Cercamon Closes Major Sales on Berlin Competition Title ‘What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Alexander Durie “The Vanishing” is, as its name would suggest, a documentary film about a disappearance. Not just anyone’s disappearance, this project pitched at Visions du Réel (VdR)’s Industry platform is about the disappearance of the filmmaker’s own mother.Senegalese director Rama Thiaw won the Fipresci Critics Prize at the 2016 Berlinale for her documentary “The Revolution Won’t Be Televised,” earning her a name for producing politically-conscious documentaries.

Ed Meza @edmezavarBerlin-based Flare Film is ramping up series production with two new high-concept projects in development while currently producing the eight-part “Paradiso” for Sky Deutschland, the first project from the company’s recently launched Flare Entertainment division.Flare Entertainment is partnering with Beta Film and Deutsche Telekom streaming platform MagentaTV on “The Daughter,” created by Pola Beck (“Breaking Horizons,” “The Last Word”) and co-developed with Daniel Hendler.

Bottega Veneta, after leaked footage of the event inside private members club Soho House caused outrage in a city whose cherished nightlife has been on hold for ordinary clubbers for over a year. A presentation of the Italian fashion house’s latest collection at Berlin’s famous and exclusive Berghain nightclub last Friday was attended by a host of celebrity guests including Nigerian singer Burna Boy.

In today’s Global Bulletin, “Minari” star Han Yeri signs with Echo Lake Entertainment in the U.S.; Beijing and Cairo announce hopeful in-person festival details; AMC Plus snags Berlin-set Cold War drama “Spy City”; Cineflix Rights will distribute Israeli cop drama “Manayek”; Deepika Padukone steps down as head of Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image; Australia’s Screenwest unveils Rikki Lea Bestall as its new CEO; “The Last Five Years” gets a West End run; Harry Collet to star in mental health

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorPhilipp Kadelbach, director and co-creator of the series “We Children From Bahnhof Zoo,” says his initial impulse when approached to helm the series was to steer well clear of what he saw as a fool’s errand, given the iconic status in Germany and elsewhere of Uli Edel’s 1981 feature film “Christiane F.,” which – like the series – is based on the book “Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo.”“I said, ‘I’m not going to do this.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFollowing on an initial sale to MUBI for U.S., U.K, Italy, Turkey and India, Brussels-based sales agency Be For Films has clinched its first tranche of sales to international distributors on Berlinale Encounters title “Azor,” the first feature from Swiss talent to track Andreas Fontana.In new sales, Pamela Leu at Be For Films, part of the pan-European Playtime Group, has closed Spain (Vitrine Filmes), Portugal (Legendmain Filmes), Greece (Cinobo),

EXCLUSIVE: Cinema Guild has acquired North American distribution rights to Rock Bottom Riser, a documentary that received a Special Mention from the Encounters jury at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival where it premiered earlier this month. It’s the first film by Fern Silva, who wrote, directed, and produced the documentary. Cinema Guild has slated it for a 35mm theatrical tour planned for 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, the UK office of Mark Gordon Pictures has won film and TV rights to Calla Henkel’s debut novel, Other People’s Clothes, and set Emmy-nominated Unorthodox co-writer and co-creator Alexa Karolinski to adapt.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinema Guild has secured the North American distribution rights to Expedition Content, a documentary that premiered in the Forum section at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival and had its U.S. debut as part of Film at Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real. Directed by Ernst Karel and Veronika Kusumaryati, the doc will be released in theaters later this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off its world premiere in the Berlin International Film Festival’s competition program, where it won the Silver Bear Jury Prize, Maria Speth’s feature documentary Mr Bachmann And His Class has sold into multiple territories.

Sky Studios, the production arm of Comcast-owned European pay TV giant Sky, has upped Jane Millichip to chief content officer across Europe, expanding her remit from just the U.K. to all of Sky's markets and overseeing the teams behind Sky original shows, including I Hate Suzie, Zero Zero Zero, Gangs of London and Babylon Berlin.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorARRI Media has closed a deal with Crescendo House – a new boutique distribution company – for North American rights on Marxist vampire comedy “Bloodsuckers,” following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.The film, which screened as part of the Berlinale’s Encounters section, was written and directed by Julian Radlmaier.Radlmaier’s script was praised by the jury as being “extravagant, bizarre, and hilarious” when he was presented with the

Germany closed at the beginning of November as coronavirus cases increased, but authorities earlier this month eased restrictions to allow some museums, galleries and certain other cultural venues to begin receiving visitors again.Some cities, including Cologne, began last week and now the capital is following suit and reopening some of the collections on Berlin's Museum Island — one of the city's cultural highlights and a UNESCO World Heritage site — and other venues to visitors.“Nobody knows

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBleecker Street has acquired U.S. rights to Maria Schrader’s “I’m Your Man,” which won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for leading performance for Maren Eggert.

BERLIN -- The manager of a prominent Berlin theater has stepped down in the wake of accusations by women of bullying and sexual harassment.Klaus Doerr announced his resignation from the German capital's Volksbuehne theater on Tuesday.

A pack of international buyers is howling along to Werewolves Within. The new comedy-horror film from director Josh Ruben (Scare Me), was snatched up by indie distributors across Europe, Asia, and Latin America following its premiere at Berlin's all-virtual European Film Market earlier this month.

Christopher Vourlias European Film Promotion, a network of 37 film promotion bodies from across the continent, is gathering 29 European sales companies from nine nations under the Europe! Umbrella at the virtual edition of the Hong Kong Intl. Film & TV Market (FilMart).For the second year running the annual event has been moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Christopher Vourlias Following hot on the heels of the recently wrapped Berlin Film Festival, this year’s online edition of the Hong Kong Intl.