‘House Arrest’ First Clip: Aleksey German Jr.’s Satirical Drama Screening In Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Section

Guy Lodge Film CriticLike a scene of the 1969 moon landing seen on a prison TV late in “Great Freedom” — “I thought it would be more exciting,” muses one inmate — seismic change seems less spectacular when charted against the everyday grind of life behind bars in this gripping, tender-hearted prison drama from Austrian director Sebastian Meise.

Kira Kovalenko’s Russian drama Unclenching The Fists won the Grand Prize in Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar this year.

Christopher Vourlias Mubi, the London-based streamer and theatrical distributor that’s been on a buying spree this week in Cannes, has acquired the rights for North America, U.K., and a host of other territories for Kira Kovalenko’s “Unclenching the Fists,” which took home the top prize in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section, Variety can reveal.Set in a former mining town in Russia’s North Ossetia region, “Unclenching the Fists” is the story of a young woman, played by Milana

Guy Lodge Film CriticCANNES — At a banner ceremony for female filmmakers, Russian writer-director Kira Kovalenko’s sophomore feature “Unclenching the Fists” won the top prize for best film in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival this evening, from a jury headed by British filmmaker Andrea Arnold.

EXCLUSIVE: Streamer and theatrical distributor Mubi has closed its first on-the-ground Cannes business, signing a multi-territory deal for Sebastian Meise’s second feature Great Freedom, which premiered here in Un Certain Regard.

Alexander Rodnyansky (“Beanpole,” “Leviathan,” “Loveless”), Variety can reveal.The deal is for a slate of both Russian-language and multilingual shows for Apple TV Plus, set both inside and outside Russia, and creatively led by both Russian and international writers and directors.Although the pact is with Rodnyansky’s L.A.-based AR Content, which he set up three years ago to finance the development of feature films and television, it is his production expertise and experience in Russia that

Christopher Vourlias Germany’s Sola Media has acquired sales rights across a host of territories for “Finnick,” an animated feature from leading Russian animation studio Riki Group, Variety has learned. The companies will be introducing the film to buyers during the Cannes Film Market.The CGI-animated comedy follows the adventures of 13-year-old Christine, who befriends the young prankster Finnick — one of the furry invisible beings known as Finns — in unlikely circumstances.

Ed Meza @edmezavarGerman co-productions are making a strong showing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Leos Carax’s opening film, “Annette,” Wes Anderson’s star-studded “The French Dispatch” and Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi’s “The Story of My Wife.”Fabian Gasmia’s Berlin-based Detailfilm is among the producers on “Annette,” which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.

Elvis Presley was an international star he was still able to drive around his hometown, Memphis, Tennessee, and go on dates like a normal young adult. The singer, who was just 21-years-old at the time, was on his way to becoming the Rock and Roll icon when he met his first girlfriend, Anita Wood.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterZack Snyder would like to formally introduce the Army of Thieves.The director shared first-look photos from the upcoming comedic heist film, a prequel to Snyder’s 2020 zombie thriller “Army of the Dead.” In the new film stills, Matthias Schweighöfer, returning as German safecracker Ludwig Dieter, appears alongside a squad of would-be bandits, a mismatched crew that includes “Game of Thrones” star Nathalie Emmanue, Ruby O.

Elvis Presley was drafted into the United States Military in March 1958. The star was forced to put his music career on hold and move to Friedberg, Germany to serve his country for a few years.

NHS in Scotland for nearly two years. Not one patient in Scotland has been given the go-ahead for the stem cell procedure, agreed by Holyrood, despite the country having the world’s worst rates for the degenerative disease.

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Amazon Studios has greenlit its first scripted comedy in Germany, while the streamer has also lined up an adaptation of Sebastian Fitzek’s debut novel The Therapy.

Christopher Vourlias Hype Film, the production company behind Kirill Serebrennikov’s Cannes competition title “Petrov’s Flu,” has signed a first-look deal with IVI, the largest Russian VOD platform.As part of the two-year deal, Hype Film will develop 10 and produce at least two Russian-language scripted shows exclusively for IVI, which boasts more than 59 million unique visitors per month.Vadim Sokolovsky, head of IVI Originals, said: “Hype Film is a recognizable brand name in the Russian and