Indonesian Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim Launches $13 Million Annual Film Grant, Reveals BiFan, Udine Agreements (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Women Talking,” which won Sarah Polley an Oscar for best adapted screenplay, was this weekend named best narrative feature at the Bali International Film Festival (aka the Balinale).Ashen Nadeem’s “Crows Are White” won the feature documentary prize and “The Tone Wheels,” by Yuda Kurniawan, was named winner of the Gary L Hayes Award for Indonesian Filmmaker. The festival jury called “The Tone Wheels” “an outstanding endeavor that transported us into the backstreets of Jakarta on a captivating musical journey.” The film depicts a busking village where dreams flourish, despite the scarcity of resources and equipment.

This week marks Carers Week and Social Security Scotland is encouraging young people aged 16, 17 or 18, to check if they are eligible for the Young Carer Grant, an annual payment worth £359.65. The devolved benefit is for young people who spend an average of 16 hours each week caring for someone with a health condition who is in receipt of a disability benefit.

On-location filming of scripted TV shows in Los Angeles has ground to a near-complete halt in the fourth week of the Writers Guild’s strike, according to data compiled by FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Abel Ferrara announced in an interview with The Film Stage that his “Padre Pio” star Shia LaBeouf is currently writing a movie about Auschwitz that the two men are thinking of filming together. No other details were provided at this time. Variety has tapped LaBeouf’s manager for additional details. In Ferrara’s “Padre Pio,” which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival, LaBeouf plays the eponymous 19th century religious figure, who rose to fame in the Catholic world for exhibiting stigmata — crucifixion wounds corresponding to those on the body of Jesus Christ — before becoming a symbol of hope for southern Italians during the country’s turbulent period between the two world wars.

Major Succession finale spoilers ahead! We’re now over a few days removed from the Succession series finale and the actors are speaking out and giving answers to all of your burning questions.

Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) has unveiled the major competition selections for its 25th edition (June 9-18), which will be the first to be held in a fully physical format with international guests since before the pandemic. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Sundance Film Festival Asia, an offshoot of the Sundance Institute, is to set up camp in Taipei, Taiwan this summer. The three-day mini festival will run Aug. 18-20 and be put together in association with local organizer G2Go Entertainment. The event will showcase a handful of films curated by the Sundance Institute and host a short film competition that is open only to Taiwanese productions. Panel discussions will accompany the festival to foster artistic exchange, providing opportunities for the Taiwan film industry to connect with Sundance’s executive team, and elevating Taiwan’s image and presence in the global independent film industry. 

On-location filming in Los Angeles continues to nosedive amid the ongoing Writers Guild strike, plunging 51.5% last week compared with the same time a year ago. The WGA strike is now in its 23rd day with no signs of abating as films and TV shows shutting down production across the county.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Michel Merkt, the Monaco-based producer and consultant who’s played a key behind-the-scene role in bolstering Cannes’s profile post-pandemic, has been named honorary citizen of the city of Cannes Merkt, an AMPAS voter who has produced over 50 films, was awarded the diploma prize by Cannes Mayor David Lisnard during an intimate ceremony on May 23. Lisnard paid tribute to the Swiss-born consultant and benefactor’s crucial backing for the city’s cultural and social initiatives. In the last few years, Merkt has helped reinvigorate Critics Week, the Cannes Film Festival’s sidebar dedicated to first and second films, by financing the renovation of its venue, the Miramar theater. He also lent a precious financing hand to the Cannes Film Festival, Directors Fortnight, as well as Canneseries and helped enlist top-level executives for its industry program, on top of being involved in the city’s plans to build a college campus. He also contributed to initiatives to welcome Ukrainian refugees.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features Jewish Story Partners (JSP), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit film funding organization, has announced  its new slate of grants to 19 documentary film projects. The org, which was launched in April 2021 with support from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation, will distribute $490,000 among these independent films, all of which explore the vast and vibrant terrain of the Jewish storytelling space. The announcement coincides with Jewish American Heritage Month and a commitment from President Joe Biden’s White House administration to develop a national strategy to counter antisemitism and “address increasing awareness and understanding of both antisemitism and Jewish American heritage.” 

Christopher Vourlias Romania’s culture minister Lucian Romașcanu is confident that the country’s beleaguered cash rebate system is back on track, insisting in Cannes on Sunday that the government is committed to “repairing” a scheme that has ground to a halt in recent years. “Everyone in politics, starting with the future Prime Minister MarcelCiolacu, understands the importance of that,” said Romașcanu, outlining plans to rebuild confidence in an incentive program that faces stiff competition in the region. “There is definitely a ‘yes’ from the political world.” According to Romașcanu, the administration is now determined to clear a backlog of roughly €100 million ($108.2 million) owed to foreign productions that have lensed in the Eastern European nation since the rebate was introduced, after a host of lawsuits over outstanding payments pushed the cashback program to a breaking point.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak gave her first interview with the international press at the Cannes Film Festival where she unveiled a plan to invest €350 million ($378 million) in the film and TV industry. Abdul-Malak also addressed some hot topics that are currently being debated within the industry, such as the windowing rules for streamers, the protests over the pension reform, the rise of the far right and criticism of France’s #MeToo movement. The government-investment initiative, called the Grande Fabrique de l’Image, is meant to bolster France’s position as a leader in film, TV and video games production, studio facilities, post-production, as well as film and TV training. The funding will go to 68 projects that were selected from 175 applicants by two committees, one of which is headed by filmmaker Cedric Jimenez (“November,” “The Stronghold”). Among the selected projects are 11 studio facilities, 12 animation studios, six video games studios, five visual effects and post production houses, and 34 training programs.

France’s controversial 15- to 17-month streaming window for feature films needs to be shortened but this is not likely to happen in the immediate future, French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak told an international press briefing Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Returning as an in-person event after cancelation last year, the Shanghai International Film Festival has set out an agenda with a clear focus on China. The festival (June 9-16) will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s economic outreach and development program. With a series of press conferences and film culture roundtables, the SIFF’s Belt and Road Film Week will “bring together old friends of the alliance from previous years and new friends made this year [..] and announce an action plan for the future.”

The ongoing Writers Guild strike is continuing to take a staggering toll on films and TV shows that normally would be shooting on location in Los Angeles.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology is launching a grant scheme to support co-productions between Indonesian and international filmmakers. 

EXCLUSIVE: Banijay has taken another leap into the premium docs space with the launch of DSP Films, an offshoot of long-running UK unscripted indie DSP. The super-indie has poached Netflix’s Missing: Dead or Alive EP Graeme McAulay to run DSP Films and he will leave his current role at UK doc indie Blast Films next month.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Esai Morales is in negotiations to star in the action thriller Shadow, which XYZ Films has boarded and will introduce to buyers this week in Cannes.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Kiss frontman Gene Simmons and Gary Hamilton, chairman of Arclight Films, have launched Simmons/Hamilton Prods. to develop, finance and produce feature films. The standalone banner will produce 25 movies over an initial five-year period, with a focus on action, thriller and genre titles with global franchise potential. The company is backed by a multi-billion dollar fund manager that is providing slate financing through a revolving finance facility. Arclight Films’ CFO Brian Beckmann was responsible for closing the slate funding deal. All films created under the new company — which was first discussed five years ago, and recently firmed up — will be produced by Simmons and Hamilton, both of whom are in Cannes for the festival. The focus is to build a feature film production company, targeting original theatrical product that can be developed into franchise properties.

Requests by scripted TV production companies to film on location in Los Angeles plummeted 51% in the first week of the Writers Guild’s strike compared to the same week a year ago, according to FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.