Film Constellation Launches Remake Rights on Spanish Thriller ‘Fatum’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired all North American rights for Catherine Breillat’s drama Last Summer (L’été dernier) following its well-received premiere in competition in the final days of the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27).

The U.S. rights for Cannes Film Festival award winner “About Dry Grasses” have been acquired by Sideshow and Janus Films.“About Dry Grasses” follows Samet, a young art teacher who is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. After a turn of events he can hardly make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Family animated movie “Pirate Mo and the Legend of the Red Ruby” proved to be a smash hit with international distributors during the Cannes Film Market, with sales agency The Playmaker Munich delivering the film to multiple buyers. During the market, The Playmaker announced first presales to Benelux (Just4Kids), Turkey (Filmarti), Baltics (GPI), Greece (Rosebud) and Bulgaria (Pro Films). The company has now revealed further sales to Poland (M2 Films), Scandinavia (Njuta Films), Hungary and Romania (ADS), Portugal (Outsider Pictures), and Yugoslavia (Blitz Film).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Ithra Film Productions has launched a new film fund that aims to attract international filmmakers to shoot fully-financed movies in the kingdom on which local talents and crews can cut their teeth. Ithra Film — which is a unit of The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, financed by Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development – is looking to commission and fund up to five films annually. The level of funding was not disclosed, nor was the criteria for selection besides the requirement that they contribute to foster the growth of Saudi Arabia’s embryonic film industry. “We invite international filmmakers to collaborate with filmmakers in the kingdom and join us on our journey to accelerate talent and sector development in Saudi,” said Majed Z. Samman, who is head of performing arts and cinema at Ithra, announcing the fund at the Cannes market during a panel at the Saudi pavilion.

Christopher Vourlias A host of emerging talents gathered at Cannes’ Plage des Palmes on May 22 for the latest edition of Focus COPRO’, an event launched in 2018 by the Cannes Court Métrage Rendez-vous Industry program to give a boost to first-time feature directors. Seven up-and-coming filmmakers whose previous shorts have bowed at the Cannes Film Festival and other prestigious fests including Berlin, New Directors New Films and Clermont-Ferrand, gathered under sunny skies on the French Riviera for an informal lunch with a host of industry decision-makers. The event offered a casual setting for the directors to chat about their upcoming feature debuts, seated alongside veteran producers and sales agents, as well as reps from leading co-production markets, labs, residencies, workshops and institutions focused on identifying and nurturing emerging talent.

Thania Garcia Lex Borrero and Tommy Mottola’s Ntertain Studios have entered a new multi-year partnership with Audio Up Media to develop and acquire original content. Under the new deal, Ntertain will offer a diverse lineup of original Latin podcast programming, with extensions into music, TV and film development. “Our goal is to be the one-stop destination for any Latin talent wanting to develop a podcast and use their IP for additional transmedia opportunities. This venture allows us to continue to reshape the face of Latin content while continuing to impact with our creativity,” said Borrero in a statement. Today the company simultaneously announces its first few projects, including a kid-friendly series featuring original music from reggaeton artists, and another titled “Anthem,” which pairs professional athletes with their favorite artists to help create their on-field walk-out music.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While the lineup of Cannes Film Market’s newly launched initiative Cannes Investors Circle has remained under wraps, Variety has learned about four of the nine projects which were pitched during the invitation-only event. The initiative was created by the film market’s new executive director Guillaume Esmiol to connect VIP private investors with select filmmakers and producers boasting a stellar track records. Curated by experts such as Medici’s Tamara Tatishvili, Arte Cinema’s Rémi Burah and financier Serge Hayat, the nine projects are budgeted between €2 million and €12 million. Among these are “Dracula. The Second Coming” directed by Radu Jude, the Romanian helmer of Berlinale prizewinning “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” directed by Ada Solomon at microFILM; “Rivo Alto,” directed by Clément Cogitore (“The Wakhan Front”) and produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond at Kazak Productions (“Titane”); “The Girl” directed by Marina Ziolkowski (“But You Look So Good”) and produced by Philippe Gompel (“Cherry”) at Manny Films, and “The Birthday Party” directed by Miguel Angel Jimenez (“Chaika”) and produced by Giorgos Karnavas (“Triangle of Sadness”) at Heretic.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor At the Cannes Film Festival, Italy’s 102 Distribution is selling thriller “Light Falls,” directed by Phedon Papamichael, the cinematographer on James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Papamichael, who was Oscar nominated for handling the cinematography on Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska” and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” talks to Variety about shooting “Light Falls.” The film tells the story of Clara, played by Elene Makharashvili, and Ella, played by Nini Nebieridze, two young lovers whose Greek island holiday spirals out of control when a tragic incident leads to an encounter with a trio of illegal Albanian immigrants. The thriller establishes the relationship of the young women before moving in a darker and more violent direction.

