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Although Filmart felt quiet on its first morning, with many attendees glued to their phones watching the Oscars, it soon turned into a reasonably vibrant market, with sales companies locked in back-to-back meetings, new project announcements and a few star appearances to liven up proceedings. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian animation auteur Alessandro Rak – best known for European Film Award-winner “The Art of Happiness” and Neapolitan mob fable “Cinderella The Cat” – is at work on a new project titled “The Little Prince of Shangri-La” set in an imaginary Tibet and involving the search for the Dalai Lama. Rak’s new work, which follows “Yaya and Lenny — The Walking Liberty,” that launched in 2021 from Locarno, was unveiled earlier this month at the Cartoon Movie co-production and pitch forum in Bordeaux, France.

This year’s Filmart was definitely bigger and busier than last year, which was the first physical edition following the reopening of Hong Kong and mainland China’s borders after the pandemic. According to Filmart organizers, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), more than 750 exhibitors and 7,500 visitors attended this year’s Filmart, compared to around 700 exhibitors and 7,300 visitors in 2023. But despite frenetic meeting activity, the market did little to dispel fears that international sales business in the region, already in decline before the pandemic, is not yet recovering. International sales agents under the IFTA and European Film Promotion (EFP) umbrellas had packed meeting schedules.

Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett and Dave Bautista all star in projects at one of the biggest Berlin markets in recent memory, both post- and pre-pandemic. Whether this year’s high rollers will sell is the question that the 2024 European Film Market turns on.

Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” is continuing its winning ways. The courtroom drama already won the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and picked up two major honors at the Gotham Awards almost two weeks ago.

French director Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winning film Anatomy Of A Fall swept the awards at 36th European Film Awards in Berlin this evening, winning Best European Film, Director, Screenplay (with Arthur Harari) and actress for Sandra Hüller.

Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves and UK director Jonathan Glazer The Zone Of Interest lead the nominations in the main categories of the 36th European Film Awards which will take place in Berlin on December 9.

Béla Tarr Set For European Film Awards Honor

Ruben Östlund’s latest satire, Triangle of Sadness, dominated the European Film Awards with four wins, including Best Film, the evening’s top prize.

Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s Close, Danish director Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider and Swedish director Ruben Ôstlund’s Triangle Of Sadness lead the nominations for the 35th European Film Awards, which were unveiled today.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBerlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has added to its European Film Market slate “Love Thing,” starring top German actor Elyas M’Barek, whose credits include “The Collini Case.” Also on the slate is “Soul of a Beast,” which debuts its trailer below.Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorThe producers of this year’s International Feature Film Oscar winner “Another Round” and Berlin Silver Bear winner “Natural Light” have been selected for European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move program, which promotes promising producers and fosters international co-productions. The 20 participants for the program, which runs online from May 17-21, will be presenting their latest projects in speed meetings and during roundtable sessions.

In a tight Oscar race in the International Film category, Thomas Vinterberg‘s celebrated “Another Round” is increasingly looking like an easy bet for a nomination. The Venice Film Festival drama swept the major honors at the 2020 European Film Awards including European Film, Director (Vinterberg), Actor (Mads Mikkelsen) and Screenplay.

By Leo Barraclough