Hit Classical Piano Documentary ‘Crescendo’ Launches at EFM (EXCLUSIVE)

Anne Whitfield, who appeared at age 15 in the 1954 Hollywood Christmas chestnut White Christmas and went on to a prolific career in episodic TV throughout the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, died February 15 at a hospital in Yakima, Washington. She was 85.

ITV's Dancing on Ice has received Ofcom complaints following Stephen Mulhern's naked stunt on Sunday night. Stephen performed a cheeky routine during the show's Sunday episode, featuring topless dancers from Magic Mike Live in London.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-set detective Series “A Remarkable Place to Die” is being launched by Banijay Rights at the London Screenings. The 4 x 90’ murder mystery was created by Screentime New Zealand and is co-produced with Real Film Berlin (Berlin, Berlin,” Netflix’s “Unorthodox”) in association with Banijay Rights. Smart and savvy detective Anais Mallory (portrayed by Chelsie Preston-Crayford) returns to her hometown, Queenstown, in South Island, New Zealand and is met with a series of startlingly different homicides.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief North American digital distributor Echelon Studios has come on board “12.12: The Day,” the highest grossing film from Korea last year. The film has been on theatrical release in North America, through 815 Pictures since last year and grossed over $1 million.

When the Oscar nominations were announced last month, it marked a watershed moment for the Documentary Feature category. All the nominated films focused on international subjects – stories from Uganda, Tunisia, Ukraine, India and Chile — and not a single American director was recognized.

J. Kim Murphy “Masters of the Air” launched with more viewers in its opening weekend than any Apple TV+ series ever has in its first season, according to the streamer. Though an exact number of viewers was not made available, that puts the epic war miniseries launch above other high-profile original titles like “Hijack,” “The Morning Show” and “Severance.” Remarkably, following the premiere of “Masters of the Air,” viewership across all of Apple TV+ climbed by 65% worldwide when compared to the previous seven-day period.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM has appointed Jung Jhong-hwan, as president of content, global business. He is expected to spearhead growth of global content production and distribution and continue the group’s multi-studio approach to business.

EXCLUSIVE: The jury for the Jodie Whittaker-backed £25,000 ($31,000) Empower Film Fund for female and non-binary filmmakers has been set.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief French shingle MK2 will handle international sales on “We Shall Be All,” a new epic from Jia Zhangke, China’s pre-eminent indie film director.Announced last year, the film has been a labor of love over more than 20 years for Jia. His previous works, including “Platform,” “Unknown Pleasures” and “Still Life,” have chronicled the rapid economic development of China and its impact on people and society.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor International sales company Iuvit Media Sales has closed multiple deals at the European Film Market in Berlin for the suspense horror slasher “Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Death and Porridge.” Buyers include Gussi Films for Latin America, Pioneer for the Philippines and Front Row for the Middle East. Directed by Craig Rees (“Annabellum,” “Whispers”) and starring Olga Solo, Abigail Huxley, Rees and Julian Amos, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Death and Porridge” is an “intelligent” horror slasher, in the vein of Wes Craven horrors, and with comparables such as “The Strangers” and “The Purge.” In this adaptation of the fairy tale, Goldilocks and the three bears live together in an isolated house in the woods.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Production firm Movierock and rights sales outfit Hive Filmworks are in advanced production on “Hear Me: Our Summer,” a Korean remake of hit 2009 romance film “Hear Me” from Taiwan. The story involves a motorbike delivery man who falls in love with a hearing-impaired younger woman. Comparing themselves with water birds and trees the pair slowly try to break through the barriers in their relationship, pursue their dreams and take things to the next level. The retread stars Hong Kyung, who has a recent string of appearances including Netflix’s “D.P,” “TV’s Revenant” and “Hero,” and the upcoming “Troll Factory.” Co-star Roh Yoon-seo has credits in “Crash Course in Romance” and “Our Blues” and is currently one of the most ubiquitous faces in Korea thanks to her position as the face of the Paris Baguette bakery and café chain. Stylistically, the adaptation aims for the feel of Iwai Shunji’s pan-Asian hit “Love Letter,” and is directed by Jo Seon-ho, who previously made “A Day.” Movierock previously produced a 2018 Korean remake of 2004 Japanese hit “Be With You.” The film is already being pre-sold to multiple territories in Asia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief On Saturday, audiences in Berlin will see the world premiere of “Above the Dust,” a Chinese-made drama that plays somewhat incongruously in the Generation Kplus section, which screens films for or about children. Whether the film plays again, and where, is moot.

Christopher Vourlias MetFilm Sales has secured international rights to “The Battle for Laikipia,” Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi’s multi-layered portrait of the conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Kenya. The film had its world premiere as part of the World Cinema Documentary section at the Sundance Film Festival. Submarine Entertainment Sales negotiated the deal with MetFilm on behalf of the filmmakers and is handling North American sales.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Culturally pluralistic and gender-diverse Taiwan is the backdrop for “The Chronicles of Libidoists,” a new film by Gilles Yang, a director whose three previous films have also explored the erotic. The story is inspired by “The Little Mermaid,” the traditional fairy tale in which a mermaid princess falls in love with a human prince. But in Yang’s hands there is a twist in that the mermaid turns out to be a boy.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asia Argento (“xXx,” “Land of the Dead”) and Melvil Poupaud (“Speed Racer,” “Laurence Anyways”) will star in French crime thriller “Stronger Than the Devil.” The project will be pitched for the first time at the European Film Market, attached to the Berlin Film Festival, by All Rights Entertainment, the Hong Kong, Paris and Los Angeles-based film sales agency which has picked up the rights. The picture, which heads into production later this month, is written and directed by Graham Guit (“Les Kidnappeurs,” “Hello, Goodbye”). The finished film is expected to be completed by the autumn.

Production is officially underway for Obsessed, a new, Broadway-bound Diane Warren bio-musical: Producers announced today that licensing deals are set for songs that will be featured in the score, including the Taylor Swift hit “Say Don’t Go.”

Naman Ramachandran Film and media company Buffalo 8 has acquired worldwide distribution rights to “Dig Me No Grave” from Djonny Chen’s prolific U.K.-based outfit Silent D Pictures. The deal was revealed at the Berlin European Film Market (EFM). “Dig Me No Grave” follows the harrowing journey of an ageing hunter who embarks on a final quest for an elusive elk.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S-Asian sales company EST N8 has picked up the international rights for “30 Minutes,” a Korean sci-fi thriller film that is currently in production. The story revolves around a middle-aged man trapped in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the Christmas Eve of his murder.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Acemaker Movieworks, the young Korean studio behind 2023 hit “Noryang: The Sea” and “A Man of Reason,” is using the Berlin Film Festival‘s European Film Market to launch crime drama “Troll Factory,” its next big budget movie. Film’s plot revolves around an investigative journalist who, while probing a story about the manipulation of public sentiment, uncovers the existence of a so-called “troll factory” and is confronted with an unbelievable truth. The movie is in post-production and recently set March 27 for its theatrical release in Korea.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Iconic German film and TV executive Jan Mojto is launching a partnership with longstanding friend and UFA head Nico Hofmann that will produce German and European series and films for the international market. They are joined in the unnamed venture by Beta producer Jan Wünschmann. The partnership was announced Wednesday, on the eve of the annual Berlin Film Festival.