Netflix’s Arabic ‘Perfect Strangers’ Draws Outrage in Egypt Over Gay Character as Film Hits No. 1

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Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s robust 2022 Berlinale representation of a half-dozen titles runs the gamut from the latest works by venerable veterans Paolo Taviani and Dario Argento to pics by fresh new Cinema Italiano voices including Chiara Bellosi, whose first film, “Ordinary Justice,” launched from Berlin in 2020.Taviani, who is 91, is returning to Berlin but alone this time — his filmmaker brother, Vittorio, with whom he won a Golden Bear in 2012 for “Caesar Must Die,” passed away in 2018 — in competition with surreal drama “Leonora Addio,” inspired by a short story by Italian playwright and author Luigi Pirandello. Argento, who set his 1977 chiller “Suspiria” in Germany, will be at the Berlinale for the first time as a director with Rome-set suspenser “Dark Glasses,” though he was on the fest’s main jury panel in 2001.

Refresh for latest…: Hitting 15 offshore markets ahead of its domestic debut and further overseas expansion next weekend, Sony’s Uncharted mapped out an international box office launch of $21.5M. The Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg-starrer was No. 1 in each of its openings, taking advantage of school holidays in some markets and, of course, the Spider-Man Holland halo.

Naman Ramachandran Protagonist Pictures has closed multiple deals for several key territories on Sundance selection and Berlin Film Festival competition title “Call Jane.”Territories sold include DCM for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Umbrella Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, Mis.label for Scandinavia, Eagle for Italy, Shaw for Singapore and Empire for South Africa.Directed by Phyllis Nagy, the Oscar nominated writer of “Carol,” the film stars Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara and Chris Messina. The film follows Joy (Banks), a traditional 1960s housewife who unexpectedly falls pregnant and finds the Janes, an underground abortion movement led by Virginia (Weaver).

EXCLUSIVE: Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla cast member Ken Watanabe has joined his upcoming New Regency film True Love in a role originally to have been played by Benedict Wong, following the latter actor’s departure due to scheduling conflicts.

Selome Hailu Film Independent has named the winners of three unrestricted $25,000 Spirit Awards cash grants for emerging filmmakers: Alex Camilleri, Lizzie Shapiro and Jessica Beshir. The announcements were made by Ekwa Msangi (“Farewell Amor”), Gerry Kim (“I’m No Longer Here”) and Elegance Bratton (“Pier Kids”), who received the grants last year.Camilleri, director of “Luzzu,” received the Someone to Watch Award. The award is in its 28th year and recognizes talented filmmakers of singular vision who have not yet received appropriate recognition.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentOne of Scandinavia’s leading film distributors, Scanbox Entertainment is changing ownership with a new board including CEO Thor Sigurjonsson. The company was bought back from Scanbox Chairman Joni Sighvatsson. New owners include COO Kim William Beich, commercial director Torben Thorup Jorgensen, and producer Chris Briggs.

Flume will return to North America for his first tour dates in nearly three years this April, in support of his forthcoming album ‘Palaces’.Flume had previously been announced as part of the 2022 Coachella line-up in April, as well as Bonnaroo and New York City’s Governors Ball this June. Headlining shows for the producer have now been announced that are largely based around these festival dates.

Montreal rapper Skiifall has dropped a new single. "Bloodclarrt Business" is released via XL Recordings and arrives ahead of a tour with labelmates BADBADNOTGOOD, due to kick off next month.

A film festival is about more than just the films and the festival center. It is about the location, the journey, the experience. Here on Deadline we’ll be bringing you updates on what it’s like to be on the ground at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterMaybe you’ve been patiently waiting two years for director Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” sequel. It could be the team-up of Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas in “The Gray Man” that strikes your fancy.

, Paramount+ shared the first teaser for the limited series, which chronicles the making of the acclaimed 1972 film and captures a long gone era of Hollywood. The first footage for the real-life story gives viewers a closer look at Miles Teller as producer Albert S.

Trigger Point viewers have gone wild after recognising Sonya Reeves star Kerry Godliman from hit Netflix series After Life.The new ITV thriller series hit screens last month and sees Line Of Duty legend Vicky McClure take centre stage as a bomb disposal operative Lana Washington. During the latest episode, which aired on Sunday 30 January, Sonya had several interactions with Lana as they looked into evidence and forensics from a recent bomb factory raid.

Editors note: When we think of Robert De Niro and Italy, it’s easiest to focus on the Sicilian town of Corleone, because of his Oscar-winning turn in The Godfather: Part II. But De Niro wanted to focus on Naples, which director Paolo Sorrentino brought to life in The Hand of God. De Niro was so moved, he wrote a guest column for Deadline on why the film touched him so dearly.

CAIRO -- A Lebanese father tells his teenage daughter she is free to choose whether to have sex with her boyfriend despite his reservations.An Egyptian wife discreetly slips off her black, lacy underwear from under her clothes before heading out for dinner, and it’s not her husband she’s trying to tantalize.And in a dramatic moment, a man reveals that he is gay, a secret he has kept from his longtime friends who are shocked — but seem mostly accepting.The scenes in the first Arabic Netflix movie have sparked a public drama as intense as the one that plays out onscreen. On social media and TV talk shows and among friends in Egypt and other Middle East countries, a torrent of critics have denounced the film as a threat to family and religious values, encouraging homosexuality and unfit for Arab societies.Others have rallied to the film’s defense, saying detractors are in denial about what happens behind closed doors in real life.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs we enter the final countdown to the Feb. 8 Oscar nominations announcement, Isabella Rossellini is clearly rooting for Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” which is Italy’s candidate for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and among the shortlisted titles.To help promote the pic with Academy voters, Rossellini engaged in an online chat with the director and young Italian actor Filippo Scotti, who plays Sorrentino’s alter-ego Fabietto in the pic. She also wore a gold horn amulet that belonged to her father, the late great Italian master Roberto Rossellini, for good luck.Here are edited excerpts of the conversation, to which Variety has been given exclusive access.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s True Colours has taken international sales on “Perfect Strangers” director Paolo Genovese’s new movie, a comedy drama titled “The First Day of My Life.”The Rome-based sales company will be launching pre-sales at the upcoming online EFM market on Genovese’s latest concept pic, which has echoes of Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”Based on Genovese’s novel of the same title, which was a bestseller in Italy, “The First Day of My Life” revolves around four characters on the brink of taking their lives who make a pact with a stranger with supernatural powers, played by “The Great Beauty” star Toni Servillo. The mystery man gives them a chance to travel forward in time to see for a week how their friends and relatives would react to their deaths and what the world would be like without them.