Greenwich Entertainment Acquires Blumhouse-Produced Documentary ‘The Youth Governor’

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentGreenwich Entertainment has acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to Christophe Cognet’s “From Where They Stood,” a searing WW2-set documentary which premiered at the Berlinale. Represented in international markets by MK2 Films, “From Where They Stood” went on the win the Spirit of Freedom Award for best documentary at last year’s Jerusalem Film Festival.

Manori Ravindran International EditorA documentary on counterculture icon and environmentalist Stewart Brand will get a U.S. release via Greenwich Entertainment.The indie distributor has bought the long-gestating “We Are As Gods,” from the directors of the 2017 Bill Nye documentary “Bill Nye: Science Guy,” David Alvarado and Jason Sussman. The documentary, which premiered at SXSW in 2021, will be released in New York and Los Angeles on Aug.

Naman Ramachandran Penny Lane (“Listening to Kenny G”) will direct “Mrs. America,” a documentary which will explore the changing role of American womanhood through the Mrs.

EXCLUSIVE: Before Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsey there was Charlie Trotter, the O.G. of bad boy chefs.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Ask Jose Velasco, 60, what he thinks about the Conecta Fiction Honorary award he’s receiving on Thursday June 23 and his first response is, “Why?”The self-effacing founder and president of powerhouse content producer iZen Group says he is grateful to those who decided to give it to him, “rightly or not.” “I guess it’s because I’ve been in this business for 35 years and have done everything from fiction to reality to game shows,” he muses, adding: “But if they think this will make me retire, they’re mistaken.”“I guess I am of the generation of people in Spain who were trying the shape the country’s television landscape,” he notes. Indeed, Velasco founded and ran one of the pioneering entertainment giants of Spain, Globomedia.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBTF Media, one of the Spanish-speaking world’s fastest-growing production houses, has unveiled a BTF Acceleration prize initiative worth up to a collective $500,000 for five projects at this week’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, the Europe-America TV co-production forum. BTF Acceleration seeks to promote emerging talent, opening up opportunities within the audiovisual industry, incubating creators and accelerating projects, BTF Media announced via the organisation of Conecta Fiction on Wednesday. The initiative forms part of BTF Corporate Venture Capital, a private capital investment fund promoted by the company. BTF Media will become a strategic ally accompanying the projects’ realization, it added, saying that the maximum endowment provided for this fund is $500,000.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior CorrespondentJesse Collins Entertainment has received a minority investment from Fulwell 73, Variety has learned.The deal expands opportunities for both companies, which will continue to produce independently, in addition to collaborating. Both companies are known for producing live event and unscripted content with high-caliber talent, and previously worked together on the Grammy Awards.Financial terms of deal between the Jesse Collins Company and Fulwell 73 were not disclosed.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGabriella Sarmiento Wilson, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter known as H.E.R., is suing MBK Entertainment, the record label owned by her longtime manager Jeff Robinson, for the rights to her music catalog. H.E.R.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentChile’s entertainment industry, despite its reduced size, has grown from strength to strength as the growing number of deep-pocketed streaming platforms and content studios have sought international productions that reflect the diversity of their global audiences.“We are developing projects for different countries, in alliances with large partners and with multicultural teams, where we empower ourselves and grow our stories, so that they are more attractive when seeking financing, and analyzing different business models in each country,” said producer Macarena Cardone of Invercine.She added: “In Latin America, we have a lot of talent that tells good stories which travel universally on platforms and on television networks around the world.” Some Chilean actors, led by the ubiquitous Alfredo Castro, have mastered neutral Spanish to expand their repertoire across the region.The country’s wealth of talent, stories, locations and skilled crew has contributed, in no small part, to the explosion of content, which everyone agrees has been tremendous.Across the region, more strategic alliances are being formed to carry out projects and integrate talent from everywhere. Among the country’s top producers are Fabula, run by the Larrain brothers Juan de Dios and Pablo (“Spencer”), who are taking fiction thriller series “Santa Maria” to Conecta.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe 2022 Women in Entertainment Summit has added several notable speakers to its lineup, including Connie Britton (“The White Lotus”), Sofia Carson (“Feel the Beat,” “Descendants”), Chandler Kinney (“Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”) and Reign Edwards (“The Wilds”), Variety has learned exclusively.The actresses will all participate in fireside chats at the June 22 event, which marks WIE’s first summit since 2019 and its sixth overall.As Variety first reported earlier this week, the 2022 WIE summit’s panel topics include “how creatives keep a beloved story relevant to up and coming audiences, how media companies are expanding their offerings to meet the needs of today’s consumers, how to negotiate deals within the IP and talent rights space, and much more.” Previously announced speakers for Women in Entertainment Summit 2022 include Paul Feig, Karen Pittman and Alexandra Shipp, among dozens of other executive producers, writers, executives and stars from within the entertainment and media industries.This edition of WIE will be held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California on June 22.Founded by Renee Rossi (Relativity Ventures) and Gretchen McCourt, WIE aims to bring together women and men who are “dedicated to celebrating the empowerment of women in all areas of the entertainment industry.”“Our mission is and always has been to share knowledge from incredible women who have built successful businesses in the world of entertainment and media,” Rossi said when the return of WIE Summit was revealed.

