Catalyst to Launch Documentary Fund at Banff Festival (EXCLUSIVE) – Global Bulletin

Lily-Rose Depp is one proud daughter!ET's Rachel Smith spoke to Lily-Rose virtually from the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France Tuesday, where she said she couldn't be happier for her father, Johnny Depp, following the seven-minute standing ovation he received after the premiere of his new biographical drama, .The film marked the opening of the 76th annual event, and the  star's first leading role since his highly publicized defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.The French-language film sees Johnny as King Louis XV. Set in the 18th century,  tells the story of Jeanne Bécu (Maïwenn), the daughter of an impoverished seamstress who rose through the Court of Louis XV and became his last official mistress.«I'm super happy for him.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Ithra Film Productions has launched a new film fund that aims to attract international filmmakers to shoot fully-financed movies in the kingdom on which local talents and crews can cut their teeth. Ithra Film — which is a unit of The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, financed by Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development – is looking to commission and fund up to five films annually. The level of funding was not disclosed, nor was the criteria for selection besides the requirement that they contribute to foster the growth of Saudi Arabia’s embryonic film industry. “We invite international filmmakers to collaborate with filmmakers in the kingdom and join us on our journey to accelerate talent and sector development in Saudi,” said Majed Z. Samman, who is head of performing arts and cinema at Ithra, announcing the fund at the Cannes market during a panel at the Saudi pavilion.

Naman Ramachandran “Lioness,” an official Indo-U.K. co-production being made under the 2008 bilateral treaty, will star Aditi Rao Hydari (“Jubilee”) and Paige Sandhu (“Emmerdale”), it was revealed at the Cannes India pavilion on Tuesday. Written and to be directed by Kajri Babbar (“Khoj”), the film is inspired by the research of Peter Bance, the historian who wrote about Princess Sophia Duleep, one of the key leaders of the suffragette movement in the U.K., the Princess of Punjab, granddaughter of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. The film will tell the story of two British Punjabi women living in the U.K., a century apart. While Sophia’s story is rooted in history, the second story is a fictional tale of Mehak Kaur an educated, married immigrant woman living in 1990’s Southall.

Naman Ramachandran CNN has launched CNN Fast, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel. CNN Fast is set up as a curated channel of short-form videos that will feature international stories across major news events, business, entertainment, sport and the environment. It launched on Tuesday across several European countries on Rakuten TV, and will also be available on LG Channels from May 24, followed by Samsung TV Plus in June. “Using a schedule of swift, informative and entertaining videos, the channel is designed to appeal to younger audiences that prefer shorter form content. With stories delivered in three-to-six-minute clips, the new succinct and easily digestible format will keep viewers updated and engaged,” CNN said in a statement.

Christopher Vourlias U.S. writer and political advocate Dane Waters and “Superpower” co-director Aaron Kaufman announced the launch of a new global nonprofit group, Humanity for Freedom, Monday in Cannes. The organization is dedicated to the fight against authoritarian governments through educational and advocacy work. The group’s global kick-off event, 72 Hours for Freedom, will feature screenings around the world of “Superpower,” the documentary about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, co-directed by Kaufman and Sean Penn. The event will take place in over a dozen countries on six continents, starting in London on June 6 and wrapping in Washington, D.C., June 8, including stops in Rome; Tbilisi, Georgia; Sofia, Bulgaria; Abuja, Nigeria; Tokyo; Sydney; and Buenos Aires.

Naman Ramachandran After a successful launch at SXSW earlier this year, the South Asian House initiative, which aims to highlight, recognize and appreciate South Asians in film and television, is set to debut at the Tribeca Festival, New York, on June 16. Brainchild of producers, curators and programmers Rohi Mirza Pandya (Box Office Guru Media and Desipina), Monika Samtani (Ms. Media and The Fem Word), Jitin Hingorani (Jingo Media and DFW South Asian Film Festival) and Kirtana Banskota (Banskota Productions and Nepal America Film Society), the event will showcase programming focused on the funding, creation and distribution of South Asian stories for a global audience. The day will consist of two panel discussions focused on content creation in the diaspora and the Indian film industry and will be part of the AT&T Untold Stories Lounge at Spring Studios.

