French Drama ‘Sugar and Stars’ With Influencer Just Riadh as Famous Pastry Chef Lures Major Distributors Worldwide (EXCLUSIVE)

This was fast!!

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk And The Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom,” has been bought by a raft of well-established international theatrical distributors. Following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, “The Monk and the Gun” has been sold by Films Boutique to Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent). Earlier this week, the crowdpleaser was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s Musée Grévin took Dwayne Johnson‘s comments and social media outcry over the star’s botched wax figure to heart. Within 24 hours, his figure was updated by artists who gave it a slightly darker skin tone with meticulous strokes of oil painting.

A Scots dad diagnosed with MND just three days into lockdown after choking on food had symptoms for a year before the heartbreaking news.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paramount+ in France has acquired “French Roulette – A Mother’s Ordeal,” Vincent Garenq’s (“Guilty”) limited series set in the 1970s. Under the deal, Paramount+ will have exclusive first-window rights in France to the series, which is represented internationally by France TV Distribution, and will premiere it on Dec.

UK Love Island star Lucinda Strafford has revealed she has joined the Australian version of the show. Taking to Instagram to announce the news, the influencer shared a picture of her posing in a black swimsuit, with the caption: "Lucinda is looking for love in the @LoveIslandAU Villa! Stream the new season of #LoveIslandAU from Monday, October 30 on @9now." Lucinda, 23, failed to find love when she first entered the UK villa in 2021, despite forming romantic relationships with Brad McClelland and Aaron Francis.

Ashley Jensen was so "privileged" to be starring in the new series of Shetland that she was left "speechless" the first time she arrived on the island to start filming.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Shawn Levy, whose limited series “All The Light We Cannot See” is premiering on Netflix on Nov. 2, was supposed to have a packed year, between the filming “Deadpool 3” and Season 5 of “Stranger Things” of which he’s an executive producer and director. With both productions paused due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Levy has instead been busy promoting “All the Light We Cannot See,” an adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Justin Edgar, a well-established British filmmaker and advocate for disabled people, has pushed the boundaries for accessibility films with “The Letter,” a drama shedding light on a lesser known deaf community in Germany during the WW2. Now in post, “The Letter” was directed by Edgar, who is hard of hearing, with an entire cast and crew of deaf artists.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon, German film master Wim Wenders said he shares Martin Scorsese’s deep concern over Hollywood’s obsession with sequels, and worries about AI in line with U.S. actors who are still on strike.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Netflix has dropped a teaser for J.A. Bayona’s highly anticipated survival thriller “Society of the Snow,” which will represent Spain in the Oscars international feature film race. The film world premiered on closing night of the Venice Film Festival and is playing this week at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While artificial intelligence has been one of the biggest points of contention in the WGA and the SAG-AFTRA strikes, back in France, Newen Studios has taken a deep dive into AI to deliver daily soaps, as well as source talent and pitch projects in their own metaverse space. During Mipcom, Newen’s head of innovation, Marianne Carpentier, launched the second edition of the banner’s Meta Pitch Contest.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Unveiling a raft of international shows at Mipcom, Newen Connect‘s managing director Rodolphe Buet said the distribution arm of the TF1-owned company is seeing its business model go through “drastic changes” as it now plays a more central role in financing content. In the next two years, Buet said roughly 70% of Newen Connect’s revenues will stem from content it pre-finances and/or co-produces, rather than licensing deals.

K.J. Yossman Cyril Metzger and Manon Clavel are set to star in Netflix‘s upcoming hotel period drama “Winter Palace.” Metzger (“Happening”) will play André Morel while Clavel (“The Truth”) is set to star as Rose. Together they portray a wealthy married couple who are guests at the hotel at the centre of the show.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent MK2 Films has acquired a collection of films and TV series directed by Bruno Dumont, the award-winning French director behind “Life of Jesus,” “Slack Bay” and “Humanity.” The acquisition, unveiled during Mipcom Cannes, covers the bulk of the director’s work, spanning eight films and TV series including “Li’l Quinquin,” which premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. MK2 Films will represent rights to these titles in France and international markets.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Mipcom Cannes, the international TV conference, opened on a solemn note with market director Lucy Smith paying tribute to the “innocent victims in Israel and Gaza.” Smith addressed the reverberations of the Israel-Hamas conflict at the market and within the industry. Out of the 70 Israeli industry executives who had registered for Mipcom, only a few were able to attend due to the devastation brought by Hamas’ attack on Oct.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Warner Bros. Discovery will be launching its streaming service Max in France, one of its top European markets, next summer, Variety has learned. The launch in France will follow a rollout in Northern and Eastern Europe, which is expected to be unveiled by Gerhard Zeiler, president of international at Warner Bros.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France has banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country in the aftermath of Hamas’ terror attack in Israel which killed at least 1,200 people. Amid a rise in antisemitic incidents since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the French government has also demanded that local prefects tighten security around Jewish schools, synagogues and other sites.

Tesco is helping families with little ones stock up on some essentials with a new sale running for the next five weeks.

Holly Willoughby made a shocking announcement earlier this week confirming she would be stepping down from her hosting duties on This Morning after 14 years of presenting the flagship programme.