Elene Naveriani On ‘Wet Sand,’ a Locarno World Premiere

Bel-Air, a reworking of the popular 90s comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air starring Will Smith.The new show, which will be a drama in contrast, hails from Jada Pinkett Smith and Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television.Smith, who rose to fame through his starring role in the six-season show, broke the news to Banks himself via video.“From the deepest parts of my heart I want to say congratulations to you,” said Smith to a surprised Banks.

Anna Marie de la Fuente L.A.-based Outsider Pictures has snapped up world sales rights to Rodrigo Plá and Laura Santullo’s family drama “The Other Tom,” ahead of its Venice Film Festival world premiere and its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.“I had read the script of ‘The Other Tom’ three years ago and always liked the story,” said Outsider Pictures’ Paul Hudson, who relates how he continued to track the film’s progress from then on.

Jamie Lang French sales agent Wild Bunch TV has acquired “The Rope,” a new fantasy drama series produced by Les Films de l’Instant and co-produced by Arte France and Versus Production which is premiering at this year’s Series Mania festival in Lille.In the fantasy thriller, co-written and directed by Dominique Rocher (“The Night Eats the World,” “A Breath Away”), a small group of scientists working at a remote Norwegian base discover a seemingly endless piece of rope just outside their

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorThe 17th Zurich Film Festival will host the Swiss premiere of “No Time to Die,” the 25th James Bond film, on Sept. 28.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed filmmaker Rebeca Huntt, whose debut feature documentary Beba will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month. UTA Independent Film Group will be rep the film as an acquisition title.

Rebecca Davis editorTaiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang’s short “The Moon and the Tree” will world premiere at the upcoming Taipei Film Festival. The 23rd iteration will be held in-person from Sept.

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.

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 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

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFew phenomena in Spanish film have proved so striking in recent years as the emergence last decade of a new generation of Catalan filmmakers, very often women, making resonant movies grounded in highly specific local realities.Think Clara Simon’s “Summer 1993,” a Berlin First Feature Award winner, or Pilar Palomero’s “Schoolgirls,” which walked off with best picture at this year’s Spanish Academy Goyas.For years, prominent Catalan auteurs – José

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

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIceland’s Pegasus Pictures and sales agent Alief have just dropped a first trailer for “Cop Secret,” a full-on pulse pounding cop actioner that world premieres in main competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival.Alief President Brett Walker will introduce the propulsive, high testosterone movie to buyers at Locarno Pro, the Swiss festival’s robust industry program which kicks off Friday.The movie tips its hat to ‘80s and ‘90s buddy cop action