K.J. Yossman Bitpix TV and Myco have partnered on a feature film development fund. Open to filmmakers worldwide, the fund, which was launched on Friday at Cannes, aims to support three films a year each with a budget of up to $2 million per feature. Bitpix TV is the official streaming arm of HollyShorts Film Festival while Myco is a decentralized content ecosystem. A number of short-form genre films will be showcased on Myco’s streaming platform where viewers can vote on their favorites, which will be selected for feature film development with the fund’s help. Among the package of help available is funding, consulting, mentorship, and production support from finance and production company Goldfinch.

Naman Ramachandran Entertainment One (eOne) has solidified its collaboration with U.K. independent production company Hardcash Productions through an exclusive first-look agreement. Under the deal, brokered by Kate Cundall, eOne’s VP of acquisitions, and Robin Barty-King, Hardcash’s business affairs consultant, the partnership aims to develop and produce investigative factual content for the global market. eOne will handle international rights for all projects resulting from this collaboration. Previously, eOne and Hardcash worked together on the distribution of award-winning documentaries such as “Inside China,” “Fearless: The Women Fighting Putin” and “Outbreak: The Virus that Shook the World,” which have been sold to over 160 territories worldwide.

Naman Ramachandran Indian multiplex chains PVR and Inox, which merged earlier this year, have launched a combined distribution arm PVR Inox Pictures, formerly PVR Pictures, “to increase investments in content acquisition to streamline high quality content for the Indian market, generate further opportunity for underrepresented storytellers and independent creators, and deliver a robust content slate to the Indian audience.” PVR Inox operates a network of 1689 cinema screens in 361 properties across 115 cities in India and Sri Lanka, and holds 43% share of multiplex screens in India. PVR Inox Pictures is the largest independent distributor of foreign language films and a prominent distributor of Indian films, in India.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Freevee has released the first images of Mischa Barton in the revival of long-running Australian soap “Neighbours,” production on which started April 17 in Melbourne. The images also feature cast members Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher. The new series will premiere exclusively for free on Amazon Freevee in the U.K. and U.S. this fall and will include streaming rights to thousands of episodes from the previous seasons, which will be available prior to the new series’ premiere. The series will also stream on SVOD counterpart Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Australia’s Network 10, the home of “Neighbours” for 36 years, will retain first-run rights in the country.

Naman Ramachandran British singer-songwriter Craig David (“22”) and singer and stage actor Beverley Knight (“Sister Act”) will headline the Windrush 75 celebration at London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 9. The event is being curated and hosted by DJ and radio presenter Trevor Nelson. The Windrush generation came to the U.K. from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971. The ship MV Empire Windrush had arrived in Tilbury on June 22, 1948, bringing workers from the Caribbean to help address a post-war labor shortage in the U.K. The concert will aim to capture the breadth of musical influence which the Windrush generation has had on British culture over the last 75 years, with performances including R&B group Loose Ends’ “Hangin’ on a String,” G-folk’ pioneer Hak Baker’s “Windrush Baby” and David’s “Fill Me In,” as well as renditions of classic tracks like Lord Kitchener’s “London is the Place for Me,” Bob Marley’s “Is this Love,” and Goldie’s “Inner City Life.”

Naman Ramachandran Gross box office in the European Union (EU) and the U.K. grew by 70% in 2022 compared with 2021 – from €3 billion ($3.27 billion) to €5.1 billion ($5.57 billion), down by 28% on pre-pandemic levels. The numbers were revealed in the 2023 edition of Focus – World Film Market Trends, a report which is prepared each year for the Cannes film market. Three U.S. films, “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” topped the European charts in 2022, selling 34.4 million, 30.6 and 30.2 million tickets throughout the calendar year respectively. Cinema attendance in the EU and the U.K. increased by 63% from 403 million tickets sold in 2021 to an estimated 657 million in 2022, representing 67% of the average pre-pandemic admission level registered between 2017 and 2019. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Alexi Tan, a screenwriter and director who was a protégé of John Woo, has teamed with artist Charles Simpson to launch comic book “Monk Wars.” The “Monk Wars” universe is a dystopian gritty world filled with martial arts action and a broad array of diverse characters. The first book will follow Monk Ma, who has ancient animal powers, as he assembles his followers to take on the Rat-Men soldiers.

