Norwegian Political Comedy ‘Power Play’ Wins Best Series At Canneseries

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The birth of the hip and naughty Irish-language rap group Kneecap will be portrayed in a raucous anti-establishment comedy penned and directed by Rich Peppiatt (“One Rogue Reporter”). The film, which wrapped shooting this month, features the eponymous trio (Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí) who play heightened versions of their own lives against the backdrop of post-Troubles Belfast. The politically engaged band has gained critical acclaim for their artful blend of Irish and English rap about the gritty reality of growing up in Northern Ireland. French sales and co-production house Charades has boarded “Kneecap” and will be representing the film in international sales, while Curzon and Wildcard will handle the distribution in the U.K. and Ireland.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based sales company Charades has finalized a raft of deals with international buyers for its upcoming comedy Northern Comfort, which debuted at SXSW in March.

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Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Watching a police-procedural homicide drama, whether it’s the grungiest of VOD potboilers or the most visionary film of the genre, Michael Mann’s silvery, dread-drenched “Manhunter,” we more or less know one thing: At the end of two hours, the grisly mystery we’ve been dunked in will have its catharsis and its resolution. We will know who the killer is, and in knowing that a kind of order will have been restored. David Fincher’s “Zodiac,” with its tantalizing ambiguities, might stand as an exception to the form — a singular winding creep-out, without the closure we’re thirsting for — yet even there you feel, by the end, that you’ve glimpsed the face of evil. But “The Night of the 12th,” the French thriller that was nominated for 10 César Awards and won six of them, including best picture (it opens here on May 19), throws the audience a slow-motion curveball that’s intended to tinker with our dreams. And to a degree, it does. Based on a true-crime book by Pauline Guéna, the movie turns into one of the most casually authentic of investigative murder mysteries. Each time we think we’re seeing a classic suspense arc, it unravels into a dead end, and we think to ourselves: Of course. Crime in real life doesn’t necessarily happen so neatly. “The Night of the 12th” is a mostly compelling sit, though what lends the film its singular texture is that it keeps tricking us into thinking it’s a more conventional thriller than it is.

20th Anniversary Industry Mixer 

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Picture Tree Intl. has come on board to handle the international sales of black comedy “Shooting Blanks,” written and directed by Žiga Virc (“Houston, We Have a Problem!”). The Slovenian film looks at what happens when a family goes to war with itself. The film is in post-production. PTI will present a first private market screening at the Marché du Film in Cannes. Vida’s father France worships his father, a hero of the partisan resistance. When a German supermarket chain decides to build a new store in his hometown, demolishing a statue of his father in the process, France declares war on this new “enemy.”

On George Santos: “I’d like to stop right now, and congratulate tonight’s top scholarship recipient: Arizona State senior George Santos. Oh yeah, George couldn’t be here tonight. He’s auditioning for “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” We say good luck to you, George.”On Ron DeSantis: “Ron, everybody knows how to do politics.

I have just spent a week at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. I saw no sunlight from Monday around noon to Thursday. But I did see some movies, or at least part of them. It was of course CinemaCon week, or as I like to call it, ‘the unofficial start to Oscar season’. Many pundits might rather give the upcoming Cannes Film Festival with that kind of distinction, but in recent times this smoke-filled exhibitors extravaganza looks to be the starting gun, if you go by what the studios are dropping footage of between all the popcorn movies entertainment theatre owners really care about.

French actress Anaïs Demoustier has been announced as the president of the Cannes Film Festival’s Caméra d’Or jury for the upcoming 76th edition running from May 16 to 27.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has come on board to sell “Power Alley,” the debut film by Brazilian filmmaker Lillah Halla, which will world premiere in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, it was announced Tuesday. Set in Brazil, where abortion is illegal, “Power Alley” is a suspense-filled drama tackling one of society’s most divisive issues. The story follows star volleyball player Sofia who is faced with an impossible scenario on the eve of her championship game. Pregnant and panicked, Sofia seeks an illegal abortion but unwittingly becomes a target instead. As the town’s herd-mentality turns violent, Sofia risks being consumed by the fervor – but neither Sofia nor those who love her are willing to surrender.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The BBC has acquired Norwegian comedy drama ‘Afterglow’ for BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. The 7×45 minute series tells the story of Ester Sand, the one person you think will live forever, who finds out she has cervical cancer on her 40th birthday. But after the initial shock, it’s Ester who comforts the people in her life and she has no intention of leaving the world just yet. “ ‘Afterglow’ is a story of love and life and all of the glorious and silly things we do before we die,” the broadcaster said. “Afterglow” stars Nina Ellen Odegaard (“Possession”), Torbjorn Harr (“Vikings”), Sara Khorami (“Witch Hunt”) and Hermann Sabado (“Home for Christmas”). It was created by Kjetil Indregard and Atle Knudsen, who also acts as director.  It was produced by Monster Scripted for NRK, with rights handled by Reinvent International Sales. “Funny, sad, honest and touching, ‘Afterglow’ is that rare thing – an uplifting drama about serious illness,” said Sue Deeks, head of BBC program acquisition.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has powered to $871 million at the global box office as the animated family film barrels closer and closer to the coveted $1 billion mark. By next week, it’ll be the first 2023 release to join the billion-dollar club. Over the weekend, the movie captured the top spot at the domestic and international box office with $58.23 million and $70 million, respectively. So far, “Mario” has generated $434.33 million in North America and $437.5 million overseas. With those ticket sales, the all-audience “Super Mario Bros. Movie” stands as the biggest film of the year at the global, domestic and international box office.

