Karlovy Vary Film Festival Lineup Includes 15 Directorial Debuts, Plus Films by Established Filmmakers

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Prince Albert II of Monaco opened the 63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival Friday, accompanied by a panoply of stars led by Morgan Freeman, “SEAL Team’s” David Boreanaz and “Bridgerton’s” Simone Ashley. The opening ceremony took place under stormy skies at the Grimaldi Forum, where the world premiere of limited series “The Gray House” opened the event.

Rosario Dawson, Hayden Christensen, and Lucasfilm Creative Chief Dave Filoni were on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to discuss the “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka” this week (read our review). And while all eyes are on season two of “Ahsoka,” which Filoni says he’s writing, so it’s presumably on the way at some point, many fans are wondering what’s going on with the feature-length film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed further deals for Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,”following the North American deal with Strand Releasing and the first international sales previously announced by Variety.The film has been acquired by Nour Films in France, One From the Heart in Greece, Mezipatra in Czech Republic and Slovakia, HBO Europe in Eastern Europe, Beta Film in Bulgaria and Falcon in Indonesia, in addition to the already announced deals with Vedette in the Benelux, Karma in Spain, Trigon in Switzerland and Lev in Israel.Films Boutique is in negotiations with potential buyers in the U.K., Latin America, Germany and Japan.Additionally, New Voice Film Productions Ltd. secured distribution deals with Golden Scene for Hong Kong and Macau and Flash Forward Entertainment in Taiwan.“All Shall Be Well” is written and directed by Yeung and was produced by Yeung’s frequent collaborator Michael J.

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has acquired North American rights for filmmaker and actress Nicki Micheaux’s coming-of-age love story, Summer of Violence. The film stars Kasey Inez, Jahking Guillory, Madhulika Krishnan, Pedro Correa, and Damon Gupton, and will next appear at the Black Girls Rock! Film Festival June 21-23 in Atlanta, GA.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Another one bites the dust. Filmmaker Yann Demange (“Lovecraft Country”) is no longer set to direct “Blade,” Marvel Studios’ long-in-the-works reboot of the vampire superhero franchise set to star Mahershala Ali.

Kerry Washington‘s husband Nnamadi Asomugha just made his directorial debut with his movie The Knife at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival!

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan has boarded his acting coach Vinod Rawat‘s feature directorial debut “Pushtaini” (“Ancestral”) as a presenter. Rawat, who previously directed Season 1 of Disney+ Hotstar’s Emmy-nominated series “Aarya” alongside Ram Madhvani, has served as Roshan’s acting coach since “Kaabil” (2017). In “Pushtaini,” Rawat stars as Bhuppi, a struggling actor who is desperate to secure his last chance at stardom after he finds himself caught in an embarrassing scandal.

Tributes have been paid to the Indian media baron Ramoji Rao, who has died at the age of 87.

Selena Kuznikov The Palm Springs International ShortFest has revealed its programming lineup, with projects involving talent including Francesca Scorsese, Bella Thorne, Emma D’Arcy, Rory Culkin and Benedict Cumberbatch. This year’s 30th-anniversary ShortFest will be presented at the Regal Palm Springs from June 18-24.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor U.S. actor and producer David Boreanaz, star of hit series “Bones,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “SEAL Team,” will serve as president of the fiction jury for the Golden Nymph Awards at the 63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival, which takes place June 14-18.

Naman Ramachandran Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s “Dear Jassi” and Arati Kadav’s “Mrs” will open and close this year’s New York Indian Film Festival. Punjabi and English-language “Dear Jassi,” a tale of star-crossed lovers based on a true story, arrives in New York after a glittering festival run that began in 2023, at Toronto, where it won the Platform Prize.

EXCLUSIVE: Growing specialty distributor 3388 Films has acquired rights to Vietnamese smash Face Off 7: One Wish, and has set the weekend of June 14 to launch in numerous markets, including the U.S., Canada and the UK.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off the Cannes Film Festival where it won several awards, Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of The Sacred Fig” has been acquired by a flurry of high profile distributors in major international territories. Films Boutique, which represents the critically acclaimed political drama globally, has sold it to Lionsgate for the U.K.

K.J. Yossman Will.I.Am and “Clarkson’s Farm” executive producer, Andy Wilman are among the lineup at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival it was confirmed today. They will be joined at the festival’s 49th edition by “The Handmaid’s Tale” producer Warren Littlefield.

The Karlovy Vary Film Festival has unveiled the official selection for its upcoming 58th edition. The lineup comprises 32 films across three sections and a host of world and international premieres. Scroll down for the full list.

If Cannes has come to an end that means a slew of summer festivals is about to pop up around the globe. New York will see the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival debut next week while the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival begins on June 9.

Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a comic but devastating Brooklyn odyssey about a sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, has won the Cannes Film Festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or.Baker accepted the prize with his movie’s star, Mikey Madison, watching in the audience at the Cannes closing ceremony Saturday. The win for “Anora” marks a new high point for Baker, the director of “The Florida Project.” It’s also, remarkably, the fifth straight Palme d’Or won by indie distributor Neon, following “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Sadness” and last year’s winner, “Anatomy of a Fall.”“I don’t really know what’s happening right now,” said Baker.While “Anora” was arguably the most acclaimed film of the festival, its win was a slight surprise.

Jamie Lang As part of this year’s Variety Global Conversations at the Cannes Film Festival, representatives from the Czech Republic engaged in a lively discussion about the industry’s state of affairs and celebrated 20 years of involvement at the Marché du Film. Markéta Šantrochová, head of the Czech Film Center at the Czech Film Fund; Pavlína Žipková, head of the Czech Film Commission at the Czech Film Fund; and Petr Tichý, CEO of Barrandov Studio, participated in the talk, moderated by Variety’s Leo Barraclough. According to Zipkova, the Czech delegation wanted to make one key point clear to everyone in attendance: “If there is only one thing you need to remember from this session, it is that the Czech Film Fund production incentives scheme is open.

le town.The controversial movie “The Apprentice,” depicting the former president’s rise to fame in New York high society during the 1970s, premiered Monday at the Cannes Film Festival in France to a glamorous crowd including Cate Blanchett and Bella Hadid.The movie received a standing ovation ranging from eight to 11 minutes, according to accounts.In the drama, Sebastian Stan plays a younger Trump as he meets power lawyer and fixer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong of “Succession”) and first wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”).While his political ambitions are said to be hinted at, “The Apprentice” does not cover the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections or Trump’s four years in the White House. It also has nothing to do with the NBC reality TV series he hosted.What it does have, according to viewers, are shocks aplenty.During one cringey scene, Trump is said to get liposuction and a hair transplant.And, in another jarring moment, he violently rapes Ivana.

EXCLUSIVE: Actress Cara Santana (Daughter of the Bride) will make her directorial debut with The Shuffle, a documentary on the corruption of the addiction treatment industry, which she’s producing alongside Andrew Renzi’s North of Now.