‘Elite’ Producer Zeta Studios Taps Marcelo Tamburri as Director of International Content (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Venezuelan author Ariana Godoy’s Spanish-language webnovel Sigue Mi Voz is being adapted into a feature film.

William J. Immerman, a veteran movie producer who held senior executive positions at studios including 20th Century Fox, died June 24 at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes, his widow, Ginger Immerman told TheWrap on Friday.

K.J. Yossman “The Kissing Booth” producer Andrew Cole-Bulgin has boarded Holocaust feature “Land Mine,” which he is developing with writer and director Darren Statman. The project, which will also include an accompanying novel, has already been made into a short film of the same name under Cole-Bulgin’s banner Tickled Pink, a new gen-IP development company. “Land Mine” is set in Poland in the late summer of 1945. Based on historical records and witness testimonies, it tells the story of a young Jewish man, Samuel, who emerges from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as his family’s sole survivor. Returning to his family’s Polish farm, 22-year-old Samuel finds it has been occupied by a local laborer called Piotr who is using it to run a moonshine business.

Julie Vincent Guest Contributor Poland, renown for its production value and one of Europe¡s biggest markets outside its Top 5, enjoyed some limelight at Conecta Fiction whee it received a country focus.  Six of its top independent producers – including Dariusz Jablonski at Apple Film, Anna Rózalska, co-founder and producer of Match and Spark), Telemark’s Maciej Kubicki, a producer-writer and Ryszard Sibilski, head of EndemolShine Polska, debated key issues, of which the hottest is IP ownership.   Producer-director Lukasz Bluszcz a co-owner of Vision House, and Agnieszka Knysak-Sandecka, head of production at Viaplay-owned Paprika Studios, also spoke at the panel whose expertise ranged from premium TV series like Telemark’s “The Pact” and the Polish adaptation of “In Treatment,” to factual shows, which is Vision House speciality.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Carmen Machi (“Piggy,” “30 Coins”), one of the foremost performers of her generation in Spain, is attached to play legendary Barcelona agent Carmen Balcells, prime architect of the Latin American Boom and a key figure in the break out of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa to worldwide renown.  Chile’s Invercine, producer of “News of a Kidnapping” which swept April’s Platino Awards, is teaming with Spain’s Abacus, Pausoka and Grupo Lavinia to develop and produce “Boom Agency” (“La Agencia del Boom”) which turns on Balcells extraordinary life, achievement and personality. The deal was confirmed to Variety at Conecta Fiction.

Oscar nominated producer Lawrence Turman died Saturday at the Motion Picture and Television Country Home and Hospital at age 96 after a stellar career not only as a producer of such seminal films as The Graduate (1967), The Great White Hope (1970), American History X , and many more in a producing career that lasted six decades, but also significantly took a turn when he left his partnership with another producer David Foster to head the prestigious Peter Stark Producing Program at USC in 1991, an association that continued until his retirement just two years ago in 2021.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Los Angeles-based Syrian director and producer Sam Kadi, who helmed the doc “Little Gandhi” about the life and death of young Syrian peace activist Ghiyath Matar and produced the Oscar-shortlisted animation film “Lamya’s Poem,” has signed for representation with management company Bohemia Group. Kadi’s first feature was the 2012 indie immigrant drama “The Citizen,” starring Egyptian actor Khaled Nabawy as a Lebanese immigrant who wins a green card through the U.S. lottery system and arrives in New York to claim his documents on Sept. 10, 2001. The drama, also starring Cary Elwes, then follows the protagonist’s hellish 10-year path to citizenship in post-9/11 America, including his detainment by homeland security and his deportation trial.

‘Liaison’ Producer Ringside Studios Hires ‘Industry’ Exec

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Adding to its bullish line-up of primetime dramas, Spain’s Atresmedia TV is set to adapt “Angela Black,” its second ITV drama makeover from “The Missing” creators, Harry and Jack Williams, after the Spanish commercial broadcaster’s reversion of “Liar.” Currently casting and set to go into production this fall in Bizkaia’s Bilbao, “Angela,” as the Spanish redo is known, is produced by Buendía Estudios Vizcaya with the participation of Atresmedia TV. An original idea of the Williams’ Two Brothers Pictures, “Angela Black’s” international distribution is handled by All3Media International.

EXCLUSIVE: Candle Media’s Exile Content Studio is partnering with acclaimed Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell and director Gaz Alazraki (Father Of The Bride) to produce a scripted feature about the incredible recent news story of the four children, including a baby, that survived a plane crash and 40 days in the Amazon Rainforest before being rescued by Colombian special forces.

