New ‘Miraculous’ Seasons and Specials Set at Disney for Fall Global Rollout (EXCLUSIVE)

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian actor Sandra Milo, known for memorable roles in Federico Fellini’s “8½” and “Juliet of the Spirits” as well as her work with Roberto Rossellini, died on Monday at her Rome home. She was 90.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The line sprawling along the corridors and staircases of De Doelen, the heart of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, alerted passersby that there was a star in town. The actor in question? German thesp Sandra Hüller, at the festival to support Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and to give an in-depth talk about her career and latest projects. Hüller, who landed her first Oscar nomination for best actress last week for Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” said she is “definitely not” used to the growing attention.

Liberation which is coming to screens later this year through Signature Entertainment in the UK.Starring Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones), Katrine Greis-Rosenthal (A Fortunate Man), Morten Hee Andersen (Herrens veje), Peter Kurth (Babylon Berlin), Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration), Liberation is directed by Anders Walter (I Kill Giants) from a script he co-wrote with Miriam Nørgaard (The War Show). Here’s the official synopsis.This historical drama will make you question how far you’d go to help someone in need. When a folk high school is turned into an internment camp for German refugees, the headmaster couple Jakob and Lis and their children are thrust into an impossible situation. Should the family help the refugees – or stand firm in the Danish resistance against the Germans? Signature Entertainment presents Liberation on Digital Platforms 29th January.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After keeping a fairly low profile as president of France’s leading commercial network TF1 Group for seven years, Gilles Pelisson, the discreet Harvard-educated executive, is ready for showtime. He has been propelled into the spotlight to promote French film and TV in his new role as president of Unifrance, succeeding Serge Toubiana last summer.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Justine Triet‘s Palme d’Or winning “Anatomy of a Fall” picked up top accolades at the 29th Lumiere Awards, France’s equivalent to the Golden Globes, at a ceremony held Monday at the Forum des Images in Paris. While Triet lost the best director nod to Thomas Cailley for his supernatural family drama “The Animal Kingdom,” “Anatomy of a Fall” won best film, actress for Sandra Huller, and screenplay for Triet and Arthur Harari.

Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall continued its prize-winning run on Monday at France’s 29th Lumière Awards clinching Best Film and Best Screenplay, while its German star Sandra Hüller won Best Actress.

Valerie Wu Intern Andrew Scott is Tom Ripley in the first trailer for Netflix’s coming psychological thriller series “Ripley,” which debuted its first teaser Monday morning. The Patricia Highsmith adaptation was originally set up at Showtime, but was acquired by Netflix in a sale between the companies. Directed and written by Steven Zaillian, who most recently penned Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” the series follows Scott’s Ripley, described as “a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York.” The plot follows his relationship with a wealthy man traveling in Italy with a troubled relationship with his son.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Spain’s fast-growing Secuoya Studios has tapped seasoned Sony Pictures Television International exec Brendan Fitzgerald for the newly-created position of CEO. His most recent position as SPTI’s senior VP of international English-language co-productions makes him the perfect fit for the company’s lofty ambitions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Mongrel,” a Taiwan-set drama film that has done the round of project markets, will appear at the International Film Festival Rotterdam as a work in progress. In addition to the screening of 15 minutes of footage, Taiwan-based Singaporean director Chiang Wei Liang has confirmed the film’s cast as being headed by Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad (“Eternity,” “Manta Ray”) alongside Taiwanese female actor Lu Yi-ching (“The River”, “Stray Dogs”) and rapper Hong Yu-hong (“Bad Education”, “Miss Shampoo”) from Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One. Other key cast include Atchara Suwan (“By the Time It Gets Dark”), and Guo Shu-wei in his debut role.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Asian film directors including Josh Kim, Fukada Koji and Patiparn Boontarig line up to pitch their in-development projects at the March edition of the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). Leading directors Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Lu will also be on the ground at HAF, operating as producers. So too will established producers Yamamoto Teruhisa (“Drive My Car”) and Michael J.

The move in recent years to make the Oscars a truly global event in terms of the membership drive by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has paid off particularly well this year: Eligible voters from a record 93 countries submitting ballots in the Academy Awards’ nominating round, which ended Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent A group of 20 prominent screen trade organizations have united to ask governments around the world to enact regulations ensuring that global streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+ invest more resources in local content. The joint plea — hailing from production bodies in Europe, Canada, Australasia and Latin America — comes as streaming services have scaled down on acquiring and commissioning local content across many markets within the last year in order to ramp up profitability.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Salaud Morisset, the Paris- and Berlin-based sales and production outfit, has closed deals on “Excursion,” Una Gunjak’s feature debut which won the Jury Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival. Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution (Hungary), Hakka Distribution (Tunisia), Fivia (Slovenia), MCF MegaCom (Montenegro & North Macedonia), No Blink Film (Bulgaria) and Silver Screen (Romania).

The British Film Institute has revealed the list of TV, film, and animation companies that have won funding from its latest £3.3M ($4.2M) Global Screen Fund payout.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Newen Connect has closed a raft of sales on “Kina & Yuk,” a live action family adventure from the team behind “Ailo’s Journey,” ahead of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous showcase. Directed by Guillaume Maidatchevsky (“Ailo’s Journey”), the feature is a wild arctic tale following two foxes who are separated by the melting polar ice and must overcome a number of dangers in the hope of being reunited and raise a family together. The movie was released in French theaters by UGC on Dec.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Sveva Alviti (“Dalida”) and U.S. actor Newton Mayenge (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”) are attached to star in Cannes-set romantic drama “The Other Side of Fame” to be directed by Erik Bernard (“Free Dead or Alive”).

Dennis Harvey Film Critic During the Cold War, we had “I Married a Communist” and “I Married a Monster From Outer Space” — two predicaments that the era’s paranoias rendered basically the same thing. In recent years, however, a more common screen fantasy might be summarized as “Whoops, My Significant Other Turns Out to Be an International Spy/Assassin.” There have been numerous efforts in that vein, of variably intentional absurdity.

Alex Ritman After just one weekend of international release, “Priscilla” — Sofia Coppola‘s biopic starring Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley and Cailee Spaeny as The King’s (then) teenage bride “Priscilla” — has already hit several major milestones for arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi. Produced by Fremantle’s The Apartment, the film currently sits on a box office in excess of $20 million in the U.S., where A24 released the film on Oct.

EXCLUSIVE: Grasshopper Film and streaming platform DOCUMENTARY+ have acquired North American rights to the Oscar-shortlisted feature Apolonia, Apolonia, a deal announced as the nomination voting window opens for the 96th Academy Awards.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A decade ago, Gerard Depardieu played a character inspired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn — the disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund who was accused of assaulting a hotel maid — in Abel Ferrara’s “Welcome to New York.” In an ironic twist, the iconic French actor has now become the poster boy for the country’s #MeToo movement, having been charged with rape and faced with over a dozen sexual assault allegations. But the French remain divided over him due to his profile as a mascot of the country’s cinematic history.