Organ Transplant Comedy Drama ‘Risks and Side Effects’ Picked Up by PTI, Trailer Debuts – EFM (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: DECAL, the newly formed home entertainment distributor from NEON and Bleecker Street, has secured the North American rights to Gaia, a South African horror-thriller directed by Jaco Bouwer. The pic, which is set to debut in the Midnight section of the upcoming virtual SXSW this month, is slated for a theatrical release this Summer.

Manori Ravindran International EditorBruce Willis, Luke Wilson and Devon Sawa are set to star in rollicking action thriller “Gasoline Alley.” Highland Film Group, which is handling international rights, is presenting the project to buyers at this week’s European Film Market (EFM).“Cosmic Sin” helmer Edward Drake, who reunites with Willis for the film, directs from a script by Tom Sierchio (“The Girl Who Invented Kissing”).

Davide Abbatescianni Rome-based international sales and production company TVCO has sold Dace Pūce’s debut feature “The Pit” to German independent distributor Arsenal Filmverleih.The drama, staged by Latvia’s Marana Production and Finland’s Inland Film Company, is based on a series of true stories published by Jana Egle.The plot follows a 10-year-old boy called Markuss (Damirs Onackis), who must adapt to starting a new life in the Latvian countryside with his strict grandmother (Dace Eversa).

Davide Abbatescianni Rome-based sales agency TVCO has acquired worldwide sales to Igor Drljaca’s fourth feature “The White Fortress,” which world premiered this week in the Generation 14Plus strand of this year’s Berlinale.Drljaca’s previous credits include several award-winning shorts such as “Woman in Purple” (2010) and “The Archivists” (2020), as well as his critically-acclaimed debut feature “Krivina” (2012), his sophomore film “The Waiting Room” (2015) and his first documentary feature,

Davide Abbatescianni London-based outfit Taskovski Films has acquired world sales rights to Moumouni Sanou’s first feature “Night Nursery,” which bows in the Forum section of the Berlinale this week.The documentary is set in the district town of Bobo-Dioulasso, near Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, where every night sex workers entrust their children to Mrs. Coda, an elderly woman.

Christopher Vourlias Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic (“No Man’s Land”) has boarded the high-end comedy-drama series “Frust,” which is currently being developed by Serbia’s Firefly Prods. and Hungary’s Joyrider.The six-episode series follows a young writer struggling for recognition.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian actor Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”) is set to star in “Il ritorno di Casanova,” a drama about what happens to a great lover when he gets older, to be directed by Oscar-winner Gabriele Salvatores (“Mediterraneo”).Loosely based on Austrian author Arthur Schnitzler‘s novella “Casanova’s Homecoming,” in which the Venetian libertine is having trouble contending with the fact that he’s over 60, “Ritorno di Casanova,” which translates as

Christopher Vourlias One year ago, as thousands of global film and TV industry reps descended on Berlin for the European Film Market, executives from Nigerian production and distribution powerhouse FilmOne Entertainment had good reason to feel optimistic. The company had recently unveiled a $1 million film fund with China’s Huahua Media and South Africa’s Empire Entertainment, an unprecedented pact for the Nigerian movie industry.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentParis-based Le Pacte has closed a raft of sales on Olivier Peyon’s “Tokyo Shaking” and Nadine Loiseau’s “Three Times Nothing,” both of which are screening at the Berlin Festival’s virtual European Film Market.A hot title on Le Pacte’s slate, “Tokyo Shaking” sold to Germany and Austria (ZDF), Israel (New Cinema), Canada (Axia Films), Spain (Alfa Pictures) and the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Mediasquad).“Tokyo Shaking” is set on March 11, 2011, when Japan

Christopher Vourlias Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales continues its pre-sales of “The Peasants,” the hotly anticipated follow-up from Oscar-nominated “Loving Vincent” director Dorota Kobiela, selling rights for Germany and Austria to Koch Media.As reported earlier, New Europe brokered a deal with The Jokers for distribution in France of the buzzy animated feature.“The Peasants” is produced by BreakThru Films’ Sean Bobbitt and Hugh Welchman, who also co-wrote the script, using

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAlex Pettyfer, whose credits include “I Am Number Four” and “Magic Mike,” is attached to lead director Ricardo de Montreuil’s psychological horror feature “The Lost Ones.”The Exchange is handling the movie’s worldwide sales rights, and will be introducing the title to buyers at the virtual European Film Market, which runs until Friday.The film is the story of a young family on the run from unseen spirits haunting their daughter.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Multi-hyphenate Roselyn Sanchez (“Grand Hotel,” “Devious Maids”) is set to film her directorial feature debut, “Diario: Mujer y Cafe,” in Puerto Rico this summer, said producer Jolene Rodriguez, president of Broken English Prods.

Christopher Vourlias Russian SVOD More.tv is unveiling a slate of original series for foreign buyers at the European Film Market.The four series are a sign of the fast-growing streaming service’s rising ambitions since launching in 2019.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a concerted bid to train the next generation of film and media industry professionals, a new training center, the International Screen Institute, has launched in Europe.The new non-profit org, founded by Vienna-based Terra Mater Factual Studios, producer of “The Ivory Game” (pictured), and Satel Film, bows March 2 at the European Film Market.

Arkane Studios‘ Groundhog Day-like action shooter Deathloop during Thursday’s PlayStation State of Play event.The lengthy clip is rife with new looks at the action, which follows Colt, an assassin who finds himself stuck in a time loop. Stranded on Blackreef Island, he’s forced to take part in a deadly gathering every night that ends up in his death.

Manori Ravindran International EditorEva Green, Mark Strong and Chai Fonacier have boarded “Vivarium” director Lorcan Finnegan’s psychological thriller “Nocebo,” which is now in production in Ireland.The film, which marks the first co-production between Ireland and the Philippines, follows a fashion designer (Green) suffering from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband (Strong) until help arrives in the form of a Filipino carer (Fonacier), who uses traditional

Davide Abbatescianni German sales outlet Deckert Distribution has acquired Chris Wright and Stefan Kolbe’s “Anamnesis,” ahead of its world premiere in the Forum strand of the Berlinale.The making of “Anamnesis” started when the two directors first meet Stefan S. in 2015, in the therapy ward of Brandenburg Prison.

Also Read: Jaime Reyes 'Blue Beetle' Latino Superhero Movie in Development at DC and Warner Bros (Exclusive)Blue Beetle was created by Charles Wojtkowski for Fox Comics in 1939 as the alter ego of Dan Garrett, a police officer who uses experimental vitamins to develop super powers. After Fox went out of business in the 1950s, Charlton Comics obtained rights to Blue Beetle and reimagined Garrett as an archaeologist who receives his powers from ancient Egyptian technology.

Naman Ramachandran Australia’s Stranger Than Fiction Films and the U.K.’s Arrow Pictures have teamed for theatrical documentary “River,” commissioned by BBC Arts and ABC Arts.Exploring the relationship between humans and rivers, the documentary spans six continents.