National Geographic Acquires Amazon Documentary ‘The Territory’ at Sundance

The documentary maker behind Wayne Rooney's new film has revealed what surprised him most about former footballer.

Coleen Rooney sent a defiant message as her life was once again back in the headlines.

Sending signs? Clayton Echard’s social media activity has fans jumping to conclusions about his relationship with controversial season 26 contestant Shanae Ankney.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAward winning film director and historian Mark Cousins (“The Story of Film: A New Generation”) is at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios making a doc titled “March on Rome” that will explore the roots of fascism by analyzing films, photographs, and other documents found in Italian archives.The high-profile documentary — pegged to the centennial of the infamous late October 1922 insurrection by which Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy — will take its cue from the Fascist propaganda film “A Noi” by director Umberto Paradisi, produced in 1923 as an official Fascist party document celebrating the March on Rome.Italian writer and director Tony Saccucci (“The Duce’s Boxer”), who originated the project and did meticulous research for it, serves as a co-writer with Cousins. Saccuci cross-checked Paradisi’s film with other sources of the time to reveal details of the pic that provide a completely new take on the history of those dramatic days, according to the synopsis.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video has signed a multimillion-pound long-term deal with the Pinewood Group’s Shepperton Studios for exclusive use of new production facilities.The move is ahead of Amazon launching several U.K. original series in 2022 and 2023.

Hindsight 20/20. Clayton Echard gave Shanae Ankney several chances on The Bachelor, but he’s not happy about it now that he’s had a chance to watch the episodes.

The drama on “The Bachelor” was award-worthy this week.

The drama on “The Bachelor” was award-worthy this week.

J. Kim Murphy National Geographic is sending Will Smith to both ends of the Earth.

Defending him. Elizabeth Corrigan spoke out after Clayton Echard received criticism for sending her home on The Bachelor amid drama with fellow season 26 contestant Shanae Ankney.

J. Kim Murphy Amazon Prime Video has pulled the curtain back on the voice cast for “The Boys Presents: Diabolical,” its upcoming animated spinoff of its hit superhero show “The Boys,” releasing a teaser for the anthology series.Along with a reveal of various characters animated in different styles, the teaser also caps with a list of the surplus of talent providing their voices to the production.

Angelique Jackson Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to the Sundance award-winning documentary “Descendant,” by filmmaker Margaret Brown (“The Order of Myths,” “Be Here to Love Me: Townes Van Zandt,” “The Great Invisible”). Higher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, will present the Participant feature alongside Netflix later this year.The film follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known ship carrying enslaved Africans to the United States.

Angelique Jackson WarnerMedia OneFifty has acquired the short films, “Namoo” and “When the Sun Sets,” to be released on HBO Max.Both films are shortlisted to be nominated for the 2022 Academy Awards, with “Namoo” as a contender in the animated short film category and “When the Sun Sets” in the live-action short film category. The nominations will be formally announced on Feb.

Manori Ravindran International EditorPBS’s long-running documentary showcase “POV” has picked up Sundance documentary contender “Midwives.”Directed by Snow Hnin El Hlaing and filmed over five years, the film — which premiered on Monday as part of the World Documentary Competition at the virtual Sundance Film Festival — is set in western Myanmar and tells the story of a makeshift medical clinic run by two women, Hla and Nyo Nyo, in a region torn apart by violent ethnic divisions.Hla, the owner of the clinic, is a Buddhist in the western region of the country, where Muslim minority community the Rohingya are persecuted and denied basic rights. Nyo Nyo is a Muslim and an apprentice ze who acts as an assistant and translator at the clinic.

Michael Nordine authorWhat happens when a cutting-edge artist no longer considers himself cutting edge? That’s one question raised by “Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People,” but it’s far from the only one. In addition to being a stop-motion animated documentary about Brazilian cartoonist Angeli, it’s also a psychedelic road movie in which a roving pack of tiny, bloodthirsty Elton Johns set their sights on a punk-rock vigilante trying to reach his creator: Angeli himself.

The film follows — and is partially filmed by — the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau of the Amazon rainforest, who fight desperately against escalating deforestation by illegal loggers and non-native farmers emboldened by the far-right policies of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Shot over three years, the film includes footage taken by the native activists themselves as they seek to expose the truth.

In the battle to protect their territory in the Amazon rainforest, the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people really only have one significant weapon in their arsenal: media attention. Without it, landgrabbers will keep penetrating further into their land in the Brazilian state of Rondônia.