Finland Ramps Up Production, Takes on New Genres

Melody’s Echo Chamber has released the third and final single from her upcoming album ‘Emotional Eternal’, a tribute to motherhood titled ‘Alma’.The single was released today (April 7). In a statement, the French musician – real name Melody Prochet – described the track as “more of a poem to life”.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re speaking to Romain Bessi, CEO of French group Newen Studios. The company, which is producing Liaison, the first English and French language original for Apple TV+, is ramping up its global ambitions and Bessi takes us through the overall strategy. 

Everyone’s favorite French/Argentinian enfante terrible Gaspar Noé’s next film, “Vortex” opens May 6 via Utopia Films. But the controversial filmmaker is staying super busy and is releasing another film this year, “Lux Æterna,” an experimental art film making heavy use of epileptic imagery, split-screen, and 1920s-style film involving witchcraft.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorGillian Anderson, speaking at a masterclass at the Canneseries TV festival on France’s Côte d’Azur Saturday, teased that she is developing “something else” based on the life of a historical figure, following her roles as Margaret Thatcher in “The Crown” and Eleanor Roosevelt in upcoming series “The First Lady.” No further details were forthcoming from the actor, who recently signed a producing deal with Netflix.Speaking about receiving recognition for her career achievements, such as the Variety Icon Award she accepted Friday in Cannes, she said it felt “kind of surreal actually,” adding, “it kind of feels like it is happening to somebody else.”Asked by French journalist Nora Bouazzouni, who was the onstage interviewer, whether she had realized that her role as Dana Scully in “The X-Files” would change the face of female leads on television when she first read the script, Anderson responded: “Oh God, no.” She saw it just as a job, and “figured it might be a year’s worth of work.” Anderson concurred with Bouazzouni’s assertion that Scully was a “badass” – “confident” and “no push over” – and that had set the tone for her whole career. “I think that the badass-ness pre-existed in me […] and she brought that out in me.

Guy Lodge Film CriticThe words “War of the Roses” take on a lighter meaning in “The Rose Maker,” a sweet, gently scented French diversion that is likely to teach you far more than you already knew about hybridizing flowers, even if it doesn’t have a whole lot else to say. Following veteran rose farmer Eve Vernet as she attempts to keep her family business afloat in the face of soulless corporate competition — even if it entails a little botanical skulduggery — Pierre Pinaud’s short but unhurried film benefits immensely from the warmly flinty presence of Catherine Frot (“Marguerite”) in the lead, lending a sense of purpose and personality to a character without much color on the page.Outside her performance, “The Rose Maker” is short on texture and shading, except when it comes to the spectacular multi-hued roses bred by Eve, and caressed by DP Guillaume Deffontaines’ camera with dewy reverence.

Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art has set Audrey Diwan’s Happening and The African Desperate by Martine Syms will bookend the 51st edition of their collaboration, New Directors/New Films running April 20–May 1 in NYC.

Wilson Chapman editorGolden Lion winner “Happening” will open the 2022 New Directors/New Films Festival, Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art announced Tuesday.Now in its 51st year, the New Directors/New Films Festival screens the best films made by young filmmakers, many of which tend to be their debut features. The festival has served as an early showcase for many notable directors, including Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kelly Reichardt, Pedro Almodóvar, Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, Michael Haneke, Wong Kar Wai, Guillermo del Toro and Luca Guadagnino.

kitchens? Maybe not so much.Ina Garten recently took to social media to announce the premiere of her brand new cooking show called,. And as with most things that Garten does, the series looks to offer a fun and intimate glimpse into the cook and author's cozy food offerings and elegant homemaking style.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran dance music executive Patrick Moxey has announced details of his new label group and has signed a new, worldwide deal for two key record labels with Warner Recorded Music.The agreement, which encompasses the legendary Payday Records and the newly created Helix Records, will see Warner Recorded Music handling global digital distribution via its independent services arm ADA Worldwide, and includes the option for the parties to co-sign new repertoire.The move comes just weeks after Moxey left Ultra, the label he founded during the 1990s, and Sony Music.Helix Records, the group’s new flagship electronic dance music label, which was officially launched this week at Miami Music Week, has already signed several artists, including electronic duo Snakehips, British-Australian band AR/CO, legendary house dj/producer Marshall Jefferson, and tech house maven DJ Susan. Helix and Payday Records have offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London with 36-member team covering marketing and promotions in Canada, Sweden, Germany, France, and Australia.

