Max Goes Glocal in Latin America, Launches Feb. 27 (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: New York-based distributor Metrograph Pictures has acquired North American rights to French director Jérémy Clapin’s sci-fi drama Meanwhile on Earth following its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama section last month.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Tyla has canceled her upcoming North American tour, citing a longstanding injury that has worsened over time. The South African singer, who rose to prominence last year with her single “Water,” was scheduled to kick off her Tyla Tour on March 21 in Oslo, Norway, with eight international dates on the itinerary before she intended to swing back Stateside.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Bruno Dumont’s “The Empire,” a sci-fi satire starring Anamaria Vartolomei (“Happening”), Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!”), Lyna Khoudri (“The Three Musketeers”) and Fabrice Luchini. “The Empire” just world premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Jury Prize.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Magnolia Pictures and Participant have partnered to jointly acquire North American rights to “The Grab,” a new documentary from “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows journalists from The Center for Investigative Reporting as they work high-profile sources and utilize a cache of secret data to uncover the money and influence being used by countries, corporations and members of the uber-elite to control the planet’s most vital resources.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor The National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Netflix have announced the third cohort for their Women of Color Incubator — the finalists were chosen from a pool of over 100 applications. The 2023 class of filmmakers are Sonia Gonzalez (“Heartbreak in Another Tongue”), Michelle Salcedo (“Bye Bye Barbarito”), Jackie! Zhou (“Good Boy Banjo”), Lorena Duran (“Last Day Home”) and Fabiola Andrade (“Natural Selection”). Gonzalez is a Mexican-American writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles.

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran unscripted agent and producer Bill Thompson, former Head Of Unscripted Television at Verve, is launching his own management and production company, Artists Group | Unscripted.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, and James Farrell, the L.A.-based VP of international originals at Prime Video, flew to Madrid this week, with the world premiere of “Red Queen” (“Reina Roja”), the series adaption of the first book in Juan Gómez-Jurado’s hit trilogy, taking place on Monday night. The streamer is rolling off the record-breaking finale of its first weekly live entertainment show “Operación Triunfo,” and has revealed that the top three of the the ten most-watched Spanish Originals of 2023 – “My Fault,” “Awareness” and “Los Farad” – have received on average 80% of streams outside of Spain, reaching a milestone for the international reach of Prime Video’s non-English language content.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Sundance queer drama “Sebastian,” directed by up-and-coming Finnish-British director Mikko Mäkelä, has been bought by Kino Lorber for U.S. distribution, along with a string of international buyers. Represented in international markets by LevelK, the film made its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Germany’s Beta Film is introducing at the London TV Screenings the first episode of “Maxima,” a six-part drama about the love story between future Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and the then Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. The series is produced by Millstreet Films “The Neighbors”), with Videoland (RTL Netherlands) holding Dutch broadcasting rights.

Thania Garcia Los Angeles-based duo the Driver Era is hitting the road for a 17-city tour across North America. With over three albums to date, brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch will again begin touring on April 2 in Pittsburgh’s Roxian Theatre and hit venues in New York, New Jersey, Quebec and more before wrapping in Toronto on May 8.

Naman Ramachandran MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Paramount Global and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have partnered on “In Bloom,” a short film anthology focusing on gender equity. Directed by emerging female filmmakers from Nigeria, Kenya, India, the U.S. and Brazil, the anthology addresses a range of issues including period poverty, child marriage, gender-based violence, HIV self- stigma, family planning and women’s economic empowerment.

