X-Filme Creative Pool in co-production with ARD Degeto, SWR, WDR, Radio Bremen and Beta Film.

Katy Perry is enjoying some downtime with her celeb pals while in Paris for fashion week!

Some very fashionable celebrities stepped out for the Christian Dior Haute-Couture autumn/winter 2024/2025 fashion show during Paris Fashion Week on Monday (June 24).

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.

Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd, known for playing David Platt on the soap, has proposed to his girlfriend Hanni Treweek. Sharing the news to social media, Hanni shared a stunning selfie of the couple and wrote: "05.06.24 I said YES to forever!!!" as stars such as Michelle Keegan shared their congratulations.The Fool Me Once actress wrote: "Awww congratulations to you both", while co-star Alan Halsall said: "Congratulations to the pair of you xx." Actress Julia Goulding commented: "Such beautiful news! Congratulations to you both, absolutely perfect couple." And co-star Samia Longchambon gushed: "Ahhh amazing news guys! Huge congratulations." The newly engaged couple shared an intimate snap in one photo, with Hanni flashing her stunning diamond ring as her hand was tentatively placed on her future husband's arm.

So many stars were in the audience for the Loewe Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Saturday (June 22).

Prepare yourselves for a sickening story, Perezcious readers. A California PhD student has been accused of killing her friend’s newborn baby and assaulting his twin brother while she was babysitting at the parents’ home in Pittsburgh. According to WTAE, 29-year-old

Anna Marie de la Fuente Fantastic Pavilion, the genre business hub launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, announced a slew of deals closed at the venue this year, with L..A-based Severin Films, a boutique Blu-ray and DVD label, inking a pact to release eleven Special Edition physical discs of the most popular Originals and licensed features from horror subscription streamer Shudder and IFC Films. Initial titles include Joko Anwar’s “Satan’s Slaves”; Brandon Cronenberg’s “Antiviral”; Can Evrenol’s “Baskin”; Franck Khalfoun’s 2012 remake of “Maniac”; Douglas Buck’s 2006 remake of “Sisters” and André Øvredal’s “The Autopsy of Jane Doe.” The deal was brokered by Severin Film’s co-founder-CEO David Gregory, Shudder’s Vice President of Programming Sam Zimmerman, and AMC Networks Director of Content Sales Lucas Verga.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Brazilian romantic comedy “Perfect Endings” has sold to distributors in North America and several territories in Europe. Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal is handling world sales rights.

Maluma is staying busy in Paris!

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Brazil’s Ventre Studio is readying a powerful slate of scripted series mining the rapidly growing Portugal-Brazil co-production axis, which Ventre itself has helped forge with “Godless John,” produced by Ventre Studio and Canal Brasil as well as Coral Europa and TVI in Portugal. First up in titles is dramedic mini-series “Coligay,” directed by Oscar-nominated Paulo Machline (“A Soccer Story”) and Rafael Gomes, helmer of LGBTQ romantic drama “45 Days Away From You.” Canal Brasil has boarded “Coligay” licensing Brazilian first window TV rights.