EbonyLife Chief Mo Abudu’s Debut Mental Health-Themed Short Films Set Festival Play

K.J. Yossman Barbara Neri’s LGBTQIA+ play about a woman who claims to be Tennessee Williams heroine Blanche DuBois is set to be adapted as a feature film, with sales launching at Cannes. Neri has partnered with Ango-American filmmaker Jaclyn Bethany’s BKE Productions for the adaptation. According to the logline, “Unlocking Desire” tells the story of “an institutionalized woman who claims to be Tennessee Williams’ iconic heroine Blanche DuBois and must unravel the tragic circumstances that brought her there.” Nancy Oswein (“Betrayed”) is on board to produce the feature, which is set to shoot on location in New Orleans and Detroit later this summer.

Naman Ramachandran “Doctor Who” star Jodie Whittaker will lead a short film fund aimed at championing female and non-binary filmmakers. The Empower fund, a community-led initiative backed by Primetime, a global vetted platform to help the industry find and hire more women above and below the line behind the camera, and Bournemouth Film School, was launched at the Cannes film market. It aims to remove the barriers of access to finance and star power that restrict underrepresented filmmakers. The fund will focus on championing female and non-binary filmmakers and grant them access to a minimum of a £10,000 ($12,430) grant in addition to other perks. Whittaker will feature in or voice the final film, with the intention of increasing the visibility of the project and the filmmaker selected. The actor will also collaborate to create a prompt for filmmakers as a starting point for a character or story she would like to explore. There will be a focus on accessibility and reaching filmmakers who might not traditionally put themselves forward for grant funding. A brief will then be distributed and U.K.-based female and non-binary filmmakers will be encouraged to submit their short film project for consideration. Five projects will be shortlisted via an industry jury, and from that Whittaker will select the live action or animation film she would like to take part in or voice.

Naman Ramachandran German distributor Dolphin Medien has partnered with U.K. horror production house Red Shadow Studios on horror films based on public domain children’s properties Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan, it was revealed at the ongoing Cannes film market. “Winnie the Pooh: Death House,” described by the makers as “The Strangers” meets “The Purge,” is a stylized serial killer slant on A.A. Milne’s beloved character, which recently entered the public domain. The film is written by Red Shadow’s Adam Stephen Kelly and is directed by S.J. Evans (“Dead of the Nite”). The story centres around an unexpected school reunion in a remote country mansion – an event orchestrated by members of a cult who were mercilessly tormented by the guests as children. Now, years later, they’re out for gruesome revenge. Filming is underway at U.K. locations.

Oh, baby! Claire Holt revealed her third pregnancy while attending the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 20.

French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak has said her ministry is looking at ways to resolve a funding crisis for France’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival after its regional support was cut out of the blue earlier this month.

Lewis Capaldi has said that he’d be willing to step away from music to protect his mental health if he had to.The artist admitted that fame has proved a detriment to his mental health, and if necessary, he wouldn’t rule out walking away to look after himself.Speaking to Rebecca Judd on Apple Music, he said: “I think on this album in particular I talk a bit more about my mental health, which has taken a beating over the last little while.“I’m managing it better now but I think in 2020 I was kind of glad when we got put in lockdown because I had done my first arena tour in the UK, and we had just done an Australia and Asia tour before that.“I was in a bad way where I was just having panic attacks every single day on stage and I was just shy,” he continued. “I still haven’t quite got there, but it’s interesting that this thing that you love to do and you’ve always wanted to do becomes something that causes you such distress, but such is the modern world.“”If I did another album and my head was scrambled and I felt horrible, right now I’m at a point where I can balance my mental health and how I feel in general.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Nine more minutes of footage would take Pedro Almodóvar’s film “Strange Way of Life” from a live action short frontrunner to a best picture contender. To be eligible for the Academy Awards’ best picture category, a film must have a minimum 40-minute runtime. Almodóvar’s movie runs 31 minutes. With those extra nine minutes, we could also highlight the worthiness of actors Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal and the project’s artisan categories. But for his second English language endeavor, coming three years after “The Human Voice” with Tilda Swinton, the Spanish auteur’s sensibilities are never lacking. His new Spanish Western stands proudly next to some of his most audacious movies such as “Talk to Her” and “Volver.”

Helen Mirren knows just how to make an entrance! On Tuesday, the actress graced the carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony with a head-turning look.Blue was the hue for the 77-year-old star, who was all smiles as she arrived at the Palais des Festivals. For her look, Mirren wore a custom blue gown by Del Core.

