Germany’s Seven.One Entertainment Nabs Beta’s Premium Series ‘Estonia’ From ‘Chernobyl’ Team (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video has added Israeli dramas Kvodo and Just for Today to its service in the U.S.

Marta Balaga German director Lukas Nathrath has already lined up his next projects, Variety has found out. Following ensemble drama “One Last Evening,” which nabbed him Locarno Film Festival’s Cinegrell First Look Award consisting of post-production service worth €50,000, he will turn to “Bourgeois Paranoia” next.A mixture of dark comedy and psychological thriller, it will be set in the near future, when rents have become unaffordable and the roommate selection process goes off the rails.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn a deal which transforms a local project into an international production, Taiwan’s Tydal Productions has struck a co-production deal with the Czech Republic’s Lonely Production to make “Malice,” a potentially arresting high-sea thriller to be directed by Lungyin Lim.Set up at Lungyin Lim’s Tydal Productions and Aview Images, both based in Taiwan, “Malice” is produced by Aview Images’s SheeHeng Kuek and Ivy Shen Yu-hua.Scheduled to shoot from December 2023, it will now be co-produced by Prague’s Lonely Production, founded by producer-director Michal Sikora.Lonely Production will oversee the post-production package in the Czech Republic and Europe. Lim has a preference for shooting in Super 16 mm with digital VFX, European expertise feeding into the traditional film process.

Marta Balaga Tom Hardiman’s feature debut “Medusa Deluxe,” which premiered at Locarno on Saturday, has already seduced multiple international distributors with its mixture of humor, grief and competitive hairdressing.Now Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has sealed further deals for the unusual murder mystery in Spain (Elastica Films), Benelux (Filmfreak), Scandinavia and the Baltics (NonStop Entertainment), Variety has learnt in exclusivity.As previously reported, A24 has acquired North American rights to the film, produced by Emu Films with the support of BFI, BBC Films, and Time Based Arts.MUBI holds the rights to U.K./Ireland, France, Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, India and Southeast Asia. “The buyers are excited about ‘Medusa Deluxe’ because it’s a quirky, original piece of cinema which can appeal to younger audiences, especially since A24 and MUBI will lead the way on global marketing,” said New Europe Film Sales CEO, Jan Naszewski.Hardiman, a self-confessed hairdressing aficionado, has joined forces with celebrity hairstylist Eugene Souleiman in order to show a community struggling with tragic loss yet still striving for perfection.“There is this cathartic moment at one point, two people genuinely caring about each other, and you have this hairstyle with a boat on the top.

Manori Ravindran International EditorAmazon Prime Video has ordered the Nigerian originals “Gangs of Lagos” and “LOL: Last One Laughing Naija,” and opened up local currency services for the platform in the country.Crime thriller “Gangs of Lagos,” which will launch on the platform later this year, is a high-stakes action-crime thriller that follows a group of friends who each have to navigate their own destiny, growing up on the bustling streets and neighbourhood of Isale Eko, Lagos.The show stars Tobi Bakre, Adesua Etomi-Wellington and Chiké. “Gangs of Lagos” is directed and produced by Jade Osiberu, produced by Kemi Lala Akindoju and co-produced by Akin Omotoso.Meanwhile, “LOL: Last One Laughing Naija” is a local adaptation of the wide-traveling Amazon original.

Geri Horner is said to have told Liz Truss to “go for” the role of Conservative leader amid criticism she faced for hugging MP Nadine Dorries at the Women’s Euro 2022 final.The Spice Girls singer was pictured with the Culture Secretary as the Lionesses led England to victory against Germany on Sunday evening (July 31). “Girl power radiating from Wembley tonight,” Dorries captioned the image on Twitter.Many fans subsequently pointed out Dorries’ history of voting against gay marriage and “only recently demonising the trans community”.A photo has since emerged of Horner with Truss, who is currently going up against Rishi Sunak to become the next UK Prime Minister.Speaking to MailPlus about meeting the Spice Girls star, Truss explained: “[Horner] said ‘go for it’, she was very positive.” See the photo below.How long before Geri Halliwell is the next Culture Secretary pic.twitter.com/5NLGs8kTJ7— dominic dyer (@domdyer70) August 1, 2022While some fans expressed their disappointment with Horner (née Halliwell), others said that they weren’t surprised because the singer had previously described Margaret Thatcher as the “original Spice Girl”.Horner also paid tribute to the late PM following her death in 2013, writing: “Thinking of our 1st Lady of girl power, Margaret Thatcher, a green grocer’s daughter who taught me any thing is possible…x.”The final result of the Tory leadership contest will be announced on September 5.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“Senna,” Netflix’s biggest and most ambitious series ever in Latin America, now has a director, seasoned Brazilian film-TV action thriller director Vicente Amorim, whose credits include “Good” with Viggo Mortensen and “Yakuza Princess,” with Japanese American singer Masumi and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.Portraying the life of Formula One racing genius Ayrton Senna,“Senna,” produced for Netflix Brazil by Sao Paulo-based Gullane in partnership with the Senna family, is now in prep.The eight-episode fiction miniseries will plumb “the intimacy of the man who became a national hero and conquered the world,” Netflix Brazil announced on Monday.It looks set to be the biggest play ever by Netflix for one of its biggest markets anywhere in international. In January 2021, Netflix was reported to have already run up 19 million household accounts in Brazil, nearly as many as the streamer’s then 25.49 million for the whole of Asia.

Naman Ramachandran Banijay is acquiring Sony Pictures Television Germany.Led by Astrid Quentell and Mirek Nitsch, who will remain in position, the company will join Banijay Germany’s portfolio of labels. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesAcre, Israel is a city of contrasts and multitudes. Perched on the country’s northern coast, skimming the teal blue Mediterranean, the ancient port town is a convergence of Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Druze cultures stretching back millennia.

Banijay has struck a deal to buy Sony Pictures Television Germany.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAmazon will crank up the price of Prime membership fees in Europe and U.K. — in some cases by 43% — with the ecommerce giant citing rising expenses and inflation for the hike.In the U.K., the annual price of Prime will increase 20%, from £79 to £95.