José ‘Pepe’ Bastón’s Elefantec Global Adapts IP From Spanish-Language Comedy Channel Enchufe.tv (EXCLUSIVE)

Anna Marie de la Fuente Vincent Maraval’s Goodfellas has seized the worldwide sales rights to Galapagos adventure doc “Lions of the Sea,” which wrapped principal photography in mid-January. “Sea” is the latest from Ecuadorian explorer-filmmaker Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador, best known by his nom de cinéma, Jamaicanoproblem, and whose film “Son of Man” was Ecuador’s official selection for the 2019 Academy Awards.

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to Copa 71, a documentary about the pioneering “Unofficial Women’s World Cup” that created a sensation in 1971 but has since been virtually erased from history. Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine (Billie) directed the film, which is executive produced by tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams and soccer star Alex Morgan.

Welcome to ElectionLine’s A View From Abroad series, in which we speak to media figures who don’t live in America, but keep a close eye on its politics. Every few weeks, these smart observers will provide a unique perspective on what promises to be a fraught and unpredictable campaign for the White House. This week, our interview is with Matt Frei, who serves as an anchor and Europe editor for Channel 4 News. He is nominated for the network presenter prize at the Royal Television Society Journalism Awards, which take place on February 28.

Naman Ramachandran “Harley” director Jean-Cosme Delaloye has wrapped production on a documentary celebrating pioneering Detroit techno music producer Carl Craig. “Desire: The Carl Craig Story” is structured as an intimate portrait of Craig and an ode to his beloved Detroit. With Detroit’s decline and recovery as a backdrop, the film follows the career of producer whose genre-defying techno has been performed to jazz enthusiasts at the Montreux Jazz Festival and in the premier classical auditoriums around the world, including Carnegie Hall.

JustJared.com has an exclusive new clip of Dylan Sprouse and Virginia Gardner‘s new movie!

Anna Marie de la Fuente Netflix Mexico has unveiled a rousing new slate in production this year that includes the series debut of Luis Estrada (“¡Que viva México!”), a new pic from Rodrigo Garcia (“Familia”), another series from hit-maker José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela (“Who Killed Sara?”) and “La Reina del Sur”’s Kate del Castillo unusually toplining a comedy. Also leading the pack is series “Gringo Hunters,” produced by Woo Films and Redrum in co-production with Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment in association with The Washington Post.

Mexican soap actress Helen Rojohas died at the age of 79 after battling liver cancer.The actress was one of the most successful on Mexican TV who started out as a model during the sixties. She made her film debut in 1970 on The Suicide Club, and played Luciana Duval in "El Privilegio de Amar" - a role that generated critical acclaim. Helen Rojo passed away at her home in Mexico City, according to TV network Foro TV.

Holly Jones Far-out cineaste Santiago Mohar Volkow (“Los Muertos”) will deliver his fourth feature “A History of Love & War” (“Una Historia de Amor y de Guerra”) to audiences at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. A viscally ludicrous examination of Mexico’s colonial history and the duplicitous nature of high-wealth, the film screens as part of the Harbor strand, dedicated to a wide range of contemporary narratives.

Justin Timberlake’s comeback isn’t going as planned…

Salma Hayek is one of the many celebrities that takes advantage of throwback Thursday, and this week she shared a picture dating back at least 30 years. Taking to Instagram, the 57-year-old actress shared a photo from the 1980s where she posed alongside one of her cousins named Arturo. The Frida star captioned the photo, “My cousin Arturo and I in the 80s #tbt #80s #hairstyle #shorthair #vintage #hairgoals.” Hayek, who recently took in Pompeii’s history, wore an amazing fur coat, white shirt, and jeans in the throwback.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix has picked up worldwide rights to “The Imaginary,” a currently-on-release Japanese animation film from producer Studio Ponoc. “Studio Ponoc is thrilled to bring our storytelling and innovative hand-drawn, hand-painted animated films to all audiences, and in particular to children and their families to enjoy together, around the world on Netflix,” said Nishimura Yoshiaki, Ponoc founder and former Studio Ghibli producer. The film is directed by Momose Yoshiyuki, who has credits on Ponoc’s 2017 title “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” and others on Ghibli’s “Spirited Away,” “Princess Mononoke” and “Porco Rosso.” Adapted from a novel by A.F. Harold, with a screenplay by Nishimura, the film “portrays the depths of humanity and creativity through the eyes of young Amanda and her imaginary companion, Rudger.

Naman Ramachandran Award-winning artist Justin Anderson’s debut feature “Swimming Home” has its world premiere in competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam. Variety has secured access to the first clip from the film. The film, an adaptation of Deborah Levy’s 2012 Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel, centers on poet Joe (Christopher Abbott) and war photographer Isabel (Mackenzie Davis), whose marriage is dying when Kitti (Ariane Labed), a naked stranger found floating in the pool at their sunny holiday villa in Greece, is invited to stay.

A great movie is usually filled with wonderful writing, beautiful cinematography, and incredible performances. But to really rise above and become something special, a film must have a ton of emotion and heart.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico City-based Endemol Shine Boomdog has seized the adaptation rights to “La Reina del Sur” author Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s novel, “Revolution” (“Revolución”) with Kate del Castillo’s Cholawood on board as executive producers. Del Castillo, who plays the titular role in the hit Spanish-language adaptation of “La Reina del Sur” will also star in the upcoming series based on the Mexican revolution.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In an exclusive interview with Variety, Ronald Day, Telemundo’s president of entertainment & content strategy, drilled down on what has made action-packed series “Lord of the Skies” (“El Señor de los cielos”), the company’s longest-running Super Series franchise and a bonafide hit. With Season 9 set to premiere Feb.

Anna Marie de la Fuente A bio-series about iconic ranchera singer Chavela Vargas starring “La Reina del Sur” lead Kate del Castillo is in the works. Colombia’s Caracol Televisión and indie Miracol Media are co-producing “Chavela,” which will trace the tumultuous life and career of the legendary singer.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Ben Lobato, co-showrunner of Alice Braga-starrer “Queen of the South,” a top-three Nielsen ratings performer for USA Network, has boarded “Hot Sur,” a fast-moving thriller set up at Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula and at Fremantle Mexico, the burgeoning Mexican production hub of the global production-distribution giant. Lobato will showrun the TV series, which will be helmed by Gabriel Ripstein, writer-director of acclaimed Mexican Amazon Original “An Unknown Enemy.” Shaping up as one of the biggest new projects being brought on the market at Content Americas, “Hot Sur” will be presented at Content Americas Copro Pitch on Tuesday, one of the TV market and forum’s industry centerpieces. In it, Maria Paz, an undocumented Mexican immigrant looking after her bipolar sister, becomes a fugitive after being falsely accused of murder.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Latin America is about to get an array of new thematic channels, thanks to a strategic partnership between Canal+ Group’s Thema America and SPI Int’l. SPI Int’l’s popular channels FunBox UHD, FilmBox Arthouse, Gametoon, FightBox, DocuBox, Fast&FunBox, FashionBox, Erox, Eroxxx, and 360TuneBox, will be distributed across the region via Thema America, which will represent and distribute the channels.

EXCLUSIVE: Diego Boneta (Luis Miguel: The Series) and Martha Higareda (Queens on the Run) are set to star and executive produce the new erotic thriller film Follow for Amazon Studios from award-winning collaborators Fred Berger (La La Land) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (The Bikeriders). This is the first project from Boneta’s production banner Three Amigos’s overall deal with Amazon Prime.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level.