‘Cop Secret’ Gets First Trailer Ahead of Locarno Competition World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

Microsoft Flight Simulator, which will feature improvements for Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, has been delayed until September 7.Developer Asobo Studio released an update on the game’s website (thanks, VGC) which reads: “In order to ensure that World Update 6 reaches a very high level of quality, we have decided to move back the release date to September 7.”“We are very excited about this update as it features many enhancements to the region,” the post continues, “including new aerials and

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBerlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has kicked off sales for action biopic “Chasing the Line,” about the Austrian skiing champion Franz Klammer, which will make its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.PTI has closed its first deal on the film with Praesens Film taking rights for Switzerland, and will launch its international campaign with an exclusive work-in-progress buyer screening at the Toronto Film Festival.

Jay Weissberg There are two ways to watch “Cop Secret,” a wild-ride Icelandic satire of Hollywood action films. One is the classic “switch off your brain” strategy, which allows for an easy digestion of the non-stop parody elements in which each line and every situation is lifted wholesale from any number of cop thrillers.

Emiliano Granada Directed by Elene Naveriani and written alongside brother Sandro Naveriani, “Wet Sand” world premieres today in the Cineasti del Presente competition at Switzerland’s Locarno Festival.Very much in line with the section’s mission statement, the Swiss-Georgian co-production is a vibrant example of emerging talent that has quickly grown into versatile auteurs with a striking control of their craft.“Wet Sand” is Naveriani’s second feature and, beyond its craft and structure,

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBuenos Aires-based Compañía de Cine has swooped on sales rights to “Mostro,” a trenchant take on one consequence of violence in Mexico: Its thousands of women who suddenly join the ranks of Mexico’s “disappeared.”The boutique sales company is introducing the feature to buyers at this week’s Locarno Film Festival where it world premiered Wednesday in the Swiss Fest’s Cineasti del Presente section.The first feature of Mexico’s José Pablo Escamilla,

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentA force on Europe’s film archive scene, the Cinémathèque Suisse is near to finishing a restoration of “The Written Face,” regarded as one of the best films by one of Switzerland’s most prominent filmmakers, Daniel Schmid.News of the reissue comes as heritage becomes an ever more familiar part of the major festival landscape – as a promotion agency, the Cinémathèque Suisse is at Locarno with six titles, far more than any sales agent.Switzerland,

Michael B Jordan is part of a picture perfect family in the first trailer for his upcoming movie, A Journal for Jordan.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentValentin Merz’s “De Noche los Gatos Son Pardos” scooped the biggest prize, the Cinegrell First Look Award, at this year’s Locarno Festival First Look pix-in-post competition, one of its industry centerpieces.Now in its tenth edition, First Look’s focus this year was Switzerland with a jury and industry audience given the chance to preview six upcoming Swiss feature films at various stages of rough or final cut.The Cinegrell First Look Award

Will Thorne Staff WriterIt’s been a challenging year-and-a-half for co-productions between Switzerland the U.K., but there appears to be cause for optimism.Directors of media funds from both countries, as well as a pair of producers, gathered at a Locarno Film Festival panel to discuss co-financing and co-production opportunities between the two countries, and to try and entice the room to share in that positive outlook.Neil Peplow, BFI director of industry and international affairs, was at the

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFast emerging as a go-to company for high-profile Chilean and women director titles, Buenos Aires boutique agency Meikincine has swooped on “My Brothers Dream Awake,” ahead of its world premiere at Switzerland’s Locarno Festival on Saturday.Competing in Cineasti del Presente, a section reserved for emerging filmmakers from around the world, “My Brothers Dream Awake” marks the second feature outing for young Chilean Mapuche cineaste Claudia

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNew Locarno Film Festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who is the former head of the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, is starting to put his stamp on the Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema with a lineup comprising comedies and genre films alongside more straightforward auteur cinema, driven by a desire to make the selection “more audience friendly,” as he puts it.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentHigh-flying Spanish outfit Filmika Galaika has boarded Gabriel Azorín’s poetic, time-blending “Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes”(“Anoche conquisté Tebas”), a buzz title at the Locarno Festival Match Me forum.A networking platform for up-and-coming producers, and a few who have pretty much arrived, Match Me runs on-site at Switzerland’s Locarno Festival over Aug.

Will Thorne Staff WriterAt this year’s edition of Locarno’s Alliance 4 Development, both the future of the selected nine projects, and the co-production market as a whole, will be on the table.The Locarno Film Festival program, which facilitates international co-production for projects from France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, skipped a year due to COVID-19, but is back stronger than ever.“We received more than 70 submissions from the four countries,” says program manager Francesca

Will Thorne Staff Writer“Succession” has added another intriguing piece to the Season 3 puzzle.Swiss actor Ella Rumpf, best known for her leading role in Julia Ducournau’s fleshy horror pic “Raw,” is set to play a guest starring role in the HBO drama’s upcoming third outing, Variety has learned exclusively.Although the exact nature of her role is being kept under wraps, sources say Rumpf already finished shooting the part in Italy, where Season 3 production has been ongoing since June.A role in

dropped out of the series after showrunners Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal exited over creative differences last year.

Will Thorne Staff WriterThe latest edition of the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors section, which highlights new projects and fresh voices from Asia, feels like a culmination in more ways than one.After an entirely remote affair last time around, Open Doors is adopting a hybrid in-person and online approach this time around, welcoming more than half of the filmmakers and producers to the Swiss fest.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Locarno Film Festival’s StepIn think tank on the state of the film industry is taking a humanistic tack this year by choosing to zero in on issues crucial to a healthy workplace such as gender equality, diversity representation, inclusion and economic fairness.The Swiss fest’s initiative that sees mostly European execs from different industry sectors convene in the lakeside town to share experiences and thoughts on the independent film community’s

Ashley Judd has made a lot of progress after a life threatening accident earlier this year.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAlief, the London-based sales agent and production outfit, has swooped on bad ass action comedy “Cop Secret” in the build up to the movie’s world premiere at August’s Locarno Film Festival.Brett Walker, Alief president, will introduce the propulsive, high testosterone movie to buyers at Locarno Pro, the Swiss festival’s robust industry program, where it is sure to get tongues wagging.While big fests are embracing genre, few selections to date offer

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentStarring Annie Parisse (“Law & Order,” “The Following”) and Gus Birney (“Dickinson”), Theodore Schaefer’s “Giving Birth to a Butterfly,” one of the buzz titles at August’s Fantasia Intl. Film Festival, has released a first clip ahead of the film’s world premiere in Fantasia Underground section on Aug.