Israel, U.S., U.K., Germany, Bangladesh Projects Selected at India’s Film Bazaar Co-Production Market

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor When asked how she felt about this year’s opening film at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) having been supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF), the fund’s executive director and IDFA deputy director Isabel Arrate Fernandez beamed with pride, stating it is “amazing, most of all because it’s a beautiful film.” The film in question is Olga Chernyk’s “A Picture to Remember,” which has its world premiere at IDFA, running between Nov. 8-19.

Ellise Shafer RTL Group, the European broadcasting company that owns Fremantle, reported a 6.9% drop in revenue from January to September, due in part to the “persistent weakness” of TV advertising markets. In Q3 alone, group revenue was down 10.3% to €1.6 billion, with the company saying 9.2% of this happened organically due to “timing effects at Fremantle and lower TV advertising revenue.” Due to the current advertising landscape, particularly in Germany, RTL expects that TV ad revenue will decline by a “mid-single-digit percentage” in the second half of the year, with Fremantle’s yearly revenue also tracking lower than expected because of a decrease in buyer activity.

Kim Cattrall and her boyfriend Russell Thomas are make a rare public appearance together!

The Red Sea International Film Festival, has unveiled the 26 projects selected as part of its industry-focused Red Sea Souk Market, running from December 2 to 5.

Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves and UK director Jonathan Glazer The Zone Of Interest lead the nominations in the main categories of the 36th European Film Awards which will take place in Berlin on December 9.

Bangladeshi director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is attending Mumbai Film Festival with feature-length drama Something Like An Autobiography, which is playing in the festival’s Icons: South Asia section after premiering in the Jiseok section at Busan. 

The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 25 projects selected for the sixth edition of its industry-focused Atlas Workshops, aimed at nurturing emerging Moroccan, Arab and African talent.

The minor news of the day: Lucasfilm’s “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” is finally coming to Disney+ on December 1. The final chapter in the Indiana Jones story, ‘Dial Of Destiny’ came out at the end of June and grossed $383.9 million worldwide, but failed to crack $175 million domestically and thus was viewed as a disappointment, and Disney reportedly lost $100 million on the film.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Matchbox Shots is developing a project on slain Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala. Indian rapper, singer and songwriter Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moose Wala, was a star of Punjabi-language music and cinema whose work charted on Billboard globally. His work was not without controversy – it delved into raw, unfiltered issues, making him a voice for many.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor International sales agency the Playmaker has signed a deal with Blue Finch Film Releasing to distribute the one-shot horror film “Home Sweet Home — Where Evil Lives” in the U.K. and Ireland. Thomas Sieben’s film, which made its world premiere in August at FrightFest in London, has its market premiere at AFM.

Naman Ramachandran Former Disney India head and leading producer Siddharth Roy Kapur has warned of some practices that could arise in making films for streamers. Delivering the keynote address at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival‘s Industry Connect Symposium on Monday, Kapur, who is currently basking in the success of International Emmy nominated series “Rocket Boys” for streamer SonyLIV, lauded the positives brought to the industry by the platforms but also pointed out the pitfalls.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent 2023’s American Film Market may be shaping up for “a rather quiet year,” says Martin Moszkowicz, chairman of the executive board at Germany’s Constantin Film. That said, Moszkowicz will stay in Los Angeles for around 10 days. “We have so much business there – and much of it is not related directly to the market,” he says.

Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas talked about how she was warned away from doing female-centric films when working in Hindi cinema, as well as her ambitions to expand her portfolio in the U.S., in a  conversation with fellow Indian actress Bhumi Pednekar at Mumbai Film Festival today. 

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Peter Chernin’s North Road Company has hired Amy Israel in the role of president of television. Israel was most recently the head of scripted for Showtime, though it was announced in September she would be stepping down from that role by year’s end. In her new role, Israel will oversee all of North Road’s scripted television development and production.

Amy Israel, the former Showtime exec, has officially been installed as President of Television at Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Six film projects currently at development stage have been selected to take part in a workshop session as part of mylab+@Jogja next month. The six share a common characteristic of Indonesian co-production and a recurring theme of luminescence. “This theme underscores the importance of having the distinctive light of Asian cinema arise from its own characteristics.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome Film Fest opener “There’s Still Tomorrow,” a bold period dramedy that marks the directorial debut of popular Italian actor Paola Cortellesi, has scored a slew of international sales. The film, shot in black-and-white and set in post-World War II Rome, riffs on Italy’s neorealist past, albeit with a female empowerment element angle and a contemporary A-list Italian cast.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “It’s been a really buzzy and busy market,” said Lucy Smith, director of Mipcom TV market and conference, and MipJunior, the kids TV event that preceded it, in Cannes Wednesday. More than 11,000 participants from more than 100 countries had come to the event, which runs Oct. 16-19.

EXCLUSIVE: The Israeli music festival in which hundreds of young people were killed by Hamas, providing the spark for this week’s bloody conflict, is to be spotlighted in a documentary.

Naman Ramachandran Top Indian actor and emerging producer Taapsee Pannu is on a tear with a welter of projects lined up. Pannu debuted as a producer with horror-thriller “Blurr” (2022) that she co-produced via her Outsiders Films. The company’s next, “Dhak Dhak,” which follows four women who set out for a road trip to the highest motorable pass in the world on a motorbike journey of self-discovery, went on theatrical release on Oct.