European Producers Club Protests Revoking Of French Producer’s Accreditation By Cannes: “It Can Be Seen As A Restriction On Freedom Of Expression”

Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” is all set for a final lap.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor During the Cannes Film Festival, 20 emerging producers from across Europe took part in European Film Promotion’s promotion and networking platform Producers on the Move. They had been selected by the 37 national film institutes that are members of EFP. Variety invited them to pitch their projects to our readers, which we present below. Gentian Koçi, AlbaniaProject: “Cold Sun” (in development)Director: Gentian KoçiAs he attempts to rebuild his life in his hometown after being freed from jail after serving a 25-year sentence for killing his wife, a man in his fifties falls in love with a woman in her forties and gradually realizes that this love is going to be his true prison.

Pierre Creton, has won the SACD Prize, awarded by France’s Writers’ Guild for the best French-language movie in the section. Written by Mathilde Girard, Cyril Neyrat and Vincent Barré, and directed by Creton, who combines his film career with work as an agricultural labourer, “A Prince” has weighed in at this year’s Directors Fortnight as one of the most singular of titles, whose central narrative turns on a horticultural student, Pierre-Joseph. His mentors, botany teacher Alberto and plant nursery owner Adrien, soon become his lovers.

EXCLUSIVE: The biggest deal thrashed out so far at this year’s Cannes market is nearing completion with Amazon Prime Video set to pre-buy international rights — excluding Germany — to Liam Neeson action sequel Ice Road 2: Road To The Sky in a pact pegged around $17M.

French film producer Juliette Favreul Renaud, a former committee member of France’s Collectif 50/50 gender equality group, was acquitted by a Paris court on Tuesday of charges of sexually assaulting an actress.

Three French energy workers were arrested on Tuesday following power cuts in parts of Cannes, which is currently in the second week of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27)

The Cannes Film Festival red carpet is usually accustomed to protests and demonstrations. Last year there were multiple.

With summer fast approaching, many people are starting to think about holidays. While some opt for an all inclusive resort where they can relax all day on a beach or by a pool, others prefer a city break and the chance to get out and explore the local area.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Club Zero,” a teen-cult thriller from director Jessica Hausner, may have Cannes Film Festival attendees thinking twice about ordering that second croissant on the Croisette. The movie, which preaches the art of “conscious eating” and will definitely force viewers to consider the way they consume food, may be one of the more polarizing titles to debut at this year’s festival. Still, it earned afive-minute standing ovation at Monday night’s premiere. In the film, Mia Wasikowska, a favorite from “Jane Eyre” and “Alice in Wonderland,” stars as the nutrition teacher from hell at an elite prep school. It all starts innocently, as teen cults are wont to do, with Miss Novak instructing her students that eating less is healthy, for themselves and for the environment. By the time the other educators and parents take note, an unthinkable reality has already started to unfold.

Leading French producer Marc Missonnier, who had his Cannes Film Festival accreditation revoked after he publicly criticized its selection of Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming, has finally received a badge.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Baby Atómica, a new Costa Rican-U.S. film production company, has launched at the Cannes Film Market’s new genre-focused Fantastic Pavilion with a number of film projects already in development. The Los Angeles-based shingle, founded by Costa Rican producers Miguel and Dennis Gómez, who previously ran Atómica Films in San José, and Jesy Odio, likewise a producer with Costa Rican roots, unveiled three initial early-stage genre projects: Baby Atómica took its first steps with the production of the just released music video for Miley Cyrus’ “Jaded,” produced by Odio.

May December co-stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore were joined by producer Will Ferrell when they walked the red carpet at the movie’s premiere during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday (May 20) at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.

France’s controversial 15- to 17-month streaming window for feature films needs to be shortened but this is not likely to happen in the immediate future, French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak told an international press briefing Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival.

Welcome, Insiders. Cannes is now well under way while the picket lines remain busy in LA. Jesse Whittock here in London. I’ve rounded up all the big and important news from film and TV, so sit back and enjoy the read. Subscribe here.

EXCLUSIVE: American Beauty and The Walking Dead actress Thora Birch is to make her feature directorial debut on an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 2004 crime novel Mr. Paradise.

EXCLUSIVE: Metro International has sold UK and Irish rights to Carol Morley’s Typist Artist Pirate King to Modern Films. Deal was finalized this week in Cannes.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan,” “The Shrouds”) and Caterina Murino (“Casino Royal”) will show off their acting range in “The Opera!,” an €11 million film starring famed opera singers Mariam Battistelli andRame Lahaj. Pulsar Content is repping the hot project which is produced by Showlab and RAI Cinema, with Dolce&Gabbana on board to co-produce and design the costumes. “The Opera!” is based on a modern version of the famous Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and will be directed by longtime opera partners Davide Livermore and Paolo Gep Cucco who are the only ones to have presented the world premiere of La Scala four times in a row. The movie, teased by Pulsar at the Cannes Market, showcases different musical references spanning from opera, pop and electro.

The CW has landed the U.S. rights to eco-thriller drama The Swarm, which comes from Game of Thrones exec producer Frank Doelger.

If you thought Maïwenn’s Johnny Depp movie Jeanne du Barry arrived at Cannes with a lot of baggage, Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming didn’t spare in its ruffling of French media feathers with stories about harassment of workers on the pic’s set and a masturbation scene involving minors.

EXCLUSIVE: Producer Moshe Diamant, film financing company Chiltern Media, and the Santa Monica-based sales firm Film Bridge International have set a sales and production partnership to launch at this week’s Cannes Market.