Elliot Page Drama ‘Close to You’ to Be Shopped at European Film Market (EXCLUSIVE)

Lise Pedersen Paris-based outfit Cat&Docs has acquired world sales for “Immortals,” the sophomore feature film by Swiss director Maja Tschumi (“Rotzloch”), which will compete in the main competition at leading European documentary festival CPH:DOX. “We’re excited to bring this exceptional and important documentary to the international market.

Stars came together on Monday 4th March for Simon Cowell’s The Together For Short Lives Ball and as to be expected rolled out the glitz and glamour on the red carpet. One of the first leading ladies to catch our fashionable eye was Kelsey Parker, the wife of the late Tom Parker who chose a stunning pink strapless lace dress for the occasion.

Busan Names Asian Contents & Film Market Director

Annika Pham Doc specialist house Autlook Film Sales has picked up world sales on the Finnish film “Once Upon a Time in a Forest,” ahead of its world premiere in the main competition of Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX festival. Variety is premiering its trailer (below). The film, directed and produced by Virpi Suutari, scooped the $15,000 Al Jazeera Documentary Pitch Award at the last Cannes Marché du Film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Playmaker has closed a raft of pre-sales deals on “Ploey 2 – The Legend of the Winds,” which was presented to international buyers for the first time at the European Film Market this month. The Playmaker screened an exclusive first-look teaser at its booth in Berlin as well as a promo for attending buyers.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Sundance queer drama “Sebastian,” directed by up-and-coming Finnish-British director Mikko Mäkelä, has been bought by Kino Lorber for U.S. distribution, along with a string of international buyers. Represented in international markets by LevelK, the film made its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC is finally going into production on But When We Dance, the feature-length Parkinson’s drama penned by Esio Trot writer Paul Mayhew-Archer.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent European giant Beta Film, known for ambitious titles such as “Babylon Berlin” and “The Swarm,” has shared with Variety in exclusivity a first-look picture of 1o-part series “Rise of the Raven,” which it hails as “one of the most epic European TV productions of all time.” “Rise of the Raven” weighs in as a passion project of Hungarian-born and Canada-based producer Robert Lantos, behind “Sunshine,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Barney’s Version,” “Eastern Promises” and “Crimes of the Future.” A highlight at Beta Film’s showcase this Tuesday at the London TV Screenings, “Rise of the Raven” turns on the extraordinary feat of Hungarian army commander Janos Hunyadi, played by discovery Gellért L. Kádár, who in 1456 won a bloody, brutal Battle of Belgrade against a vast Ottoman force twice the size of his troops who were often farm labourers armed with just slings and patriotic fervor. Hunyadi largely halted a full Ottoman expansion in Europe for the next 70 years, allowing its Renaissance to lift off in Italy.

Emiliano De Pablos U.K.-based distributor DCD Rights has pre-sold the fourth season of New Zealand’s mystery drama “My Life Is Murder” to a raft of territories ahead of its Feb. 27 official launch at the London Screenings. Starring Lucy Lawless (“Top of the Lake,” “Spartacus,” “Xena: Warrior Princess”), the series’ brand new season rights have been secured by YLE Finland, TV2 Denmark, Quebecor Content Canada and Yes DBS Israel.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Underscoring the enduring popularity of crime drama, Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, has announced a slew of sales on two titles, led by Showmax Original “Catch Me a Killer,” a true crime drama with “Game of Thrones’” Charlotte Hope playing South Africa’s first and most famous serial killer profiler. Hope also headed “The Spanish Princess,” as Catherine of Aragon. AMR has moreover closed further deals on fiction drama “Scrublands,” a scripted drama about the real reasons for a country town massacre.

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour continues is one of the biggest shows of all time, and the singer has been turning out look after look for each performance. Although we’re loving her series of sparkly bodysuits and floor length gowns that she’s been wearing on stage, we’re just as obsessed with her bold beauty look, which is why we made it our mission to find out exactly which products she’s been using.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent As the European Film Market starts to unwind, the verdict is already in: Even if global economics are rocky, buyers are back and on the lookout. This week, dealmaking has been happening on both star-driven packages as well as arthouse and foreign-language movies.

A group of pro-Palestinian supporters staged a protest against Israel’s ongoing military action in the Gaza Strip in the main Marius Gropius Bau venue of the Berlin Film Festival European Film Market on Sunday.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer 101 Studios, the film and TV production entity run by David Glasser, has named Gray Krakower as executive vice president of brand partnerships. Karkower joins the company behind “Yellowstone” and many spinoffs in the lucrative Taylor Sheridan universe from Endeavor/IMG. There he served clients as a VP of global licensing and branding, working on accounts like Lionsgate Films (“John Wick,” “Saw,” “The Hunger Games”), gaming giant Fortnite and on country legend Dolly Parton’s consumer products.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety is premiering the trailer (below) for feature documentary “Transition,” which follows Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon, a trans man, as he embeds with a Taliban unit as they retake control of Afghanistan. The film, directed by Monica Villamizar and Bryon, will be released in the U.S. on March 26 by Gravitas Ventures.

EXCLUSIVE: France TV Distribution has posted new deals for French director Delphine Deloget’s custody battle drama All To Play For (Rien à perdre) starring Virgine Efira.

Emiliano De Pablos Pink Parrot Media, the Montreal and Madrid-based international sales house, has revealed a flurry of deals for the German-Canadian CG animated fantasy feature “Elli and Her Monster Team!,” which is making its market premiere at the EFM. Underlining the appetite for toon family features by European distributors, the film has been sold to Just Entertainment in Benelux, Bim Distribuzione in Italy, NOS Lusomundo in Portugal, Flins&Piniculas in Spain and GPI for Baltics. “Elli” has also been acquired by Pro Films in Bulgaria, Rocket Releasing for CIS, Forum (Czech Republic/Slovak), MCF Megacom Film (Former Yugoslavia), Cinetel (Hungary), Forum for Poland, Romania and Israel, and Front Row in the Middle East.

Davide Abbatescianni Italy will be the Country in Focus at the European Film Market, running this year from Feb. 15-21. One of the major producing hubs in the world with a long history of excellence, Italy is now going through a production boom driven by a rising global demand and a generous tax credit, capable of attracting massive foreign investment across fiction, documentary and animation.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Films Boutique has closed a raft of deals on the Chinese movie “Brief History of a Family,” which will play at the Berlinale in the Panorama section. Chinese filmmaker Lin Jianjie‘s feature debut, “Brief History of a Family” premiered at Sundance and will be screening for buyers at the EFM as well. Films Boutique has sold the movie to Benelux (September Films), Italy (Movies Inspired) and Spain (Karma Films).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S-Asian sales company EST N8 has picked up the international rights for “30 Minutes,” a Korean sci-fi thriller film that is currently in production. The story revolves around a middle-aged man trapped in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the Christmas Eve of his murder.