Naman Ramachandran Top global talent paid homage to director Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale,” ”Goldeneye”) and special effects supervisor Chris Corbould (“Inception,” ”The Dark Knight,” “No Time to Die”) at the second London Action Festival, which concluded Sunday. The duo, who were honored with the festival’s Moving Target Award for their outstanding contribution to action cinema, were surprised with a range of video messages from people who had worked with them. Daniel Craig described Campbell and Corbould as “two people who have had a major influence on my career.” On Campbell, Craig said: “It gave me incredible security knowing you were steering the ship [Casino Royale]. I have so much to thank you for. I’m incredibly proud of the film we made together.” On Courbould, Craig added: “I don’t know what to say. You’ve blown me up, you’ve set me on fire – but what has been so incredible in working with you is to have had the privilege of getting inside your imagination. Those have been some of the most joyous experiences on a film set that I have had in my fairly long career.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter An “Among Us” animated series is in the works at CBS Studios, Variety has learned exclusively. The studio, via CBS Eye Animation Productions, has partnered with Innersloth, the independent game studio behind “Among Us,” to develop the series. Owen Dennis will serve as creator and executive producer on the project under his overall deal with CBS Studios. Per the official logline, the series is based on the premise of the game, namely, “Members of your crew have been replaced by an alien shapeshifter intent on causing confusion, sabotaging the ship, and killing everyone. Root out the ‘Impostor’ or fall victim to its murderous designs.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to “Fantastic Machine,” a documentary which is executive produced by Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) and won Sundance Festival’s Creative Vision Award. Directed by Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck, “Fantastic Machine” went on to win both the Youth Jury Special Mention and the Cinema Vision 14+ awards at the Berlin Film Festival. The documentary examines humanity’s infatuation with images of itself, and the impact that has on an untethered free market flooded with photos from 45 billion cameras worldwide each minute.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Global producer-distributor Fremantle has dropped an international trailer for “Negotiator,” a sleek, slick and chic eight-part  São Paulo crime thriller produced by two prominent players on the Latino and Latin-American TV scene – Miami-based Spiral International and Brazil’s Boutique Filmes.  Acquiring world rights outside Latin America and Portugal, Fremantle will use Conecta Fiction in Toledo, Spain to introduce “Negotiator,” which underscores building market trends coursing through the international TV scene. The busy trailer begins with a desperate kidnapper bursting through big church doors, revolver in hand pointing to a victim’s head. “I’m going to kill him,” he shouts hysterically. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Eye Eye Pictures, the banner recently launched by the producers of Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated “The Worst Person in the World,” has started filming “Armand,” a feature film starring Cannes prizewinning actor Renate Reinsve. Charades has come on board to handle international sales on the film. “Armand” marks the feature debut of Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, whose short film “Fanny” was nominated for an Amanda Award, Norway’s equivalent to the Oscars, in 2017. The story follows a 6-year-old boy, Armand, who is accused of crossing boundaries against his best friend at elementary school. While no one knows what actually happened between the two boys, the incident triggers a series of events, forcing parents and school staff into a captivating battle of redemption where madness, desire and obsession arise.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has revealed a multi-year series partnership with Indian filmmaker Hansal Mehta. Mehta’s hard hitting crime drama series “Scoop,” his maiden venture for Netflix, bowed earlier this month and was a major success for the service. Inspired by crime reporter Jigna Vora’s book “Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison” and starring Karishma Tanna as crime reporter Jagruti Pathak, the series is set up as the first season of a franchise.  Taking this successful collaboration forward, Mehra will create multiple series for Netflix over the next few years.

women entrepreneurs. Filmed throughout the United States, India and Canada, the documentary will discuss the ways women are often hampered in the business world. According to a Harvard Business Review study, less than 2% of women receive funds for venture start-ups.Gless will also be featured in the documentary, alongside being an EP.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent India looks to be moving closer to hiking its recently inaugurated cash rebates on international shoot spend in the country, including on animation and VXF works. The confirmation came at last week’s Animation Film Festival, as India showed further signs of expansion in animation on various fronts: “Heirloom,” an Annecy Residency project from India’s Upamanyu Bhattacharyya, bowed at MIFA feature film pitches, the strongest in memory, and though it didn’t take a prize, it was regarded as one of the section’s standouts; Annecy-backed, AniMela, India’s first international festival for animation, VFX, XR, gaming and comics (AVGC-XR), revealed dates for its first edition in 2024.    

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent SF Studios and REinvent have dropped the first trailer for Lukas Moodysson’s comedy “Together 99,” the Swedish director’s sequel to his 2000 hit movie “Together.” SF Studios will release the film in Sweden on Oct. 13, while REinvent will represent it in international markets. “Together 99” follows a group of very different people who lived in a Swedish community called Together in 1975. The story picks up 24 years later, in 1999, with Göran and Klasse who are the last two members of the community. Feeling a bit lonely, they start thinking of a reunion with old friends and Klasse sets off to surprise Göran on his birthday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asia Satellite Telecommunications (AsiaSat), a leading operator of satellites, has moved into content distribution with the acquisition of Hong Kong- and U.K.-based TV distributor Lightning International. The diversification was described by AsiaSat as “a strategic move to expand the company’s services and extend its clients’ reach to global audiences through traditional and new distribution platforms including OTT and FAST.” AsiaSat is known to be acquiring 100% of Lightning International, but other deal terms were not disclosed.