Lumière’s International Classic Film Market Celebrates 10th Edition With Focus on Spanish Cinema, Distribution, New Territories, Education

Lise Pedersen The head of the venerable Il Cinema Ritrovato festival and new president of the Rome Film Fest, Gianluca Farinelli, has opened the 10th edition of the Lumière Festival’s Classic Film Market.   Kicking off the keynote, Farinelli was asked how he reconciles his love of classic cinema with his new role as head of the Rome Film Fest, which runs Oct. 13–23.   “Fundamentally, what touches me with heritage films, my passion and love for that cinema, is that sometimes it can speak to you as if the creator was contemporary,” Farinelli said.  “I’ve never considered contemporary and classic cinema separately – I have always seen them as a whole. I love cinema of all eras,” added the man who co-founded Il Cinema Ritrovato in 1986, one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals dedicated to the history and preservation of cinema.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Chiney Ogwumike has big plans after striking a new deal with ESPN that extends her stay there and is certain to expand her presence. The 6′ 4″ Los Angeles Sparks forward is gearing up to start calling NBA games for ESPN, adding to her regular presence on “NBA Today” and “NBA Countdown.” She has many other duties, including a thriving career in the WNBA, where she was the first overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft from Stanford University, and the 2014 WNBA Rookie of the Year and a two-time WNBA All-Star. She is also the vice president of the WNBA Players Association. “We don’t have many women analysts outside of Doris Burke calling NBA games,” says Ogwumike, in an interview, adding: “That’s the next challenge for me. I’ve called women’s basketball games. I know how to call a basketball game, but I like to make sure to master my craft before I jump into another one.”

EXCLUSIVE: Sonoro, the podcast company behind series such as Stephanie Beatriz’s Tejana and Rainn Wilson’s Toxicomanía, is eyeing international TV and film adaptations of its audio series.

Is there a better way to prove the virtue of the cinematic experience than to get 5,000 people on their feet giving a film a standing ovation?  Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Fremaux did just that on the opening night of his 14th Lumière Film Festival in Lyon with Louis Garrel’s romantic comedy “The Innocent.”  The movie played in the jam-packed Halle Tony Garnier before a star-studded crowd, including Garrel and his cast, Noémie Merlant and Roschdy Zem, as well as Sebastián Lelio, Costa Gavras, Leila Bekhti, Marina Fois, Lee Chang-dong, Nicole Garcia, Sabine Azema and Damien Bonnard. 

Lise Pedersen At a time when heritage cinema is booming – thanks to outstanding progress in conservation standards and a growth in demand – Lyon’s Lumière heritage film festival Lumière is playing a leading role in uncovering long-forgotten cinematic gems.  “Dans la Nuit” (“In the Night”), widely considered one of the last, if not the last major French silent film, is one of them. It is the only film shot by French actor Charles Vanel, perhaps best remembered for his role as a desperate truck driver in Henri-Georges Clouzot’s acclaimed “The Wages of Fear,” which won both the Golden Bear and the Palme d’Or in 1953. Vanel also stars in the film, alongside Russian-French actress Sandra Milovanoff, who became a silent film era casualty as her Slavic accent was considered unsuitable for talkies. 

Ed Meza @edmezavar A restored version of Iván Zulueta’s ground-breaking 1979 film “Arrebato” (“Rapture”) is screening at the Lumière Festival’s International Classic Film Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, thanks to Los Angeles distributor Altered Innocence and Madrid’s Mercury Films. The cult film, considered a milestone in Spanish cinema from the post-Franco years, is seen as metaphor for how directors can be consumed by filmmaking. It centers on José, a frustrated low-budget horror movie director trying to complete a film while struggling with drug addiction. When he receives a package from past acquaintance Pedro — a Super-8 film reel and audiotape – José soon finds himself sucked back into the eccentric young man’s vampiric orbit.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s MIA, a market dedicated to international TV series, feature films, animation and documentaries, wrapped its eighth edition on Saturday on a positive note boasting a 20% rise in attendance compared with 2021, having attracted more than 2,400 registered industry execs from 60 countries, more than half of which from Italy. However, the pandemic was still limiting travel last year, which makes comparisons difficult. The mood was undoubtedly upbeat in the halls and terraces of central Rome’s Palazzo Barberini – which besides being Italy’s national ancient art gallery is also the market’s main hub – and in the adjacent state-of-the-art Cinema Barberini movie theater during five days of curated dealmaking and dozens of panels and project pitching sessions involving 70 TV, film, doc and animation projects.