Marta Balaga There was no escaping K-content in Cannes this year, with South Korea delivering well-received Canneseries competition title “Bargain,” MIPTV’s showcase of new formats, all hoping to dethrone “The Masked Singer,” Kortop Media’s “Midnight Horror: Different Nights,” “Pale Moon,” sold by KT Studiogenie and, finally, CJ ENM’s “Island.”  Co-created by Bae Jong and Jang Jeong Do, the show – produced by Studio Dragon and YLAB – is based on a popular comic book, first published in 1997. It has since been turned into webtoons, web novels and dramas, always combining the fantastical with the ordinary. 

Marta Balaga Norwegian political satire “Power Play” proved unbeatable at Canneseries, just like its headstrong protagonist, picking up awards for best series and music. The show, focusing on Norway’s first female Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and starting out in the 1970s, turned out to be a timely proposition, as noted by showrunner Johan Fasting, who co-wrote with Silje Storstein and Kristin Grue.   “It’s hard to persevere in politics, especially for women. We wanted to go behind the scenes of social democracy as well, see how it has dissolved and turned into what we have today. It felt like the right time to look at the mechanisms of power,” he told Variety earlier this week.

EXCLUSIVE: Asia-focused production, financing and sales outfit EST Studios has acquired international sales rights to Canneseries selection Streams Flow From A River, produced by Canada’s Fae Pictures. 

Ed Meza @edmezavar Studiocanal has sold two new thrillers from Benelux to international buyers at MipTV in Cannes. The eight-part crime thriller “1985,” produced by Eyeworks for Belgian public broadcasters VRT and RTBF, follows three friends as they move to Brussels and get caught up in the horrifying events of Belgium’s most notorious unsolved crime spree that shocked a generation and left a scar on the entire country. The series went to SBS Australia; Filmin for Portugal and Spain; Canal+ for France, Czech Republic and Slovakia; TG4 in Ireland; and Free TV in Israel.

Ed Meza @edmezavar CJ ENM Sells Remake Rights to hit Korean Drama ‘Train’ to Firebrand Studios The U.K.’s Firebird Studios has acquired remake rights for hit Korean drama “Train” from entertainment giant CJ ENM. “Train” follows a detective investigating his love’s death who discovers a parallel universe, where his late partner is very much alive. Moving back and forth between the two worlds, he tracks down the truth behind her death in one, while protecting her in the other. “With two unforgettable central characters, ‘Train’ is a love story, a detective show, a journey across the multiverse,” said Firebird Pictures CEO Elizabeth Kilgariff. It’s “a story that defies expectations at every turn and one that we can’t wait to re-tell in a British setting.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor Focus Features and Working Title will release Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s “Drive-Away Dolls.” The comedy caper will open in theaters on Sept. 22, 2023. The film follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals. It features an impressive cast that includes Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp and Matt Damon.

Todd Gilchrist editor Not to be confused with an adaptation of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” comedy troupe Broken Lizard’s “Quasi” tells a story that’s truer to the Oxford definition of its title than the 1831 Victor Hugo novel that inspired it. Kevin Heffernan settles uneasily into the director’s seat usually occupied by colleague Jay Chandrasekhar for an underdog story more interested in leveraging funny pronunciations of French words for underwhelming laughs than in creating real characters — much less a visual backdrop that doesn’t look like a second-rate Renaissance Faire.Set in a 13th Century France that narrator and sometime Broken Lizard collaborator Brian Cox helpfully informs us “sucked,” the film centers on Quasimodo (Steve Lemme), a social outcast who works in the torture chambers of King Guy (Chandrasekhar).