Meikincine Swoops on Claudia Huaiquimilla’s Locarno World Premiere ‘My Brothers Dream Awake’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Taliban hostage drama “And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead,” by Swiss filmmaker Michael Steiner (“The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch”) will open the 17th Zurich Film Festival (Sept. 23 – Oct.

Rebecca Davis editorTaiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang’s short “The Moon and the Tree” will world premiere at the upcoming Taipei Film Festival. The 23rd iteration will be held in-person from Sept.

Microsoft Flight Simulator, which will feature improvements for Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, has been delayed until September 7.Developer Asobo Studio released an update on the game’s website (thanks, VGC) which reads: “In order to ensure that World Update 6 reaches a very high level of quality, we have decided to move back the release date to September 7.”“We are very excited about this update as it features many enhancements to the region,” the post continues, “including new aerials and

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBerlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has kicked off sales for action biopic “Chasing the Line,” about the Austrian skiing champion Franz Klammer, which will make its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.PTI has closed its first deal on the film with Praesens Film taking rights for Switzerland, and will launch its international campaign with an exclusive work-in-progress buyer screening at the Toronto Film Festival.

Gang Of Youths have premiered a new song by the name of ‘Brothers’ at their first headline show in two years. Scroll down for footage of the live performance.Last week, the Australian outfit – who are currently UK residents – announced they were partnering with TikTok to live-stream their headline show at London’s Lafayette.

Jennifer Yuma editorOutfest, the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ film festival, kicked off its opening night joyously with the premiere of “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie,” the film adaptation of the West End show.The film’s star, Max Harwood, said having its premiere at Outfest is a dream come true. “I’m from Basingstoke in England, which is just south of London, and I’ve never been to L.A.

Emiliano Granada Directed by Elene Naveriani and written alongside brother Sandro Naveriani, “Wet Sand” world premieres today in the Cineasti del Presente competition at Switzerland’s Locarno Festival.Very much in line with the section’s mission statement, the Swiss-Georgian co-production is a vibrant example of emerging talent that has quickly grown into versatile auteurs with a striking control of their craft.“Wet Sand” is Naveriani’s second feature and, beyond its craft and structure,

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBuenos Aires-based Compañía de Cine has swooped on sales rights to “Mostro,” a trenchant take on one consequence of violence in Mexico: Its thousands of women who suddenly join the ranks of Mexico’s “disappeared.”The boutique sales company is introducing the feature to buyers at this week’s Locarno Film Festival where it world premiered Wednesday in the Swiss Fest’s Cineasti del Presente section.The first feature of Mexico’s José Pablo Escamilla,

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentA force on Europe’s film archive scene, the Cinémathèque Suisse is near to finishing a restoration of “The Written Face,” regarded as one of the best films by one of Switzerland’s most prominent filmmakers, Daniel Schmid.News of the reissue comes as heritage becomes an ever more familiar part of the major festival landscape – as a promotion agency, the Cinémathèque Suisse is at Locarno with six titles, far more than any sales agent.Switzerland,

Claudia Huaiquimilla, which premiered in the Cineasti del Presente competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival.Huaiquimilla’s second feature follows the boys Ángel and Franco (non-professional actors Iván Cáceres and César Herrera), two brothers who have been locked up for a year in a National Service for Minors (SENAME) center, awaiting trial.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentValentin Merz’s “De Noche los Gatos Son Pardos” scooped the biggest prize, the Cinegrell First Look Award, at this year’s Locarno Festival First Look pix-in-post competition, one of its industry centerpieces.Now in its tenth edition, First Look’s focus this year was Switzerland with a jury and industry audience given the chance to preview six upcoming Swiss feature films at various stages of rough or final cut.The Cinegrell First Look Award

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFew phenomena in Spanish film have proved so striking in recent years as the emergence last decade of a new generation of Catalan filmmakers, very often women, making resonant movies grounded in highly specific local realities.Think Clara Simon’s “Summer 1993,” a Berlin First Feature Award winner, or Pilar Palomero’s “Schoolgirls,” which walked off with best picture at this year’s Spanish Academy Goyas.For years, prominent Catalan auteurs – José

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentTwo on-the-rise directors, Maria Perez Sanz (“Karen”) and Maddi Barber (“Land Underwater”), have signed on to direct episodes in “Present,” a singular exploration by Spain’s Garde of a new generation of women artists, both cineastes and writers, who broke out last decade.Part of a broader literary-film project, “This Is Not a Poem” (“Esto no es una poesía”), “Present” (“Presentes”) is being introduced to potential co-producers and distributors by

Will Thorne Staff WriterIt’s been a challenging year-and-a-half for co-productions between Switzerland the U.K., but there appears to be cause for optimism.Directors of media funds from both countries, as well as a pair of producers, gathered at a Locarno Film Festival panel to discuss co-financing and co-production opportunities between the two countries, and to try and entice the room to share in that positive outlook.Neil Peplow, BFI director of industry and international affairs, was at the

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNew Locarno Film Festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who is the former head of the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, is starting to put his stamp on the Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema with a lineup comprising comedies and genre films alongside more straightforward auteur cinema, driven by a desire to make the selection “more audience friendly,” as he puts it.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentHigh-flying Spanish outfit Filmika Galaika has boarded Gabriel Azorín’s poetic, time-blending “Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes”(“Anoche conquisté Tebas”), a buzz title at the Locarno Festival Match Me forum.A networking platform for up-and-coming producers, and a few who have pretty much arrived, Match Me runs on-site at Switzerland’s Locarno Festival over Aug.

Will Thorne Staff WriterAt this year’s edition of Locarno’s Alliance 4 Development, both the future of the selected nine projects, and the co-production market as a whole, will be on the table.The Locarno Film Festival program, which facilitates international co-production for projects from France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, skipped a year due to COVID-19, but is back stronger than ever.“We received more than 70 submissions from the four countries,” says program manager Francesca

Will Thorne Staff Writer“Succession” has added another intriguing piece to the Season 3 puzzle.Swiss actor Ella Rumpf, best known for her leading role in Julia Ducournau’s fleshy horror pic “Raw,” is set to play a guest starring role in the HBO drama’s upcoming third outing, Variety has learned exclusively.Although the exact nature of her role is being kept under wraps, sources say Rumpf already finished shooting the part in Italy, where Season 3 production has been ongoing since June.A role in