Croatia’s Drugi Plan, Bulgaria’s Agitprop Board Serbian Political Thriller ‘Sabre’ as Balkan TV Co-Production Market Heats Up (EXCLUSIVE)

Robin Roberts and Amber Laign may not have had the easiest year, but as Amber finally regains her health, the two are celebrating as best they can.MORE: Robin Roberts shares glimpse into romantic time away from GMAThe longtime couple are living their best life, and taking a well-deserved vacation throughout Europe.The host and her partner boarded a stunning luxury yacht nearly ten days ago, and sailed through Italy and Croatia.WATCH: Robin's latest vacationMORE: Robin Roberts mourns mother's death on 10-year anniversary with poignant messageThough their vacation is soon coming to an end, they couldn't leave without honoring Amber, who is celebrating her first birthday since completing radiation treatment for breast cancer.The 47-year-old, whose 48th birthday is on 6 September, was in for a treat, as the yacht's crew set up a sweet – and musical – birthday surprise for her.Robin took to Instagram to share a glimpse of the early birthday festivities, and the video sees her partner receiving a fabulous cake, while the chef impressively serenades her, showing off his deep singing voice.A post shared by Robin Roberts (@robinrobertsgma)Amber was showered with love"Great send off before our journey back home…" the GMA wrote in her caption, revealing that she soon would be back on her fans' television screens.MORE: Robin Roberts enjoys quality time with partner Amber - complete with the most breathtaking viewMORE: David Muir's return to GMA for emotional tribute to Robin RobertsThen she added: "On the eve of Sweet Amber's birthday our chef had 2 surprises for her, a delicious cake AND an incredible singing voice!!" with the hashtags Virgo Season and Sunday Vibes.

Milena Zajović “Hotel Portofino,” starring Natascha McElhone, has returned to Croatia after a summer break to finish filming its second season. It is so far the biggest project filmed in Croatia this year, Film New Europe reports. The producers of the period drama, created by Matt Baker and directed by Adam Wimpenny, are making use of Croatia’s 25% cash rebate for the second year in a row. Sixty filming days are planned, according to the Croatian Audiovisual Center. Tanja Ladović Blažević, head of Filming in Croatia, a department within the Croatian Audiovisual Center, told FNE: “We are especially proud to see an exceptional amount of Croatian professionals engaged in the project. There are 135 Croatian crew members, including 13 out of 14 heads of departments. In addition to that, more than 800 extras have been engaged in filming.”

Terry Flores Paramount Pictures Animation and Nickelodeon Animation president Ramsey Naito and Sony Pictures Animation topper Kristine Belson will be featured speakers at the 2022 VIEW Conference, to be held Oct. 16-21 in Turin, Italy. Naito and Belson will be attending in person as the conference returns mostly to an onsite event. In her role with Paramount and Nickelodeon, Naito oversees animation across all platforms: linear, digital, TV movies, theatrical films and SVOD. She is behind such hit Nick projects as “Star Trek: Prodigy,” “PAW Patrol: The Movie” and the expansion of the SpongeBob SquarePants universe. She is also behind the upcoming Paramount theatrical releases of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” produced by Seth Rogen and Point Grey Pictures, and “The Tiger’s Apprentice,” directed by Raman Hui. She’ll talk about these projects and more at the conference.

Christopher Vourlias Dubai-based sales agent Cercamon has acquired world sales rights for Juraj Lerotić’s “Safe Place,” which won three awards after its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival and was named best film at Sarajevo. The Croatian director’s feature debut is the emotional story of a family reeling in the wake of a suicide attempt that centers on a man’s struggle to save his younger brother, creating a rift in the family’s everyday life.  “Safe Place” plays on Lerotić’s own pained family history, with the Croatian multihyphenate taking on the lead role in his deeply personal story – a performance that also earned him the award for best actor in Sarajevo. “The film is reduced to the most acute, to a short time span and a clear situation that can be put in a nutshell: save the loved one,” the filmmaker said in a statement.

As The Umbrella Academy is headed for its fourth and final season, the series’ executive producer/showrunner Steve Blackman has re-upped his big, eight-figure overall deal with the streamer.

