European Film Awards Contenders Lineup Includes Cannes, Berlin, Sundance Award Winners

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Busan International Film Festival put aside many of its recent internal and local political problems to Tuesday unveil a large selection ranging from bleeding edge art titles to international festival favorites. “The difficult times are not behind us, but hard work has made this year’s festival better than ever,” said programmer and interim festival chief Nam Dong-chul, speaking at an online press conference. International guests expected to attend the festival include Luc Besson, Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing, Japanese directors Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Korean Americans Justin Chon (“Gook”) and Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”). Hong Kong-based superstar Chow Yun-fat has been named as Busan’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year and will be in person to receive the award.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The international trailer for “A Whole Life,” which will have its world premiere in the Gala section of the Zürich Film Festival (Sept. 28 to Oct. 8), has debuted with Variety (below).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Vicky Krieps, best performance prize winner in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard for “Corsage,” will star as Sophie Toscan du Plantier in six time-Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan and David Merriman’s “Re-creation,” which is being presented in the Venice Gap-Financing Market. The docu-drama, which centers on the brutal murder in 1996 in Ireland of French film and TV producer Toscan du Plantier, has been co-written and will be co-directed by Sheridan, best known for “My Left Foot” and “In the Name of the Father,” and Merriman.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Renowned Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai ditched his quiet, brooding persona on Saturday in Venice, where he is to receive a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award. Instead, at a press conference in his honor, Leung positively gushed about his upcoming first European movie role and about the strengths of the “golden era” acting training he received in Hong Kong in the 1980s. Leung has made a speciality of saying little in many of his films.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Carlo Chatrian is to step down as Berlin Film Festival artistic director after the next edition of the event. In a personal statement posted on the festival website Saturday, he wrote: “For the past four years at the Berlinale, I have been fortunate enough to work along with extraordinary people, as in love with movies as I am, who are totally dedicated to revitalizing one of the world’s great film festivals.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Beta Film has dropped the trailer for “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster. The eight-part cinematic show, which is represented in international markets by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”), charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept.

The 1975 have announced a 2024 UK and European ‘Still At Their Very Best’ tour – find all the details below and buy tickets here.The newly announced dates – which includes two nights at London’s O2 – are set to be the band’s biggest European shows to date and will signal the end of the ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ era.The 1975 will kick off the 2024 ‘Still At Their Very Best’ tour at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on February 9, before going on to perform at London’s O2 on February 12 and 13, followed by dates in Manchester (18) and Birmingham (21).A European run will then follow in Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Oslo, Copenhagen, Berlin, Milan and many more, before they wrap up at the Palladium in Cologne, Germany on March 22.Tickets for the UK and European tour will be available to purchase via an exclusive fan presale, which you can sign up for here, on Wednesday, September 6 at 10am BST. General sale will then go live on Friday, September 8 at 10am BST from here.The 1975.

Slowdive have released new single ‘alife’ and announced a UK and European tour for 2024 – find all the details below and purchase tickets for the UK shows here.The hazy new song is the final preview of the shoegaze band’s new album ‘Everything Is Alive’, which is out Friday (September 1) via Dead Oceans.Alongside the single announcement, Slowdive have announced a new string of UK and European dates for January 2024, which will see them kick off the run at Paradiso in Amsterdam on January 16, 2024.From there, they’ll perform shows in Paris, Oslo, Berlin, Munich and more, before starting their UK run at Dome, Brighton on February 14. Following stops in cities including Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and more – along with a show at London’s Eventim Apollo on February 17 – they’ll wrap up at Manchester’s Academy on February 27.We are also very pleased to announce our UK and European tour in 2024.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Not a Word,” which is being sold by international sales agency Beta Cinema, will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in the competitive Platform section. Variety speaks to the film’s writer-director, Hanna Slak, and debuts its trailer. “Not a Word” tells the story of a relationship crisis between a parent and her teenage son.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent New York-based sales company Visit Films has boarded “Achilles,” the Iran-set feature debut of Farhad Delaram, a promising filmmaker whose short “Tattoo” won the Crystal Bear in the Generation 14plus at Berlin in 2019. “Achilles” is set to world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, followed by a European premiere at San Sebastian. The film follows Farid –nicknamed Achilles– a former filmmaker turned orthotic doctor, who works nights in Iran’s capital.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Sisterly love ruled at Chile’s 19th Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic), which wrapped on Aug. 27 where female directors and actors clinched the top prizes. Israeli-Ukrainian drama “Valeria is Getting Married” by Michal Vinik and Kattia Zuñiga’s “Sister & Sister” snagged the preeminent Chilean festival’s best film plaudits, adding to their trove of accolades since their respective world premieres.

Jaden Thompson “The Last of Us,” “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” were among the winners at the 10th annual Location Managers Guild International (LGMI) Awards which took place on Aug. 26 at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica. The awards honored the accomplishments of location managers and scouts who work to find the perfect settings for film and television.

Alissa Simon Film Critic After a one-year hiatus, the much-missed El Gouna Film Festival (Oct. 13 – 20) is back and poised to make an increased impact.

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor The Camerimage Film Festival, which focuses on the art of cinematography, will honor director Werner Herzog (“Fitzcarraldo”), along with his collaborator, Peter Zeitlinger (“Losses to be Expected”), with its Cinematographer-Director Duo Award. The accolade spotlights collaboration between helmers and their DPs, and both creators will be on hand to receive the trophy at Camerimage, which will celebrate its 31st edition in Torun, Poland, on Nov.

Mitski has released two new songs, ‘Star’ and ‘Heaven’, and announced a run of intimate UK and European shows.The two new tracks are taken from her upcoming album ‘The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We’, which will come out on September 15 via Dead Oceans. Last month, the artist released the album’s lead single, ‘Bug Like An Angel’.Per a press release, ‘Star’ and ‘Heaven’ were originally conceived years ago, and were repeatedly altered before the release of their final iterations.Check out the lyric videos for the two tracks below:Mitski has also announced that she will be giving the songs from ‘The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We’ the acoustic treatment at a series of intimate shows across the UK and Europe in October.The pre-sale for the tour begins on September 7 before general sale commences the following day.

Ilker Çatak’s drama The Teachers’ Lounge will represent Germany in the Best International Film Category at the 2024 Oscars.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The 19th edition of the Camden Intl. Film Festival, kicking off Sept. 14, will feature a handful of award-contending documentaries fresh off showings at Telluride, Toronto, Sundance, South by Southwest, Berlin and Tribeca film festivals.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Sara Summa’s European road movie “Arthur & Diana,” which will make its world premiere in the Discovery section of Toronto Film Festival, has been picked up for world sales by Vienna-based Square Eyes. The film is debuting its trailer with Variety.

Cannes Competition titles Anatomy Of A Fall, The Old Oak, and La Chimera are among the first set of titles recommended for nominations at this year’s European Film Awards.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The trailer has debuted for “Mademoiselle Kenopsia,” the latest film from Canadian filmmaker Denis Côté, who won awards at Berlin Film Festival with “Vic + Flo Saw a Bear” and Locarno with “Curling.” “Mademoiselle Kenopsia” had its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival this month, and will premiere in North America at next month’s Toronto Film Festival in the Wavelengths section, which was unveiled Friday. H264 is handling international sales.