A24’s Close, which won the Grand Prix in Cannes, has picked up another accolade, capturing the jury prize for top narrative film at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Atlanta, GA – A first and final face-off between Georgia Senate candidates Friday night ended with each man hoping it was enough to bring undecided voters into their corners to avoid a runoff.  The long-awaited debate between Senator Raphael Warnock and former professional football star Herschel Walker touched on a wide range of issues, including inflation – the top issue for Georgia voters at 25%, according to the latest Fox News Poll. Sen. Warnock said, "[Walker] said he would not have voted for the Inflation Reduction Act and I think he should tell the people of Georgia why he thinks they should have expensive insulin and why the pharmaceutical companies should be able to charge us whatever they like." Walker bit back quickly, saying, "I believe in reducing insulin, but at the same time, you've got to eat, right?" He then said, "you have to get food prices down and you've got to get gas down, so they can go get insulin." In perhaps one of the most unusual moments of the night, Walker pulled out a prop when his opponent brought up a controversy that surfaced early on in the campaign.

Christopher Vourlias The 14th edition of the Lumière Film Festival, a week-long celebration of classic films that’s one of the world’s leading heritage cinema events, will take place Oct. 15-23 in the host city of Lyon, birthplace of the brothers and filmmaking pioneers who lend the festival its name. The event, which is headed by Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux, includes a wide-ranging lineup of tributes, retrospectives and movie screenings, including newly restored classics and works that have never been shown before, alongside a program of discussions and masterclasses. Running parallel to the festival is the influential Intl. Classic Film Market (MIFC), which brings together distributors, exhibitors, streaming platforms, broadcasters, restoration experts and other industry professionals involved in the business of heritage cinema.

Deadline confirmed on Tuesday.The sci-fi flick was based on Jean-Claude Forest’s French comic book series and starred Fonda, now 84, as a glamorous futuristic space astronaut as she battles evil across the cosmos.Roger Vadim directed the picture over 50 years ago and while the movie originally wasn’t a box office hit, it became a cult classic over the years.The film earned much praise in the United Kingdom, and it became the year’s second-highest-grossing film. A director, writer and a full cast list have yet to be announced. John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O’Shea, Marcel Marceau and Claude Dauphin also starred alongside Fonda in “Barbarella.”The “White Lotus” star is currently has several projects under her belt, including a supportive role in the “Spider-Man” spinoff, “Madame Web.”Sweeney, who just launched a production company of her own, also recently finished shooting the movie “National Anthem” with singer Halsey.The Washington-born actress caused a stir earlier this year when she claimed “they don’t pay actors like they used to” — despite her Emmy nomination, starring roles in upcoming movies and her first $3 million mansion.However, in August, she spoke to IndieWire at length about her growing career and that she feels that she has an array of options when picking her roles.

Ed Meza @edmezavar U.S. streaming service Topic has inked an exclusive U.S. and Canadian rights deal with Germany’s Beta Film for four European crime series ahead of this year’s Mipcom TV programming mart in Cannes. Dedicated to crime and suspense, Topic, part of First Look Entertainment, picked up the third season of critically acclaimed Austrian-German series “Pagan Peak”; Finnish title “Helsinki Syndrome”; “Silent Road” from Greece; and Croatian-Ukrainian co-production “The Silence.” The agreement also includes renewals of Italian political thriller “1992” and follow-up seasons “1993” and “1994.” Described as Italy’s “House Of Cards,” the show  examines how Italian politics were shaken to the core by a major criminal investigation against widespread corruption in the 1990s.

Manori Ravindran International Editor New York’s South Asian International Film Festival has appointed Chayan Sarkar as its new president. A filmmaker, entrepreneur and festival director, Sarkar is also the founder of the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia. He takes over from SAIFF founder Shilen Amin, who will step down as president, but will remain a member of the festival’s board of directors. Sarkar joins SAIFF as the festival enters its 19th year as a leading film festival in the U.S. for new cinema from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and within the Indian diaspora. In recent years, SAIFF has become increasingly influential as a platform for South Asian cinema, both in the U.S. and internationally. Fourteen of India’s submissions for the international feature film Oscar have had their North American premieres at the festival.

Nick Clement Celebrating its 10th year as a major east coast destination for cinema lovers, the Middleburg Film Festival, held in scenic Middleburg, Virginia from October 13th to 16th, continues to highlight an outstanding selection of titles while presenting informative special events and forums. “We’re extremely excited because this year is a true milestone, and it’s a chance to celebrate how far we’ve come as a group, and to celebrate all of the filmmakers who have helped to make the festival a success. We cater to true cinephiles, so it’s not unusual for people to see 10 films over the course of the weekend. And because the festival draws a great mix of Washington DC influencers and people in the film industry, there’s lots of tremendous insight being shared before and after screenings,” says Susan Koch, Executive Director.

Richie Anderson has been revealed as the second celebrity to depart the Strictly dance floor. After the second public vote, the 34-year-old TV and radio personality found himself up against Fleur East, 34, in the dance-off. Richie, also 34, then performed his Lion King routine with partner Giovanni Pernice for the second time after Saturday evening’s live show.The pair danced their head-turning samba to Hakuna Matata from the much-loved Disney movie.