Alice Diop’s Saint Omer has been selected as France’s entry to the best international film category.
05.09.2022 - 18:59 / deadline.com
International spending on French TV rocketed by 38.8% last year to €678M, with a huge increase in studios taking advantage of the nation’s tax rebate, according to Unifrance’s annual French TV Export report delivered at the body’s Biarritz Rendez-Vous this afternoon.
Investment in projects that used the Tax Rebate for International Production (TRIP) more-than doubled to €302.7M (the euro and dollar are virtually equal at present), while sales and pre-financing of French shows rose by 6% to €375.9M. In years gone by, this latter figure has tended to be far higher than the TRIP number.
The record figures were reflective of a year in which things started returning to normal following the damage inflicted by the Covid pandemic, while demonstrating a French TV creative community in rude health.
Foreign pre-sales in French content crossed the €100M mark for the first time, another record, while pre-sales of drama rose sharply to €45.5M and foreign contribution to co-productions hit its highest number for two decades.
The likes of TF1/RTS 1’s High Intellectual Potential and Canal+’s Paris Police 1900 were flagged as success stories.
“The figures show French production is attractive for all genres and we can be proud of it,” said Emmanuelle Jouanole, the President of SEDPA, France’s union of TV distribution companies.
Delivering the figures in a press conference in the past hour, Jouanole said they are testament to major changes in buyer activity, with more streamers taking worldwide rights to shows.
“These platforms really do breath life into this market,” she added. “Moving rights worldwide has big international scope and tends to have a strong impact on distribution. We are working more and more upstream, which is good for producers
Alice Diop’s Saint Omer has been selected as France’s entry to the best international film category.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Films du Losange has closed a raft of major deals on Kasja Naess’s animated feature “Titina” which is produced by the teams behind the Oscar-nominated film “The Triplets of Belleville” and Oscar-winning short “The Danish Poet.” “Titina” will world premiere at Animation Is Film Festival, which takes place Oct. 21-23, and is produced by GKids, in collaboration with Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Variety. Budgeted at $8.5 million, the Norwegian animated movie was produced by Mikrofilm (“The Danish Poet”) and Vivi Film (“The Triplets of Belleville”). The film tells the real-life story of a fox terrier that accompanied her master on an expedition to the North Pole in an air balloon in the 1920’s. It will be released in Norway by Norsk Film Distribusjon, and in France by Les Films du Losange.
EXCLUSIVE: French director Alice Diop’s breakout feature Saint Omer has secured distribution in a raft of territories for Paris-based Wild Bunch International (WBI) following its Venice Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize win.
Maha Haj’s drama Mediterranean Fever, which world premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard this year, has been selected as Palestine’s official entry in the best international film category.
Clayton Davis Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday. LAST UPDATED: Sept. 20, 2022 CATEGORY COMMENTARY: A large wave of official submissions have been announced with some expected and a few surprising choices. Some early favorites are already out of the running after not being chosen by their respective countries. Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show” will represent India instead of the global box office smash “RRR” from S.S. Rajamouli, while Monica Stan and George Chiper’s “Immaculate” will define Romania in the race instead of Cristian Mungiu’s “R.M.N.” The Telluride and TIFF hit “Godland” from Hlynur Pálmason was also passed over for “Beautiful Beings” from Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Naman Ramachandran AGC International, the international sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, has revealed a raft of pre-sales on Richard Linklater’s “Hitman” and Anna Kendrick’s “The Dating Game.” “Hitman” will begin production in New Orleans in early October and “The Dating Game” in Vancouver later the same month. “The Dating Game,” which marks Kendrick’s directorial debut, tells the chilling true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala, who appeared on popular U.S. dating program “The Dating Game” — and was selected to go on a date with contestant Cheryl Bradshaw (to be played by Kendrick) — before his grisly crimes were ultimately exposed.
AGC International, the international sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s independent content studio AGC Studios, has secured a raft of pre-sales on Richard Linklater’s Hitman and Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut The Dating Game, both of which will enter production in October.
