Cinema Guild Picks Up Berlin Award-Winning Documentary ‘Rock Bottom Riser’

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.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken danced around the notion of a 2022 China Winter Olympic boycott Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, calling such talk “premature.”

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina is set to host the winter Olympics in February, but the extent of American involvement is on shaky ground. There’s plenty of precedent for Olympic-scale strife — in 1980 and 1984, the U.S.

Rebecca Davis editorZhang Yimou’s historical spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” will hit North American cinemas on April 30, day-and-date with its China release.“Cliff Walkers” was previously title “Impasse” in English. Its Chinese title translates to “On the Cliff.” It will be distributed abroad by CMC Pictures.The film marks Zhang’s first foray into the spy genre.

EXCLUSIVE: Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to cult filmmaker Beth B’s documentary Lydia Lunch The War Is Never Over.

Christopher Vourlias Cercamon has closed major sales for “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?,” from Georgian director Alexandra Koberidze, which had its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.The Dubai-based indie specialist has sealed a multi-territory deal with MUBI, the global distributor and streaming service, which includes the U.S., where the film will be released this fall, Canada, Italy, India, Turkey, and Latin America.Pic has also been sold to the U.K.

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.

Beverly Cleary penned award-winning books for children and young adults including the popular “Ramona” series, notably the National Book Award-winning “Ramona and Her Mother” as well as “Ramona the Brave,” “Ramona Quimby, Age 8,” and “Ramona Forever.”Born Beverly Atlee Bunn April 12, 1916, in McMinnville, Oregon, in the heart of the Willamette Valley, Cleary initially didn’t seem destined for a career of writing beloved classics for young readers.

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.

Meghan McCain apologized on Monday after John Oliver singled out past remarks she made on The View in aLast Week Tonight segment on anti-Asian violence and the shootings in Atlanta. "I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community," The View co-host said in a tweet after the Sunday episode of Oliver's HBO show excerpted her past comments.

Meghan McCain has apologized after John Oliver called her out for saying she had “no problem” with Donald Trump calling COVID-19 the “China virus”… and then tweeting “Stop Asian Hate” a year later. The View co-host wrote March 22 on Twitter, “I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community. There is no doubt Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for any past comments that aided that agenda.”

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCinema Guild has acquired North American rights to Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s “The Girl and the Spider” which world premiered at the Berlinale in the Encounters section, and won best director. “The Girl and the Spider” was co-written and directed by Ramon Zürcher, and written and produced by Silvan Zürcher.