Israel Defies International Film Community By Signing Filmmaking Pact With Russia

Naman Ramachandran Billie Piper, “The Great British Bake Off” and “Derry Girl” have landed nominations at the 2023 International Emmy Awards. The nominations, which were unveiled on Tuesday by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, are across 14 categories and span 20 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the U.K.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK Jewish Film Festival (November 9 – 22) has revealed its lineup of 2023 gala screenings and premieres, including special presentations of the Anthony Hopkins pic One Life and Mario Bellochi’s Cannes competition title Kidnapped. 

EXCLUSIVE: Jack Thorne’s heartwrenching BBC drama Best Interests starring Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen has sold to a wealth of territories.

A first-time filmmaker has claimed the top prize at the 19th Annual Camden Film Festival in Maine, one of the country’s foremost all-documentary festivals.

Ukraine has selected the Sundance competition title 20 Days In Mariupol, from journalist-turned-filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.

Organizers of the Camden International Film Festival in coastal Maine are moving ahead with regular programming today, as Hurricane Lee – downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone – aims further north towards Nova Scotia.

Cody Rigsby cemented his status as everyone’s favorite at-home personal trainer when Peloton became one of the most popular workouts during the pandemic and now we’re finally getting the chance to learn more about him through his new book!

Ayelet Menahemi’s family comedy Seven Blessings swept the board at Israel’s Ophir Awards on Sunday evening, triumphing in nine categories including in best film.

Tim Chan If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It’s a big night for UFC fans, as Israel Adesanya (a.k.a. “The Last Stylebender”) defends his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293.

Prince Harry teased a “competition” with his wife Meghan Markle at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games 2023, ahead of their reunion. During his opening speech, Harry revealed that the Duchess of Sussex will be cheering for Nigeria this year after discovering that she is of Nigerian descent.

Fauda, the breakout Israeli thriller drama, is unexpectedly returning for a fifth season, Deadline has confirmed with sources.

With Tatami, Golda helmer Guy Nattiv and Holy Spider star Zar Amir have crafted what’s billed as the first feature co-directed by an Israeli and an Iranian. The film, which bowed in the Horizons section here in Venice, is a sports drama with stakes that are far higher than winning or losing a match.

When British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi was watching the UK media coverage of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011, it had a profound impact on her. At the time, Shalit was an Israeli occupation soldier who had been abducted in 2006 by Palestinian freedom fighters and the first Israeli soldier to be captured by Palestinians since 1994. Shalit was eventually released five years later in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian political prisoners, including hundreds of which were women and children. 

Kanye West has shared a preview of a new song called ‘Israel’, in which he raps about meeting the devil.The track is set to appear on ‘Dying Near A Charger’, the new album from Al Be Back, and comes after Ye was reportedly ready to drop new music “imminently”.On the preview of ‘Israel’, Kanye raps: “Tell me right now is it real / Y’all be talking about the devil I seen a close-up / Every night I could’ve told everything they told us.“They was talking about the style I said n***a Moses / Ain’t nobody pardon [Larry] Hoover but we got the closest.”Watch a preview of the track below.Albe Back previews "Israel" featuring Ye pic.twitter.com/OX6O8O5vmQ— Donda Times (@dondatimes) September 6, 2023West was declared ‘Antisemite Of The Year’ by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism in response to his anti-Semitic comments in the last year. He has been widely condemned by many figures in the entertainment world, as well as several political figures and organisations that represent Jewish communities.

Christopher Vourlias Three decades ago, just a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in a new era of hope and promise in Europe, Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland made the historical drama “Europa, Europa,” which follows the harrowing ordeal of a Jewish teenager who goes to impossible lengths to survive the Holocaust. The title, says Holland, was meant to express “the duality of the European tradition: Europe of our aspirations, the cradle of culture and civilization, the rule of law and democracy, human rights, equality and fraternity, but on the other hand, Europe as the cradle of the worst crimes against humanity, selfishness and hatred.” Throughout her career, the three-time Academy Award nominee has found inspiration in “the great and tragic subjects of the 20th century,” powered by the conviction that “history is relevant, that what happened is relevant,” Holland tells Variety.

Israel has signed a filmmaking cooperation deal with Russia. The deal, which is understood to have been in the works for fifteen years, was inked by Israel’s Russian ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi and Russian culture minister Olga Lyubimova. “Now colleagues from Russia and Israel can exchange experiences, create films together, and work with film archives,” Lyubimova said in a post on the social network Telegram.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kirill Serebrennikov, the celebrated Russian playwright and director whose last three films competed at Cannes, is set to create and direct a sensual, gothic TV adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera,” Gaston Leroux’s 19th century novel. Serebrennikov’s TV debut, the subversive six-part miniseries will be shot in English and is being produced by Aude Albano at Pathé, in association with Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios.

K.J. Yossman editor Michael Winterbottom’s production company Revolution Films is opening an Italian outpost, Variety can exclusively confirm. The production outfit, known for films and TV series including the Boris Johnson-inspired “This England” and the upcoming TIFF contender “Shoshana,” is in the process of setting up an office in the country, say sources with knowledge of the expansion.

EXCLUSIVE: Sipur, the Israeli studio behind North Road-backed Bad Boy and award-winning doc series The Devil’s Confession, has struck a multi-year deal with local network Reshet13.

Marta Balaga “Holy Spider” breakout Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv are set to make history with “Tatami,” the first feature co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker. Premiering in Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, “Tatami” shows Iranian female judo fighter Leila (played by “The L Word: Generation Q” star Arienne Mandi) heading to the world championships with her coach Maryam (Ebrahimi). Soon, they receive an ultimatum: in order to avoid squaring off against an Israeli opponent, Leila should immediately fake an injury and drop out.