Liza Foreman Backing a film in which Johnny Depp will play French King Louis XV is what Wild Bunch International head Vincent Maraval describes as part of the risk taking that is essential to this business. In a keynote interview with CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland at San Sebastian’s first Creative Investors Conference on Monday, Maraval discussed his 23 years in the business – failing to bet on “Black Swan,” but going for it with Depp’s first film since the Amber Heard trial. “The film [“Jeanne du Barry”] is that sometimes we need to take a risk, and this risk is much higher,” said Maraval. “We are doing Johnny Depp playing Louis XV. People said don’t do a movie with him, but we liked it. I remember the discussion we had with the producer behind it who said: ‘Do you think we are doing something stupid?’ I said: ‘Probably, but what’s left if not?”
The Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF) has announced its first 15 feature titles. These films are part of the Special Presentation section and will be followed by a full schedule of competition films, short films, panels and events. SFiFF starts October 19 and will run through October 23.
Good afternoon Insiders. Max Goldbart here and as the world prepares for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, which has dominated headlines this week, I’ll take you through the past few days in international TV and film.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios, has acquired English language adaptation rights to TF1’s hit detective show “HIP (High Intellectual Potential).” The U.S. adaptation is currently in development, and a showrunner, writing team and cast will be announced at a later stage. The original series, created by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, Stéphane Carrié and Nicolas Jean, and starring Audrey Fleurot (“Intouchables”) and Mehdi Nebbou (“Serial (Bad) Weddings”), has been one of the most successful French-language shows on French TV in the last 10 years. Produced by Mediawan-owned Septembre Productions, and Itinéraire Productions, a UGC company, the series has been sold to more than 105 territories and has garnered more than 175 million views globally to date. A Czech and Slovakian version have already been filmed for Nova and Markiza respectively and are expected to launch soon.
EXCLUSIVE: Tippett Studio and Ultra 8 Pictures today announced that Phil Tippett’s directing feature debut Mad God has sold to a host of key international territories following a theatrical run in the US.
EXCLUSIVE: Tunisia has submitted Erige Sehiri’s bucolic coming-of-age tale Under The Fig Trees, about a group of teenagers working as fig pickers over the summer, as its entry for the best international film Oscar.
Selome Hailu Fox has given a series order to “Farmer Wants a Wife,” a dating series based on an unscripted format developed by Fremantle. The series will follow farmers across the nation looking for love with someone who will embrace their remote country lifestyle. They will be matched with single women who’ve given up on dating in big cities and are looking for a true connection with a farmer. The news came ahead of the network’s presentation at the Television Critics Association’s virtual summer 2022 press tour. The original “Farmer Wants a Wife” debuted in 20018 on the U.K.’s ITV, though different versions have aired in 32 countries including Australia, France and even the U.S. for a short run on the CW in 2008.
The UK TV boom that brought you the likes of Netflix’s The Crown may be slowing, with producer trade body Pact’s latest Census showing the lowest level of international TV revenue since 2017 and streamer spend dropping by £50M ($57.7M).
Sir Elton John and David Furnish have been making the most of the last days of summer with their sons, Zachary and Elijah.MORE: Elton John posts moving tribute to Princess Diana on 25th anniversary of her passingThe family spent last week in the south of France onboard a yacht with famous friends, including David Walliams. But now it's back to work for the couple – and back to school for their boys.
Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter After introducing the project at MipTV earlier this year, distributor Newen Connect is bringing its crime thriller series “Syndrome E” to the Unifrance Rendez-Vous, the international sales event for French shows in Biarritz, South-West France, which runs Sept. 4-8. “Syndrome E” is the first TV series adapted from the work of international best-selling thriller writer and screenwriter Franck Thilliez. The French author was the fourth most read writer in France in 2020, with more than 7 million books sold in France and translated in more than 20 countries. “Syndrome E” is the first TV series adapted from international best-selling thriller writer and screenwriter Franck Thilliez. The French author was the fourth most read writer in France in 2020, with more than 7 million books sold in France and translated in more than 20 countries.
Rami Malek is enjoying a day out with girlfriend Lucy Boynton.