Annika Pham New Europe Film Sales has added U.K. distributor Signature Entertainment to the slew of global buyers won over by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s “Beautiful Beings,” which has racked up awards from Poland, Bulgaria, Italy and Taiwan, since its first bow at the last Berlinale Panorama. Earlier deals were closed with the U.S. (Altered Innocence), Hungary (Vertigo), Benelux (Arti Film), Germany/Austria (Salzgeber), Spain (Filmin), and CEE (HBO).Billed by Variety reviewer Jessica Kiang as an “Icelandic coming-of age, radiant with violence and tenderness,” Guðmundsson’s drama revolves around a young boy raised by a clairvoyant mother who decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. 

The first trailer for A Jazzman’s Blues is finally here.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Faroese-born emerging director Andrias Høgenni, winner of a Canal+ award at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2021 with his short film “Illi illa meint,” just got married this summer. His project “Anything for Her,” introduced at this year’s Nordic Co-Production Market in Haugesund, is precisely about a wedding, and much more. Family conflicts, especially with step-parents involved, and the uniquely chaotic nature of a Faroese wedding set in a tightly-knit community of 52,000 souls. Spearheaded by Danish production partners Johannes Rothaus Nørregaard of Studiocanal-backed SAM Productions (“Borgen”) and Rikke Tambo Andersen of Tambo Film (“The Penultimate”), the project has secured co-production partners from France and the Faroe Islands, Variety has learned.

The first trailer for Tyler Perry's upcoming Netflix drama,  is finally here. Set in the 1940s Deep South, the film follows star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne, whose forbidden love is the backdrop for 40 years of secrets and lies. «That was our first kiss,» Bayou says in the trailer.

No divide will stand in the way of love.

Angelique Jackson Ahead of the film’s world premiere next month at TIFF, Netflix has released the first trailer for Tyler Perry’s “A Jazzman’s Blues,” the billionaire media mogul’s longtime passion project. Written, directed and produced by Perry, the period drama tells the tale of forbidden love, starring Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as Bayou and Leanne, a star-crossed couple navigating the world as young Black people in the deep South during the 1940s and through the decades that follow.  “That was our first kiss. Ain’t nothing felt that good in all my life,” Boone’s Bayou narrates as the trailer opens on the lovers sharing a sweet smooch while sitting in a sun-soaked tree.

Marta Balaga Slovenian director Dominik Mencej will put the motorbikes aside after his 90s-set road movie “Riders,” focusing on a female protagonist next. Once again set in the past, his new project “Aberrant Bride” will revolve around an “imported” young wife from Croatia, coming into a new environment and a new family, led by her husband’s domineering mother.“It’s similar but different,” says Mencej.“There is no open road, just a forest next to the house, but it’s also about this sense of belonging. I guess I can’t figure out how to tell a story with cellphones and social media.

Eight films battled it out in competition at the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, but Austrian director Sebastian Meise’s jury—including French director Lucile Hadžihalilović , Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, Serbian actor Milan Marić and Israeli producer Katriel Schory—spread the love quite widely.

Naman Ramachandran Luke Seraphin has been appointed to the newly created role of head of inclusion, content and Sky Studios, reporting into Sky managing director of content Zai Bennett and Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz.Seraphin will be responsible for the creation and delivery of all diversity, equality, inclusion and accessibility initiatives across Sky originals, including development, production and commissioning. They will work closely with Claudia Osei-Nsafoah, Sky’s group director of people, talent, diversity and inclusion, and her team of diversity and inclusion experts.Seraphin has worked at Sky since 2020 as head of drama and factual PR and had previous stints at Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC, Channel 4 and ITV.

EXCLUSIVE: Brad Peyton (Rampage) and Toni Calderon (The Gentleman Driver) have partnered on a new docuseries focused on the high-energy, high-intensity world of amateur sportscar drivers.

Christopher Vourlias Croatian production house Antitalent has signed an option agreement to develop and produce a local version of the best-selling global format “Your Honor,” the hit drama whose American remake for Showtime stars Emmy winner Bryan Cranston.The series follows a judge who must deal with the fallout when his son is involved in a hit-and-run that gets him embroiled with an organized crime family. Facing impossible choices, he discovers how far a father will go to save his son’s life.The Balkan remake will travel across the former Yugoslavia with a story that spans Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, according to Antitalent’s Danijel Pek.

Marina Lazarevska U.S. actor John Malkovich is backing a plan to build Stonebridge Studios, a film, music and media production facility in Skopje, North Macedonia.