‘Fauda’ Director Rotem Shamir Makes Indian Debut With Afghan Rescue Film ‘Garud’ (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: MUBI has acquired David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future for Latin America, Turkey, India and Malaysia.

Naman Ramachandran “Tanaav,” the Indian adaptation of hit Israeli series “Fauda,” will debut on streamer SonyLIV. Set in Kashmir in 2017 and shot on locations there, “Tanaav,” which means tension, chaos, stress, tells the story of a Special Covert Ops Unit over 12 episodes.

EXCLUSIVE: Emile Hirsch (Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood) has signed on to star alongside actor-director Danny A. Abeckaser in his latest feature, The Engineer. The project is the pair’s second together, on the heels of the crime drama The Gemini Lounge—also starring Lucy Hale, Ashley Greene, Robert Davi and Vincent Laresca—which is set for release this fall.

Snoring may be annoying for the person you share a bed with, but it can actually be a sign for something a lot more serious, especially if you’re a woman over the age of 50. Experts have warned that snoring could mean you are at risk of sleep apnoea, which in some cases can be fatal.

S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR, a huge hit when it opened in March, is dipping back into the U.S. market in a novel and, so far, successful bid by distributors to expand the reach of the Telegu period drama beyond the traditional audience for Indian film.

The first Arabic language version of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s British cult comedy classic The Office will air in the Middle East later this year, following a deal struck between licence holder BBC Studios and local producer-broadcaster MBC.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Kamal Haasan is a true multi-hyphenate. Beginning as a child actor in 1960, he is one of the country’s most consummate actors with films like “Pathinaru Vayathinile” (1977) “Moondram Pirai” (1982) “Nayakan” (1987), “Thevar Magan” (1992) and “Vishwaroopam” (2013) behind him.He also produces via his Raajkamal Films International (RKFI), writes, directs, and runs the  Makkal Needhi Maiam political party.The upcoming “Vikram,” directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj (“Master”) and costarring Fahadh Fasil (“Maalik”) Vijay Sethupathi (“Kadaisi Vivasayi”), will be Haasan’s first release since 2018’s “Vishwaroopam 2.” It is produced by RKFI.Haasan was at the Cannes Market to launch NFTs based on “Vikram” from Fantico, a digital licensed platform of Singapore’s Vistas Media Capital.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicWarner Music Group has opened an office in Israel. The new recorded music affiliate is headed by Mariah Mochiach, a veteran of the Israeli music industry and longtime conduit to the local scene who’s held A&R positions, managed artists and served as a liaison and consultant for such labels as Beggars Group, Domino Recordings and Kobalt Music Group, among others.Warner Music Israel, based in Tel Aviv, will locally market and promote artists from the WMG roster — Anitta, Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Coldplay, David Guetta, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Paulo Londra, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Saweetie are listed in the release announcing the news — as well as local signings.Recorded music revenue in Israel saw a rise of 10.2% in 2021, per the latest report by industry trade group IFPI, and international music companies have taken notice, with Live Nation and Universal Music Group opening Tel Aviv outposts in recent years.

Naman Ramachandran The late Govindan Aravindan’s 1978 masterpiece “Thamp̄” (“The Circus Tent”) is one of two Indian films at this year’s Cannes Classics selection, alongside Satyajit Ray’s “Pratidwandi” (“The Adversary”) from 1970.“Thamp̄” was painstakingly restored by India’s Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), an organization founded by filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur (“Celluloid Man,” “CzechMate: In Search of Jirí Menzel”) in 2014. Dungarpur facilitated the restoration of Uday Shankar’s landmark film “Kalpana” (1948) by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation, the restored version of which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012.

Austrian writer-director Sebastian Meise has been named president of the Jury at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival. He’ll be joined on his jury by screenwriter and producer Lucile Hadžihalilović, writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, actor Milan Marić and producer and senior consultant for international co-productions Katriel Schory.

Naman Ramachandran Deaf Crocodile Films and Gratitude Films have acquired Indian films “Lalanna’s Song” and “Dhuin” for North American distribution. The deals were completed during the Cannes Market.“Dhuin” is one of six Indian titles selected by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for a market screening.

