‘House Of Promises’ And ‘The Wall’ Land International Homes As Distributor Beta Unveils 25-Strong Mipcom Drama Slate

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor International TV market Mipcom came back with gusto this year, but it’s not back to the level reached at its pre-pandemic peak. A total of 10,896 delegates attended this year, which is down from the peak year of 2019, when more than 13,500 delegates came to the Cannes event. MipJunior, which ran over the weekend, had 1,311 delegates this year. In 2019, there were 1,500. There were 3,100 buyers this year, compared with more than 4,700 in 2019. The largest numbers of buyers this year came from the U.S. (442), followed by the U.K. (301), France (251), Germany (242) and Spain (140). In 2019, it was U.S. (461), U.K. (450), France (423), Germany (359) and Russia (207).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent It’s pitch dark and stormy and Pelle Heikkilä, one of Finland’s biggest stars, is getting slammed by massive waves in a 10-meter-deep water tank. The shoot of “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster, is underway in Belgium at an indoor water stage. The eight-part cinematic show, which is budgeted at €15 million ($14.7 million) and is being shopped by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”) at Mipcom, charts the sinking of the MS Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people. The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson (“The Real Estate,” “Chernobyl”) and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä (“Bordertown,” “Helsinki Syndrome”), who are polar opposites, one coming from festival-friendly auteur filmmaking, the other coming from high-end commercials.

Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one has had a “halo effect” on the streamer’s other tentpoles such as The Boys and Wheel of Time, according to Studios boss Jennifer Salke.

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age drama The Fabelmans has been announced as the opening film of 44th Cairo International Film Festival, running from November 13 to 22.

BBC Studios Makes Pair Of European Hires

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based sales and co-production banner Have A Good One (HAGO), has boarded two new series, “Sex (re) Education” (“Septième Ciel”) and “Caro Nostra,” in the run up to Mipcom, the Cannes TV market. “Sex (re) Education” is a 10-part half-hour comedy series directed by Alice Vial, who won the Cesar Award in 2018 with her short “The Winkles.” The series, penned by Clémence Azincourt, Clement Marchand and Vial, follows Jacques, an pensioner who has been placed by his daughter in a retirement home. When he thinks his life is over, he meets Rose and embarks on a passionate and lustful affair, wrecking havoc in the residence. The cast includes Irene Jacob, the well-known actor of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Rouge.” Ordered by French pay TV group OCS, the show recently won best series at La Rochelle Fiction Festival and is produced by Next Episode, Henri Debeurme’s UGC-backed company.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Limonero Films, an independent boutique distributor of factual programming and documentaries, is launching a selection of documentaries and factual entertainment series at the Mipcom TV market. The titles are “Women Behind the Wheel,” produced by Dartmouth Films in the U.K., the wildlife titles “Wild Icons of Iberia” and “Heroines of the Savannah,” both by Azor Productions in Spain, “The Baby Makers,” from Mediacorp in Singapore, and “Shepherds of the Earth,” by Guerrilla Films in Finland. In “Women Behind the Wheel,” two 22 year-olds drive 3,500 miles along the Pamir highway to meet the women of Central Asia coping with the changes in their society since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Banijay Rights has pre-sold “Marie-Antoinette,” the eight-part period series, to PPS Distribution in the U.S. The series will have its North American premiere in the Spring. The deal marks the latest international deal for the show which is produced by Banijay Studios France, CAPA Drama and Les Gens. The series was commissioned by Canal +’s Creation Originale label and follows recent pre-sales to the U.K. public broadcaster BBC2 and BBC First in Australia. Created and written by Deborah Davis (“The Favourite”), “Marie Antoinette” tells the story of the avant-garde young queen, played by Emilia Schüle.

Joe Swash sweetly opened up about his wedding to Stacey Solomon during an appearance on Loose Women on Friday. The former EastEnders actor, 40, married Stacey, 33, in a stunning ceremony at their sprawling Essex home in July surrounded by their loved ones.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent On the outskirts of Paris, in a vast, industrial-looking studio in Bry-sur-Marne, the clocks have turned back to the 1770s. Opulent decor — gilded furniture, flower-adorned curtains and marble everywhere — fills the soundstage. The atmosphere is studious on the set of “Marie-Antoinette,” a lavish French-produced costume drama created, co-written and executive produced by Deborah Davis. She’s delivering a feminist take on an infamous historical figure, best-known for apocryphally advising the starving masses to eat cake. We all know how that ended. On screen, Marie-Antoinette hasn’t been treated better than she was at the guillotine, where she’s often depicted as a villain or a frivolous airhead.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent On a cobblestone-paved square in the ancient town of Tivoli, north-east of Rome, in late September, a large crew is prepping to shoot a key scene in Italian period drama “La Storia,” which will be pubcaster RAI’s biggest event show next year. Based on a bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante – whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference – “La Storia” is set during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath in Italy. The eight-episode series, being unveiled by Beta Film to buyers at Rome’s MIA content market, stars Italian A-list actor Jasmine Trinca – who earlier this year was a member of the Cannes jury – as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has been given access to the international trailer (below) for “A Thousand Lines,” by one of Germany’s most successful directors, Michael Bully Herbig (“Manitou’s Shoe”), and starring two of its leading actors, Elyas M’Barek (“Fuck You Göhte”) and Jonas Nay (“Deutschland 83”). The film opened via Warner Bros. across German-speaking Europe two weeks ago. Beta Cinema is presenting it to buyers at AFM. “A Thousand Lines” – a blend of satire, drama and comedy – is written by Hermann Florin, inspired by Juan Moreno’s “Tausend Zeilen Lüge.” It is the fictional adaptation of one of Germany’s biggest media scandals. The story centers on freelance journalist Juan Romero, played by M’Barek, who encounters inconsistencies in a cover story by award-winning reporter Lars Bogenius, played by Nay.

