Rabbi Israel Dresner (1929–2022), civil rights activist who was a Freedom Rider

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentOnly six months after its 2021 edition, Series Mania will be back with a sprawling selection, including the world premieres of Michael Hirst’s “Billy The Kid” (pictured), the Israeli series “Fire Dance” and rap music-themed French show “Le monde de demain.”Underscoring the large presence of streamers within the roster, Series Mania will kick off with Netflix’s “Standing Up,” a new comedy series from “Call My Agent” creator and showrunner Fanny Herrero; while Disney Plus’ “Oussekine,” about a tragic case of police brutality in France, will close the festival.The lineup boasts 58 series spanning 21 countries. These were chosen from 331 series.

Series Mania has unveiled the nine shows from six countries competing for the prestigious International Competition along with revealing the lineup and guests of honor for this year’s edition, the first to take place in person for three years.

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip -- The Palestinian militants scrambled out of the tunnel and attacked an Israeli tank in broad daylight as gunfire and explosions echoed across the Gaza frontier.This time it wasn't the start of another war, but an action scene filmed for a TV series produced by the territory's militant Hamas rulers.The 30-episode series, titled “Fist of the Free,” presents the fighters as scrappy heroes outwitting a better-armed Israeli military. Unlike “Fauda,” the hit Israeli drama that deals with some of the same subject matter, it is unlikely to get picked up by Netflix.It's the latest such production by the media arm of Hamas, which has invested heavily in its offerings despite a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza since the Islamic militant group seized power in 2007.The shows are aired on Hamas-run TV, and “Fist of the Free” will debut during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, when viewership soars after the dawn-to-dusk fast and networks across the Muslim world debut big-budget offerings.“The idea of our films and series centers on our struggle with the enemy,” says Sadi al-Attar, the assistant director.

EXCLUSIVE: You might have heard of the guy who’s getting the ICG Publicists Guild’s career honor next month.

Camila Cabello is spending time with her former co-star Nicholas Galitzine!

EXCLUSIVE: Growing theatrical distributor and streamer MUBI has picked up all rights from The Match Factory to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar breakout Drive My Car for Latin America, India, Malaysia, Africa (excluding French language Pay-TV rights) and the Middle East (excluding Israel and Turkey).

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorJerusalem-based sales agent Go2Films has taken both worldwide rights (excluding North America) and Israeli distribution rights to “Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen” by Oscar-nominated director Daniel Raim and narrated by Jeff Goldblum. Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films will handle North American distribution on the film, which follows the making of Norman Jewison’s “Fiddler on the Roof.”The film was meant to have its international premiere in the Official Selection of Palm Springs Film Festival, which was cancelled due to COVID-19.

EXCLUSIVE: Cop Out writer Robb Cullen is working on a dark comedy drama inspired by his own life for BET+.

Chris Evans confessed in the past that he is attracted to Camila Cabello; however, despite the Cuban-American singer and actress thinks he is good-looking, she might not be interested in dating Captain American. In a recent interview, Cabello, who plays a modern-day Cinderella in the Amazon Studios film of the same name, told Ellen DeGeneres why she wouldn’t give Evans a chance.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThe Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School is set to launch a Series Lab with the support of Netflix and VIS Social Impact, ViacomCBS International Studios’ new cause-driven production division. Hagai Levi, the creator of “In Treatment” and “The Affair,” has joined the new program as artistic advisor. For the last decade, the film school has been hosting a popular film lab which was founded by Renen Schorr and has become a major curator of world cinema gems.

Helen Mirren has been engulfed in controversy due to her latest role, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, in the upcoming biopic “Golda”.

Arnie Kantrowitz was a pioneer of LGBTQ civil rights activism and one of the founders of GLAAD.Kantrowitz got involved with the gay rights movement shortly after the 1969 Stonewall riots that marked the movement’s birth. In 1970, he joined the Gay Activists Alliance, becoming the organization’s vice president. As an English professor at the College of Staten Island, Kantrowitz created one of the first gay studies courses in higher education in 1973.

From the mind of acclaimed director and cinematographer (“Peter and the Farm,” “Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America”). Tony Stone comes “TED K,” a bracing, cinematic journey into the tortured mind of The Unabomber.

The full list of nominees for the 2022 BAFTAs have finally been revealed!

Naman Ramachandran New adaptations of popular adventure reality show “Survivor” are set to roll out across central and southeastern Europe, Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay, has revealed. United Media-owned Nova TV in Croatia and Nova S in Serbia will broadcast a first season of the format in late 2022. In addition, TV Markíza in Slovakia and TV Nova in the Czech Republic will air a new adaptation of the format.

Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest have expressed their sadness at the tragic death of Miss USA pageant and TV host, Cheslie Kryst. The LIVE! stars took to their show's Instagram Stories after the Extra correspondent died from a suspected suicide on 31 January. MORE: Regina King devastated following death of her only child Cheslie was pronounced dead after falling from her apartment building in Manhattan, New York. She was just 30 years old. WATCH: Stars gone too soonKelly and Ryan shared a photo alongside the late star and captioned it:"So sad to hear of Cheslie Kryst's passing.