Naman Ramachandran Paris and Mumbai-based production service company La Fabrique Films is looking forward to a further surge in business in the wake of new Indian filming incentives that were announced in Cannes.International productions filming in India can be reimbursed up to 35% of qualifying production spend in the country.La Fabrique, which specializes in European films shooting in India, has been operational since 2013 and films they have provided production services for include “Les Cowboys,” “The Best Is Yet to Come” and “And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead.” La Fabrique has just wrapped work on Laetitia Colombani’s “The Braid” and company principals Déborah Benattar and Javed Wani are currently attending the Cannes Film Market. The initial reimbursement for international shoots in India is 30%, which can go up by an additional 5% for productions employing 15% or more manpower in India.“The incentives will be a great advantage for foreign producers who decide to come and shoot in India also, because there is this bonus of 5%, they may want to employ more Indian technicians, because, from our experience, we have amazing technicians in India.

HBO Documentary Films has acquired worldwide television rights to the documentary feature “All That Breathes,” the company announced Friday. Directed by Shaunak Sen (“Cities of Sleep”), the film premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival and was selected as the Grand Jury Prize winner in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.

A popular south Manchester eatery has teamed up with a bar in West Didsbury. Roti has joined forces with The Boiler Room to offer their famed Indian Scottish fusion food in a relaxed bar environment.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“The Bourne Identity” helmer Doug Liman is attached to direct the adaptation of a chapter from acclaimed nonfiction book “Rise And Kill First.” It details how Israel’s Mossad reached out in desperation to former Nazi Waffen SS lieutenant colonel Otto Skorzeny, a favourite of Hitler’s -branded by British intelligence services as “the most dangerous man in Europe,” to thwart an existential threat to Israel’s existence.The stranger-than-fiction true story is set up at New York’s Story Syndicate (“I’ll Be Gone In the Dark,” “Britney vs Spears,” “Becoming Cousteau”), headed by Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning Dan Cogan and Liz Garbus, and at Israel’s Abot Hameiri, producer of “Shtisel,” “The Attaché” and “Power Couple.” A Fremantle company, its co-founder, Guy Hameiri, assembled the world-class direction-production team. A Cannes Festival alum with 2010’s Palme d’Or contender “Fair Game,” Liman will also oversee development of the limited series.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas grew up eyeing a career as an aeronautical engineer, but a detour to pageantry led to a Miss World crown in 2000 and a pivot to an acting career. She became a star in her native India and has gone on to conquer Hollywood. That may sound like the stuff of fairy tales, but there were certainly challenges along the way—from facing a patriarchal society at home to avoiding what Chopra Jonas calls “jack-in-the-box” typecasting in the studio system. Now, she’s determined to make things easier for women and South Asian talent following behind her, rewriting the rulebook and busting conventions.

Naman Ramachandran Australian film “The Laugh of Lakshmi,” by renowned theater director turned filmmaker S. Shakthidharan, will be one of the first films to make use of the newly announced Indian filming incentives.The film, a dance drama, is the story of a mother and a son separated by war.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBeta Cinema has sold the English-language tragicomedy “My Neighbor Adolf” to several major territories. The film stars German actor Udo Kier and Scottish actor David Hayman, and is directed by Israel’s Leon Prudovsky.All rights for North America have gone to Cohen Media Group, Signature Entertainment has acquired the U.K./Ireland rights, I Wonder took Italy, Lumix Media has South Korea and Tohokushinsha Film took Japan.The film, set in 1960, centers on Polsky, a Holocaust survivor, who lives in the remote Colombian countryside.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAnimated movie “The Amazing Maurice,” based on a Terry Pratchett novel and featuring a voice cast led by Hugh Laurie and Emilia Clarke, has sold to multiple major territories. Global Screen will present the film as a market premiere at Cannes.Territories where the movie has been picked up include Italy (Lucky Red), Spain (Flins y Piniculas), Scandinavia (Selmer Media), Portugal (NOS Lusomundo), Israel (Red Cape Distribution), Middle East (Selim Ramia & Co.), Australia and New Zealand (Icon Film Distribution), CIS and Baltics (Volgafilm), Poland (Kino Swiat), Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria (Prorom Media), former Yugoslavia (Investacommerce), Taiwan (Swallow Wings) and Vietnam (Blue Lantern).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNawazuddin Siddiqui, the Emmy-nominated Indian actor, is to take the lead role in U.S. indie film “Laxman Lopez.” The film is a Christmas-themed movie to be directed by Mexico’s Roberto Girault, director of local hits including 2017’s “La Leyenda Del Diamante,” 2015’s “Los Arboles Mueren de Pie” and “El Estudiante” from 2009. The project is led by New York-based Imagine Infinite Productions.