Manori Ravindran International Editor New York’s South Asian International Film Festival has appointed Chayan Sarkar as its new president. A filmmaker, entrepreneur and festival director, Sarkar is also the founder of the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia. He takes over from SAIFF founder Shilen Amin, who will step down as president, but will remain a member of the festival’s board of directors. Sarkar joins SAIFF as the festival enters its 19th year as a leading film festival in the U.S. for new cinema from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and within the Indian diaspora. In recent years, SAIFF has become increasingly influential as a platform for South Asian cinema, both in the U.S. and internationally. Fourteen of India’s submissions for the international feature film Oscar have had their North American premieres at the festival.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The European Work in Progress Cologne (EWIP), an annual film industry event taking place in Germany, has unveiled the lineup of its 5th edition which will showcase 28 projects selected out of 150 submissions. The event, set to take place Oct. 17-19 in the run up to the Cologne Film Festival, will hand out approximately €60,000 worth of funding and will introduce a new prize, the EWIP TorinoFilmLab Audience Design Award. All projects will be presented in a 15-minute pitching session to EWIP guests and an international jury. This year’s jury will include Olivier Barbier, head of acquisitions at mk2 films; Vanja Kaludjercic, director of the Rotterdam festival (IDFA); Julien Rejl, Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight’s new artistic director; Saralisa Volm, a filmmaker and actress; and Thanassis Karathanos, producer at Twenty Twenty Vision.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Munich-based sales agency Beta Cinema has launched the international trailer (below) for “In a Land That No Longer Exists,” which has its international premiere on Oct. 21 in the competition section of the Rome Film Festival. Aelrun Goette’s feature debut, which was released in Germany on Thursday by Tobis, is inspired by the director’s own experiences in East Germany during the late 80s, when she worked as a model for fashion magazine Sibylle, the so-called “Vogue of the East.” The action takes place in East Berlin in the early summer of 1989, a few months before the fall of the Wall. Eighteen-year-old Suzie is thrown headfirst into the vibrant fashion scene in socialist East Germany when a photograph of her ends up on the cover of Sibylle.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France tv distribution has boarded “Sweetheart” (“Chouchou”), an eight-part drama series produced by well-known Quebec-based company Passez Go. Written by Simon Boulerice, the drama show revolves around Chanelle, a 38-year-old teacher who is happily married with two children. Her life unravels after she meets Sandrick, a 17-year-old teenager who has just been transferred to her class, and falls under his charm. Chanelle tries to help Sandrick as he struggles at home with his dysfunctional mother, but their relationship turns into an illicit and passionate affair that leaves no one unscathed. The series is directed by Félix Tétreault and Marie-Claude Blouin (“Le Chalet”).

ALBANIA“A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On”Director: Gentian KociDirector Koci’s first film, “Daybreak,” was Albania’s Oscar entry in 2017; his second is “A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On,” about deaf-mute twins who also have a disease that will make them blind. Albania has submitted 15 films to the Oscars without landing a nomination or placing a film on the shortlist.ALGERIA“Our Brothers”Director: Rachid BoucharebSeven films from director Bouchareb have represented Algeria in the Oscar race, more than any other director, including three of the country’s five nominated movies.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content and XYZ Films have dropped the trailer for “Tropic,” Edouard Salier sci-fi drama which world premiered at Fantastic Fest and will next play in competition at Sitges on Oct. 9. Penned by Salier and Mauricio Carrasco, the film follows Lázaro and Tristán, two twin brothers and best friends who are training together for the Astronaut Academy entrance tests. One day, Tristán is contaminated with some mysterious residue which makes him monstrous physically and weakened mentally. This disaster forces Lázaro to let go of how he remembers his brother and learn to love him as he is now, in a world where there is no room for monsters.

EXCLUSIVE: Hulu is adding some new voices to its upcoming animated comedy Koala Man.