McKinley Franklin editor The SCAD Savannah Film Festival will debut the SAVFF LGBTQ+ Short Film Competition during this year’s festival which runs from Oct. 21 to 28. The competition will broaden available resources for rising queer filmmakers through mentorship and exposure. Each filmmaker will have access to networking and educational opportunities throughout the duration of the competition.  SCAD is currently accepting submissions via FilmFreeway for the competition. Directors, writers and producers who identify as LGBTQ+ are eligible to apply.  Per the official terms, “films should be under 40 minutes in length and represent excellence in storytelling and execution. Submitted films can be in narrative or documentary formats, reflecting unique insight into LGBTQ+ themes, issues, or ideas. The film’s content should embody a personal connection to the subject and showcase the filmmaker’s artistic approach to visual storytelling.”

France’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the world’s biggest festival devoted to short films, is protesting an unexpected funding cut, amid claims by politicians that the move is politically motivated.

Richard Curtis I remember once watching an episode of “Game of Thrones” and thinking to myself: “My brother-in-law is right. My films are pathetic.” “Game of Thrones” have deadly dragons, I’ve got lukewarm cups of tea. They’ve got epic battles, I’ve got people being slightly off with each other. At the end of my films two people kiss – at the end of their episodes they cut each other’s heads off. So imagine my surprise and delight when I found myself on the phone to two of the stars of the show themselves: Kit Harington and Rose Leslie (who played Jon Snow and Ygritte). It wasn’t, alas, to talk them into appearing in “Notting Hill Apocalypse” or something juicy that would turn my career around. But on the other hand, it was about the gravest threat facing us all – not the Night King, but climate change.

The Scottish Government has not started hiring 1,000 mental health specialists yet despite it being one of their key pledges from the last term of Government.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story”.

Here is another hot package set to hit the Cannes Market later this month as Sebastian Lelio has set Voyagers as his next film at FilmNation Entertainment with Andrew Garfield attached to play astronomer Carl Sagan and Daisy Edgar-Jones attached to play Ann Druyan.

Emily Longeretta Warning: This story contains spoilers from “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” now streaming on Netflix. “Queen Charlotte” may be an extension of the “Bridgerton” universe, but its brand-new story by Shonda Rhimes is quite different, with a much more serious tone. “The series in itself is like a different beast,” says Corey Mylchreest, who portrays young King George III in the Netflix drama. “It feels like ‘Bridgerton’ but it has maybe darker moments to it, and it’s a little bit grittier. So it feels like its own thing.” The story of Queen Charlotte and King George III was briefly touched on in Season 2 of “Bridgerton,” but this prequel dives in to the origin story of a young Charlotte (India Amarteifio) as she embarks on her arranged marriage to a young King George. Charlotte’s fearlessness — especially as a Black woman marrying the King of England — changes the country, under the auspices of what the show calls “The Great Experiment.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Anonymous Content has come on board California surf-themed animated feature adapted from illustrator AJ Dungo’s celebrated graphic memoir, “In Waves.” Produced by Paris-based Silex Films, “In Waves” marks the feature debut of Phuong Mai Nguyen (“Brazen”), and is being penned by Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux, whose screenwriting credits include “After Love” and “The Origin of Evil.” The feature is produced by Priscilla Bertin and Judith Nora, co-Founders of Silex Films, alongside Charades and Nick Shumaker, Garrett Kemble, and David Levine who will executive produce on behalf of Anonymous Content.

Mo Abudu, the CEO of EbonyLife Media, has stepped into the writing and directing spaces, having completed two short films – Iyawo Mi and Her Perfect Life – the former of which will screen at the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner this month. Both projects have also been selected for the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August. 

EXCLUSIVE: Gloria Sanchez Productions has promoted Alex Brown to Head of Film and hired Alix Taylor as Head of Television.

Content warning: This story contains discussion and description of sexual assault.Kevin Smith has revealed that he spent a month in a mental health treatment facility after having “a complete break from reality” last year. The events were caused by unresolved issues concerning childhood trauma.In a new interview with People, the Clerks and Chasing Amy director spoke for the first time about his experiences of being sexually abused and guilted for his weight as a child.

lifelong struggle with his weight.“It was scary,” Smith, 52, told People. “At that moment, I wouldn’t have been averse to not being around any longer.