Alex Ritman “La Cocina,” the Rooney Mara-starring drama that recently bowed in competition at the Berlinale, has been acquired for most international territories. HanWay Films has closed sales for France (Originals Factory), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Spain (Avalon), Italy (Teodora Film), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Scandinavia (Mis.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Polish public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) has added feature film “Shattered Games” to its international sales slate alongside rom-com film “The Love Buzz” and historical series “The Bay of Spies.” “Shattered Games” explores Poland’s rich history and influence in the game of chess. The Polish national chess squad, known as the “Golden Team” in Poland, won the world chess championship in Hamburg in 1930, and was renamed by the German press as the “Bombenmannschaft” or “Bomber Crew.” “The matches the team played are still to this day described in chess textbooks as examples of masterful moves and games,” TVP said in a statement.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Black Tea,” Abderrahmane Sissako‘s lushly lensed romance drama set in China, has been bought by major distributors in key territories ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. Gaumont, which co-produced the film, has sold it to Caramel (Spain), Academy two (Italy), Pandora Films (Germany, Austria), Cineart (Benelux), Films4you (Portugal), Provzglyad (CIS), Mozinet (Hungary), Another World Entertainment (Norway), Film Bazar (Denmark), MCF Megacom (Former Yugoslavia, Albania), Filmstop (Latvia, Estonia), MB Taip Toliau (Lithuania), Imovision (Brazil), AV Jet (Taiwan), Falcon (Indonesia), Pathé BC (Sub-Saharan Africa, Maghreb) and New Cinema (Israel).

Holly Jones Yasuo Nakajima and Mariona Carrera’s Barcelona and Tokyo-based b-mount have boarded “Maybe It’s True What They Say About Us,’ (“Quizás Es Cierto Lo Que Dicen De Nosotras”) from Chilean filmmaking duo Camilo Becerra (“El último sacramento”) and Sofía Paloma Gómez (“Quiero morirme dentro de un tiburón”), seen at San Sebastian’s San Sebastián WIP Latam competition. b-mount join a co-production between Carlos Núñez and Gabriela Sandoval at Chile’s Storyboard Media (“The Sky Is Red”), Cecilia Salim at Argentina’s Murillo Cine (“Chaco”) and Lucía van Gelderen at Argentina’s Morocha Films (“El Cinco”) alongside Becerra’s production venture La Jauría Comunicaciones.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cohen Media Group, the U.S. distribution company behind Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated “Io Capitano,” has acquired North American rights to “The President’s Wife,” a biting movie starring Catherine Deneuve as the former first lady Bernadette Chirac. The deal closed during the European Film Market currently taking place and running alongside the Berlin Film Festival.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Argentine director Luján Loioco (“About a Woman,” “The Girl with Yellow Heels”) is prepping her third feature film, “Queen of the Woods” (“Reina del bosque”), starring Chile’s venerable Alfredo Castro, seen most recently in Pablo Larrain’s Oscar-nominated “El Conde,” and rising Argentine actress Delfina Chaves (“Máxima,” “Ringo”). The story takes place in a cabin set against the snow-covered Patagonian mountains and is described as a “neo-horror feminine film that explores the failed relationship between a pregnant woman and her dying father.” Through the gripping mechanisms of thriller and neo-horror, the film delves deep into the theme of grief while posing unsettling reflections on the complexities of motherhood.

Alex Ritman Saban Films has acquired North American rights to the British thriller “Kill,” starring Paul Higgins (“Slow Horses,” “Line of Duty”), Brian Vernel (“Star Wars: Episode VII – the Force Awakens,” “Dunkirk”), Daniel Portman (“Game of Thrones, The Angel’s Share”), Calum Ross (“Wednesday”), Anita Vettesse (“Outlander,” “Guilt”), James Harkness (“Darkest Hour,” “Phantom Thread”) and Joanne Thomson (“The Victim”). The film, which explores the history of violence, the power of family and the dangers of revenge, marks the feature directorial debut of Rodger Griffiths, who devised the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Rob Drummond. “Kill” follows a hunting trip that turns deadly when three brothers plot to murder their violent, abusive father.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent FilmSharks has taken world sales rights outside Spain to “The Bus of Life,” next up from Arcadia Motion Pictures, producer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Cesar and Goya winner “The Beasts” and Neon U.S. pick-up “Robot Dreams,” nominated last month for a best animated feature Academy Award.

Christopher Vourlias MetFilm Sales has secured international rights to “The Battle for Laikipia,” Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi’s multi-layered portrait of the conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Kenya. The film had its world premiere as part of the World Cinema Documentary section at the Sundance Film Festival. Submarine Entertainment Sales negotiated the deal with MetFilm on behalf of the filmmakers and is handling North American sales.