K.J. Yossman “Tabby McTat,” the lively children’s story by writer Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, is set to get the BBC treatment with a new adaptation by longtime Donaldson/Scheffler collaborators Magic Light Pictures. “Doctor Who” star Jodie Whittaker will narrate the tale about a cat who gets separated from his owner while Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísú (“Gangs of London”) will voice Tabby. Other stars lending their voices to the short include Rob Brydon (“Gavin and Stacey”), Cariad Lloyd (“Peep Show”), Joanna Scanlan (“The Thick of It”) and Susan Wokoma (“Enola Holmes”). “Superworm” directors Sarah Scrimgeour and Jac Hamman will helm the project, which was written by Max Lang and Suzanne Lang. Barney Goodland and Michael Rose of Magic Light Pictures will produce. BBC chief content office Charlotte Moore and BBC drama commissioning editor Nawfal Faizullah acquired the film for the BBC. Red Star Studio will provide animation services.

Naman Ramachandran Global family entertainment streamer Da Vinci and Bear Grylls‘ production company BecomingX have debuted the first trailer for docuseries “Becoming Xtraordinary.” The series features interview-driven stories of success from Julia Roberts, Roger Federer, Courteney Cox, Channing Tatum, Olympic gold medallists, Nobel laureates and more. Co-produced by Chrome Productions, “Becoming Xtraordinary” comprises three seasons of 10 episodes each, all presented by Grylls and guided by in-studio hosts Mwaksy Mudenda (“Blue Peter”) and YouTuber Evan Edinger. The first season will premiere on May 28 and will be available across Da Vinci’s linear and video-on-demand platforms, including various FAST channels on Local Now, Sling Freestream, TCL Channel, Free TV, Rakuten TV, LG Channels, Netgem and VIDAA.

Latino-owned global entertainment company Fuse Media on Tuesday announced exclusively to TheWrap the launch of Ignition Studios, a separate production consultancy that will be headed up by Fuse Studios VP Jon Scarlett.Former Broadway Video and Comedy Central executives Jennifer Danielson, Mitch Lewis and Steve Elliott have been brought in to lead the initial effort in building out Ignition along with Fuse Media head of development Sydney Kim. “Fuse Media is succeeding in our mission to deliver uplifting content to young, culturally diverse audiences both in the U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Prime Video has set May 18 for the global release of its upcoming Indian anthology series “Modern Love Chennai.” This is the third Indian adaptation of “Modern Love,” the internationally acclaimed original anthology directed by John Carney, following “Modern Love Mumbai” and “Modern Love Hyderabad.” Produced under the banner of Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, with Thiagarajan Kumararaja as the creator, the six-episode anthology presents a bouquet of love stories set in the city of Chennai that explore relationships, push boundaries, and open minds.  “Love stories and rom-coms have never been my cup of tea. Thus, ‘Modern Love Chennai’ was an interesting challenge,” said Kumararaja, creator of the series and writer-director of one of the episodes. “With these stories, we have explored and celebrated the old-world charm of the city, which remains rooted in a distinct blend of tradition and modernity.” 

Naman Ramachandran The Malta Film Commission is launching the first-ever Mediterrane Film Festival, a new annual event dedicated to celebrating film and creativity. Running from June 25-30, the festival will take place at Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations across the country The festival aims to serve as a platform for Malta to continue building its film brand image worldwide and attract more film business to the islands. Prominent films shot in recent years in Malta include Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind” and Colin Trevorrow’s “Jurassic World Dominion.” The program, which will be revealed during the Cannes Film Festival, will showcase films from each of the MED9 (an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) nations. Screenings will be accessible to the public, and the featured films will be in the running for various awards.

Naman Ramachandran British presenter, broadcaster, filmmaker, author and historian, professor David Olusoga, will be presented with a BAFTA Special Award at the upcoming BAFTA Television Awards on May 14. The award is one of BAFTA’s highest honors recognizing an outstanding contribution to film, games or television. Olusoga’s credits include presenting history series “A House Through Time” (BBC Two), writing and presenting series “Black & British: A Forgotten History” (BBC Two) and the BAFTA-winning “Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners.” In recent years he led major interviews with the former President of the United States, Barack Obama and lectures including the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart Lecture in 2020.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Argentina-Chile coproduction “The Punishment,” directed by Matias Bize, was named best feature over the weekend at the close of the Beijing International Film Festival. Mexico’s Lila Avilés won the Tiantan Award for best director for her film “Totem.” Antonia Zegers and Line Renaud shared the best actress award for “The Punishment” and “Driving Madeleine,” respectively. The best actor award went to Xin Baiqing for Chinese movie “The Shadowless Tower.” The film, which premiered in February in Berlin, was the numerical winner. With the best screenplay, music, cinematography and artistic contribution awards, it won a total of five prizes.