Emilio Mayorga Award-winning French documentary distributor Java Films has grabbed world rights to Anna Giralt’s “Robin Bank,” a doc competition entry at this year’s Malaga festival.Produced by Jorge Caballero at Catalan-Colombian Gusano Films, Germany’s Indie Film and Catalan pubcaster TVC, in partnership with Arte France – La Lucarne, “Robin Bank” tells the story of Catalan activist Enric Durán who, between 2005 and 2008, managed to take out €500,000 ($550,000) in loans from 39 different banks which he never reimbursed, instead using the money to fund social projects.Imprisoned for two months, Durán was released on bail, and while he awaited trial, fled the country, declaring himself a fugitive. The film received warm a welcome from audiences at its recent world premiere at Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival.‘‘ ‘Robin Bank’ is a unique story that really speaks to our times.

Pierce Brosnan has made some extraordinary connections over the course of his career.MORE: Pierce Brosnan reveals rarely-seen area of family home - stunned fans reactHe reflected on one such encounter in a new post shared with fans on Instagram as he prepares to take on a brand new role.WATCH: Royals dazzle on the red carpet for the James Bond world premierePierce revealed he is currently in New Orleans working alongside Philip Noyce on their upcoming movie, Fast Charlie. "While out an about looking for a good pint of Guinness on St Patrick's Day I came across the home of Tennessee Williams in the French Quarter," he shared.READ: Who is Pierce Brosnan's wife Keely Shaye Smith?MORE: Smitten Pierce Brosnan shares personal new photo of wife Keely – fans react"I had the greatest honor to work with the man back in 1978 on one of his last plays, The Red Devil Battery Sign.

James Blake has shared a new one-hour composition, ‘Wind Down’ – you can hear the new track below.The new “soundscape” has been created by Blake in collaboration with the adaptive sound wellness app Endel – who have previously collaborated with Grimes – with the aim of helping their users “move gently towards a good night’s rest”.‘Wind Down’, which is available on Endel’s range of apps, joins the company’s growing range of sleep and relaxation experiences, which combine Endel’s “signature elegant visuals and sounds with evidence-based insights on what prepares us for a better night’s rest”.“In approximately two hours, Wind Down traces an arc from wakefulness to sleep based on scientific input from SleepScore Labs, which partnered with Endel on this project,” a press release adds.“Wind Down lets me explore the more ambient side of my music and create a project to support people in a new way,” Blake said in a statement about ‘Wind Down’, which you can hear above.“It’s mesmerising to hear how my music blends with the science-based sounds of Endel’s AI and I think we’ve invented something not just beautiful or even meaningful, but truly practical.” Blake, who recently collaborated with Monica Martin for a new rendition of the latter’s track ‘Go Easy, Kid’, will tour in the UK and Europe in April and May.

EXCLUSIVE: Saban Films is finalizing a deal to acquire North American rights to Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon, starring Kate Hudson, breakout Korean actress Jeon Jong-seo and Craig Robinson.

Piers Morgan has taken aim at Alec Baldwin over reports he thinks he's "untouchable". The Talk TV star has spoken out with a savage assessment of the Hollywood actor.

Ben Croll Returning to in-person gatherings after last year’s online event, this year’s Cartoon Movie pitch and co-production forum saw the teams behind 57 animated features pitch their development projects before 930 European industry delegates from 19 countries. Running over March 8 – 10 in the southwest city of Bordeaux in France, this year’s forum saw both international buyers (totalling 297 overall – a 12% increase from the previous edition) and adult skewing projects notch upward – two facts not wholly unrelated.Whether on purpose or by some happy twist of fate, the four beneficiaries of this year’s Cartoon Movie Tribute Awards reflected a pair of key industry trends.At an event where one third of the pitch projects were based on preexisting material, it was thus fitting that adaptation “Even Mice Belong in Heaven” — directed by Denisa Grimmová & Jan Bubeníček, co-produced by Czechia’s Fresh Films, France’s Les Films du Cygne, Slovakia’s Cinemart and Poland’s Animoon – would win for Producer of the Year, and that the graphic novel inspired “Melvile” – directed by Romain Renard and Fursy Teyssier, produced by Belgium’s Need Productions and co-produced by France’s Creative Touch and Special Touch Studios – would claim the Eurimages Co-Production Development award.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAfter winning the Berlinale Silver Bear Award with “Both Sides of the Blade” (“Fire”), Claire Denis and her longtime pal Jim Jarmusch shared filmmaking tips and anecdotes from their decades-spanning careers on stage at the New York Rendez-Vous with French Cinema.Within minutes of watching Denis and Jarmusch laugh and gush over each other, it was clear that these two have been friends for a very long time and have admired each other’s work. Denis, who has a soft yet determined voice, has known Jarmusch since working as an assistant director on his 1986 film “Down by Law.”“I was counting and we’ve known each other for 37 years or something like that, and what that means is we’re old, but it also means to you, young people, that shit goes by fast.