Pietrangelo Buttafuoco Nominated As Venice Biennale Foundation President

Laura Pausini, the 2023 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, joined forces with the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música Francisco Guerrero in Sevilla, Spain. The singer pitched in to help the foundation’s commitment to global music education, lending her support to nurture and inspire the next generation of Latin music talents.At the event, the foundation revealed a generous donation of musical instruments worth $20,000 (€18,905) to enrich the conservatory’s music program.

EXCLUSIVE: Zeitgeist Films, in association with Kino Lorber, has acquired North American rights to filmmaker and art critic Amei Wallach’s Taking Venice, a doc that explores the rumored rigging of the 1964 Venice Biennale.

Savina Petkova A vampire with qualms about killing to survive is no longer a figure exclusive to the “Twilight” franchise, when a Canadian French-language debut places a teenage girl in a tricky situation, torn between what the world demands of her and what she herself wants. The film’s title is eloquent enough — “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person” — and it already won Ariane Louis-Seize the best director prize at this year’s Venice Days, and was praised for a “strong directorial vision.” The film screened as part of the main competition at the Thessaloniki Film Festival last week.

Poor Things which took the top award, the Golden Lion. Lanthimos is becoming one of the best of his generation after previous hits The Lobster (love that movie), The Killing of a Sacred Deer and the Oscar-winning The Favourite.

The stars are stepping out for Michael J. Fox‘s big event.

Victoria Monet has a lot to celebrate!

Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ song from Barbie has been nominated for a Grammy today.The nominations for the 67th annual Grammy Awards were shared this afternoon (November 10) with SZA leading the way with nine nominations.The official Grammys YouTube hosted a livestream for the announcement, with the winners set to be announced at the ceremony on February 4, 2024 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. See the full list of nominations here.Among the nominations was Ryan Gosling for his song ‘I’m Just Ken’ that appeared in Greta Gerwig’s hit film Barbie this summer.

Christopher Vourlias HBO Max has acquired Central and Eastern Europe rights to “I Know Your Soul,” the crime drama series by Oscar-nominated Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić (“Quo Vadis, Aida?”). The show, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival, is currently playing as part of the Agora Series TV strand of the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Also included in the deal, which was brokered by Munich-based production and distribution outfit Beta Film, is the Serbian thriller “Children of Evil,” based on the best-selling novel by Miodrag Majić.

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.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Marina Cicogna, Italy’s first major female film producer who shepherded films by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Franco Zeffirelli and Elio Petri, including Petri’s Oscar-winning “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,” has died. She was 89. Cicogna died on Nov.

Caroline Brew editor Billie Eilish and Finneas along with Lenny Kravitz and Diane Warren are among the nominees at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Eilish and Finneas landed a nomination for “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie.

Savina Petkova What if a new Messiah appeared today, but his supernatural power was to release people’s intimate videos unprompted? Such a beguiling premise shapes Armenian Vilnius-based director Marat Sargsyan’s sophomore feature, “The Grand Inquisitor.” In it, the omnipotent creature is an AI that looks like a human being and has a human name, Vermis. Soon, his crimes pile up, the authorities are helpless, and any investigation thwarted. The film will be presented next week at Thessaloniki Film Festival’s Agora Crossroads Co-production Forum.

Michaela Zee Aaron Spears, the Grammy-nominated drummer and music producer who worked with Ariana Grande, Usher, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, among many others, has died. He was 47. Spears’ wife Jessica announced the news on Instagram Monday, writing, “Aaron was not only an incredibly accomplished drummer, admired by many for his unparalleled talent and passion for music, but he was also a devoted father to our previous son, August.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Hey Academy, don’t be scared to invite horror performances to the Oscars. Horror movies embrace humanity’s fear, but what’s truly frightening is the lack of recognition they get from the Academy Awards. Only six horror movies have been nominated for best picture in the history of the Oscars: “The Exorcist” (1973), “Jaws” (1975), “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Black Swan” (2010), “Get Out” (2017) and the only winner of the lot, “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has designated Italian journalist and writer Pietrangelo Buttafuoco as the new president of the Venice Biennale, the foundation that oversees the Venice Film Festival. Buttafuoco (pictured above, left), an openly right-wing member of Italy’s cultural establishment known to be an eclectic thinker, is now set to replace former film producer Roberto Cicutto (pictured, right) at the Biennale’s helm when Cicutto’s four-year mandate expires in March 2024.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “A Haunting in Venice” is getting a digital release just in time for Halloween. Kenneth Branagh‘s third Agatha Christie adaptation, which hit theaters in September, will debut on digital retailers and Hulu on Oct.

Actress Haydn Gwynne died today following a recent cancer diagnosis. She was 66.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pierre-Antoine Capton, the co-founder and CEO of Mediawan, was named Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President Emmanuel Macron during a ceremony held at the Elysée Palace in Paris. Capton was honored alongside other French figures who have made outstanding contributions to the country’s cultural landscape, including the filmmaker Costa Gavras, actor and novelist Marlène Jobert, contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, historian Pierre Nora, choreographer Claude Bessy, journalist Jean-Claude Narcy and conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus.

Naman Ramachandran The touring production of “The Merchant of Venice 1936″ has been targeted by antisemites, its star revealed. Tracy-Ann Oberman, who has starred in “Doctor Who” and “Friday Night Dinner,” says the tour of the Shakespearean play has been forced to hire security guards in the wake of a surge of antisemitism prompted by the war between Hamas and Israel. “We’re on a 10-week tour and I’ve been moved beyond words at the reactions of audiences and critics.

Christopher Vourlias Slovak directors Ivan Ostrochovsky and Pavol Pekarčík’s Ukraine war drama “Photophobia,” which won the Europa Cinemas Label Award after its Venice Days premiere and is Slovakia’s entry in the best international feature film Oscar race, has been acquired by Prague-based sales agent Filmotor. Set on a cold February morning in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “Photophobia” follows 12-year-old Niki and his family as they arrive at the Kharkiv metro station to take shelter from the terrifying war raging outside.