Ben Croll A veteran of Pixar, Blue Sky, and DreamWorks Animation, Spanish creative Rodrigo Blaas brought two decades of Hollywood experience to Madrid when he co-founded his own studio, El Guiri. And so, when Hollywood came knocking, Blaas answered with a bit of Spanish flair. “Some opportunities put you in a place to embrace the unknown,” Blaas says. “I saw it myself, watching Brad Bird come into Pixar and kind of break the system there. That’s what I wanted to do; I wanted to come up with something that could break the mold.” That something is “Sith,” a 14-minute short, commissioned by Lucasfilm to serve as Season 2 opener for the anthology series “Star Wars: Visions.” Written and directed by Blaas, and developed and produced fully in-house at El Guiri, the lauded short premiered earlier this month on Disney+ and will screen as part of a Spanish animation showcase at the Cannes Film Festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Paris-based company Indie Sales has closed further sales on “Richard the Stork 2,” and expects to sell the last remaining territories during the Cannes Film Market. The film, also known as “Richard the Stork and the Mystery of the Great Jewel,” is a follow up to “Richard the Stork” (released in North America as “A Stork’s Journey”), which was widely distributed in 155 countries and grossed more than $20 million worldwide. Indie Sales, which sold Oscar nominee “My Life as a Zucchini” to more than 80 territories, is increasingly focusing on acquiring big budget animation.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Cinema has closed further presales for “The Offing,” which will star Helena Bonham Carter, and will be directed by Jessica Hobbs, an Emmy Award-winner for “The Crown.” New deals include Spain (Beta Fiction), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Switzerland (Pathé Films), former Yugoslavia (Discovery) and the Middle East (Front Row). CineSky Pictures has picked up worldwide airline rights. A multi-territory deal with Curzon, Cineart and Madman for U.K./Ireland, Benelux and Australia/New Zealand was revealed in April. “The Offing,” which is based on the novel by Benjamin Myers, is set on the northeast English coast shortly after World War II. It tells the story of shy, 16-year-old Robert, and the hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, bohemian recluse Dulcie Piper, played by Bonham Carter, and their unlikely friendship.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Zachary Levi will star in the Christmas film “Teddy’s Christmas” as the voice of the main character Teddy. The film about a Teddy Bear and a little girl will have its U.S. theatrical release in time for this year’s holiday season, following its release in several European countries. Levi is best known for his portrayal of the superhero Shazam in “Shazam!” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” and for his voice actor role in Disney’s “Tangled.” “Teddy’s Christmas” will be released by Capelight Pictures and Blue Fox Entertainment in the U.S.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has closed two multi-territory deals for Bulgarian gay summer-romance film “Liuben,” directed by Venci Kostov. The film has been acquired by TLA Entertainment for North America, France, U.K. and Ireland, and Cinemien for Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy and Sweden. “Liuben,” which has its world premiere at Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival in June, is the first openly gay film from Bulgaria. Roma actors, who are usually absent from Bulgarian cinema, play lead roles in the film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Global Screen has closed further presales for “Lassie — A New Adventure,” the sequel featuring the most famous dog in the history of cinema. The film, directed by Hanno Olderdissen, has sold to A Contracorriente for Spain; ADS Service for Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Moldavia; Turkey’s Bir Film; GPI for the Baltic states; Bulgaria’s Pro Films; Karantanija for ex-Yugoslavia; and Greece’s Zinos Panagiotidis. Poland and Benelux are in negotiation. Sales were previously concluded with Lucky Red (Italy), AB Svensk Filmindustri (Scandinavia) and Film House (Israel).

EXCLUSIVE: Benedict Cumberbatch has signed to star in Dylan Southern’s adaptation of Max Porter’s acclaimed novel Grief is the Thing With Feathers about a father and his two young sons dealing with the sudden death of their wife and mother.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Bleecker Street has acquired North American rights to Andrew Cumming’s Stone Age thriller “The Origin” from Sony Pictures’ Stage 6. World premiering at the BFI London Film Festival in October, “The Origin” won acclaim for its unique approach to genre set in the Palaeolithic period. The script was written by Ruth Greenberg (“Run”) with Escape Plan Prods.’ Oliver Kassman (“Saint Maud”) producing. The pic was nominated for five British Independent Film Awards, with a win for breakthrough performance for Safia Oakley-Green. Bleecker Street is planning a fall-winter 2023 theatrical release.

EXCLUSIVE: The Sound Of Silence director Michael Tyburski’s dystopian romantic comedy Turn Me On, starring Bel Powley and Nick Robinson, has wrapped principal photography

Naman Ramachandran “Padatik,” a birth centenary homage to Indian auteur Mrinal Sen, is in post-production and is aiming to launch at a major film festival this fall. Sen is probably India’s most revered filmmaker after Satyajit Ray. Sen was born on May 14, 1923 in Faridpur, British India, now in Bangladesh and died in 2018, leaving behind a glittering array of work, most of which are considered landmarks of Indian cinema, including “Neel Akasher Neechey” (1959), “Baishey Shravana” (1960), “Akash Kusum” (1965), “Bhuvan Shome”(1969), “Interview,” (1971), “Calcutta 71” (1972), “Padatik” (1973), “Mrigayaa” (1976), “Ek Din Pratidin” (1979), “Akaler Sandhane” (1980), “Kharij” (1982) and “Khandhar” (1983).

Naman Ramachandran German writer-director Anna Roller’s feature debut “Dead Girls Dancing” is set to launch at the Cannes film market. Totem Films is handling international sales while WME Independent is looking after U.S. sales. The film will have a premiere co-hosted by the Tribeca Film Festival and the Munich International Film Festival in June. The film follows recent high school graduates Ira, Malin and Ka on a road trip across Italy who pick up the intriguing backpacker Zoe. As the four girls stumble across an abandoned village, they start to experiment with the limits of their newly found freedom, away from the expectations of their parents and teachers.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” a new thriller starring Oscar nominees Liam Neeson and Kerry Condon. The studio is planning to release the film in theaters this fall. “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” unfolds in a remote Irish village, where a damaged Finbar (Neeson) is forced to fight for redemption after a lifetime of sins. The question is what price is he willing to pay, as he finds himself drawn into a lethal game of cat and mouse with a trio of vengeful terrorists. Neeson has starred in dozens of films, including “Schindler’s List,” “Taken,” and “Batman Begins.” Condon was nominated for nearly every award imaginable for her supporting performance in “The Banshees of Inisherin.” The starry ensemble also includes Colm Meaney (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”), Oscar-nominee Ciaran Hinds (“Belfast”), Jack Gleeson (“Game of Thrones”), Desmond Eastwood (“Normal People”) and Sarah Greene (“Bad Sisters”).