‘Perfect Days’ to Kick Off Wim Wenders Retrospective From American Cinematheque and Neon (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Indian star Shruti Haasan will headline India-U.K. film co-production “Chennai Story.” Haasan, who is also a renowned musician, has acting credits across India’s various language film industries and in the U.S. and U.K.

While in England, German director Wim Wenders was sandwiched between a press tour and a brief lunch when a member of his team walked into the restaurant to secretly signal across the room that he was nominated for his first feature film Oscar with Japan’s Best International Feature Film, Perfect Days. “Someone came in raising their thumb, which was the sign that we had agreed on, and no word was spoken because there were too many guests in the restaurant,” Wenders laughed while retelling the Tuesday nomination. “So, I knew then I could let that meal go a little cold. It was lovely because I had prepared myself to not expect anything. I had completely prepared myself to not be on the list so that I wouldn’t be disappointed. So [this nomination] was quite a surprise today.”

Greater Manchester Police's organised crime task force has cracked a ring of violent criminals that were importing drugs into the country by hiding them in sweet packets and bottles of soft drinks. After arresting the Bolton-based drug traffickers, they also found rifles and other weapons.

Thania Garcia The third iteration of Chicago’s Sueños Music Festival — an exclusively all-Latin music event — has announced Peso Pluma, Maluma, Ivan Cornejo and Rauw Alejandro as headliners for the two-day celebration on May 25 and 26 at Grant Park. Curated by Aaron Ampudia and Chris Den Uijl of La Familia Presenta, the Sueños lineup also includes rising acts like Xavi and Young Miko, along with Mora, Manuel Turizo, Jowell y Randy, Latin Mafia and Gabito Ballesteros, among others.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent MIAMI — Buoyed by a near celebratory inaugural edition last year – the first time many execs attending had seen one another post-Pandemic – the 2nd Content Americas neared its final bend to lift-off on Tuesday, with a bullish attendance and a market still reacting to the Netflix Corrective of 2022 when it began to measure the cost of its dramatic expansion worldwide. Delegates, as of Monday, were approaching 2,000, nearly 25% up on 2023’s 1,600. That includes 150 exhibition companies and a significant increase on buyers – 950, doubled from last year.

In an Oscar stunner, two films considered a lock for nominations failed to be recognized Tuesday morning in the Best Documentary Feature category: American Symphony and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.

Anyone who is planning on jetting off on holiday to Egypt anytime soon has been urged to take note of some important travel advice issued by the Foreign Office.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Sound of Freedom,” the indie action-drama film that earned some $184 million at the North American box office, has set a significant theatrical release in South Korea. Angel Studios, the crowd-funded Utah-based production and distribution firm behind the film, initially set up direct-to-theater releases for the film’s first international outings in the U.K., Australia and Latin America. In Korea, rights have been licensed in conventional fashion by the N.E.W. – Contents Panda group, which plans to give the picture a release from Feb. 21, 2024.

Watching the science-fiction space thriller I.S.S., I couldn’t help but get the feeling that maybe this claustrophobic and talky material might be better suited as a stage play than as a movie, where audiences might be anticipating something a bit more compelling along the lines of a Gravity or an Alien.

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.

Alex Ritman Paris-based sales house Charades has acquired international sales rights to “In a Violent Nature,” the debut feature film from writer and director Chris Nash that is set to premiere in Sundance‘s Midnight Section on Jan. 22.

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”).

Oscar documentary branch voters can’t be accused of parochialism. They ventured far and wide to select their shortlist of feature documentaries for 2023, tapping films from countries as varied as a U.N. roll call: Ukraine, Uganda, Poland, Denmark, Tunisia, Canada and the United States.

EXCLUSIVE: German director Wim Wenders has scored his best box office performance in 15 years with Japan-set, comeback feature Perfect Days, according to collated figures released by sales agent The Match Factory.

A pair of TV scripts from hit US sitcom Friends, which were found in a bin 25 years ago, have sold at a UK auction for £22,000.

Karen Idelson Though there are still those who view animation primarily as a kids or family form of entertainment, over the last year many of the most challenging, risky stories have been told by the modern masters of animation. Films like “Suzume,” “The Peasants” and “The Boy and the Heron” have all been lauded for taking on compelling stories that often attract more adult audiences or even becoming crossover hits that draw diverse viewers. Makoto Shinkai’s “Suzume” earned well over $300 million in international box office.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Nominations for the 2024 Producers Guild of America Awards have been announced with the surprise of two international titles — Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” — the first time two international titles have been nominated by the guild. The lineup includes many of the Oscars‘ usual suspects as voting for nominations is underway.

Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, and the period action pic 12.12: The Day, from Korea, lead the nominations at this year’s Asian Film Awards. 

Jaden Thompson GKIDS has announced the acquisition of North American rights to Benoît Chieux’s French animated fantasy film “Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds,” with plans for a theatrical release in 2024. “Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds” was released in theaters in France on Dec.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Globally renowned Italian comic book artist Mirka Andolfo, creator of the steamy series “Sweet Paprika,” is releasing a new comic titled “Blasfamous.” The story is set in a world where pop stars have ascended to divinity, dominated by a singer named Clelia who is loosely inspired by Lady Gaga. The new eros-infused horror comic launches this month published by new American digital comics imprint Dstlry, co-founded by former Amazon execs David Steinberger and Chip Mosher.