Two top executives at an L.A.-based Latin music conglomerate were arrested by FBI agents today on charges that they conspired to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act by conducting business with a concert promoter with ties to Mexican drug cartels.

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has locked down worldwide rights to the comedy The Donor Party, toplined by Malin Åkerman (Chick Fight), Rob Corddry (The Unicorn), Erinn Hayes (Gaslit) and Jerry O’Connell (Billions). The company’s plans for the recently-wrapped pic’s release have not yet been disclosed.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBrian Gersh has been named president of Network Entertainment USA. He brings three decades of experience in the entertainment industry, having worked as an executive, agent, manager, and producer, where he has greenlit scores of film and television projects around the world.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe Women in Entertainment (WIE) Summit will return with its sixth annual event this June, taking place for the first time since 2019, Variety has learned exclusively.Founded by Renee Rossi (Relativity Ventures) and Gretchen McCourt, WIE aims to bring together women and men who are “dedicated to celebrating the empowerment of women in all areas of the entertainment industry.” Held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California on June 22, the 2022 summit with panel topics including “how creatives keep a beloved story relevant to up and coming audiences, how media companies are expanding their offerings to meet the needs of today’s consumers, how to negotiate deals within the IP and talent rights space, and much more.” The current lineup of speakers for WIE Summit 2022 include:Erika Anderson, West Coast Director, The Slate GroupCasey Kriley, Co-CEO of Magical Elves (Top Chef, Nailed It)Anjali Midha, CEO & Co-Founder of Diesel LabsTeri Weiss, Executive VP, Television Development, DreamWorks Animation;Anastasia Puglisi, Senior Vice President at Wolf Entertainment (FBI: Most Wanted, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)Dana Block, Senior Vice President of Digital Entertainment and Consumer Technology at Metro Public RelationsAlexandra Moore, Global Strategic Initiatives Leader at Amazon MusicJess Kessler, Head of Content & Creator Marketing at AudibleJennifer Brunsweiger, Senior Director of Content Marketing at ShutterstockKaitlyn Powell, VP of Talent at BrightLisa Guerrero, Investigative Journalist at Inside EditionJeanne Mau, Senior Vice President, TV Programming Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at NBCUniversalIram Bilal, Filmmaker (I’ll Meet You There)Zakiyyah Alexander, Executive

Legendary Entertainment is developing a Duke Nukem film after acquiring rights to the video game franchise from Gearbox, Deadline can confirm. Legendary will produce the feature along with Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg for Counterbalance Entertainment and Marla Studio’s Jean Julien Baronnet.

EXCLUSIVE: Dear Producer has set Liz Cardenas (7 Days), Megan Gilbride (Tower), Sabrina Schmidt Gordon (To the End) and Avril Z. Speaks (Jinn) as the recipients of its inaugural Dear Producer Award, recognizing excellence in independent producing.

EXCLUSIVE: Management-production company 3 Arts Entertainment is expanding its footprint with the launch of an office north of the border, focusing on Canadian talent, development and production.

technological doomsday. Filmmakers Brian Becker (“MLK/FBI” producer) and Marley McDonald are currently looking for American home videos from Dec.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBBH Entertainment, the entertainment development arm of creative agency BBH USA, said it named producer and development executive Ali Fazel as its new senior vice president and head of development and current programming.Fazel will report toAmani Duncan, CEO of BBH USA, and  and Rafa Rizuto, chief content officer.  Fazel will lead BBH Entertainment’s development of premium entertainment content, both branded and unbranded, for  television, feature films, documentaries and more.BBH Entertainment is behind “Exposure,” a competition series crafted for mobile devices and developed in a creative partnership between BBH Entertainment and their client Samsung. Fazel served as an executive producer on the program.