Reservoir Docs Takes World Rights to Hot Docs Premiere ‘The End of Innocence’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBen Stassen’s nWave Studios (“The Son of Bigfoot,””Sammy”) is set to produce “The Inseparables,” a $25 million animated feature based on an original idea by Joel Cohen et Alec Sokolow, the Oscar-nominated writers of “Toy Story.”The feature is being jointly produced by nWave Studios in Belgium, Octopolis in France and A Contracorriente in Spain.Cohen and Sokolow penned the feature with Cal Brunker, Bob Barlen (“Paw Patrol,” “Bigfoot”), Matthieu Zeller and Jérémie Degruson.Degruson, who previously directed some of nWave Studios’ biggest animated hits “The House of Magic,” “Bigfoot Junior” and Bigfoot Family,” is on board to helm “The Inseparables.”The animated buddy movie follows the misadventures of Don, a runaway puppet with a boundless imagination and, DJ Doggy Dog, an abandoned stuffed animal toy in need of a friend, as they cross paths in Central Park and pair up against all odds for an epic adventure of friendship in New York City. The movie will be delivered in July 2023 in both 2D and 3D formats.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFriendship, mountains, growing up, and our changed rapport with the planet in the wake of the pandemic are the main elements in Cannes competition title “The Eight Mountains” by Belgian directors Felix van Groeningen (“Beautiful Boy”) and Charlotte Vandermeersch. (Watch the trailer above.)The film is based on an Italian novel of the same title by Paolo Cognetti.

Masset-Depasse won a record-breaking nine Magritte Awards from the Belgian Academy, including Best Film and Best Director.“Mothers’ Instinct” is also produced by Paul Nelson (“Under My Skin,” “Pod Generation”) at Mosaic and Jacques-Henri Bronckart (“Duelles,” “The Nun”). Producer and financier Anton (“Greenland,” “The Night House”) is fully financing the project with Anton’s Founder and CEO Sébastien Raybaud overseeing the project with Anton’s John Zois, President of Production, who negotiated the deal with CAA.

Neon, the Best Picture Oscar-winning studio behind Parasite, has acquired U.S. rights to the psychological thriller Mothers’ Instinct starring Academy Award winners Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway.

Naman Ramachandran Indian origin, U.S.-born Belgian actor Rumana Molla (“Irada”) will make her directorial debut with Belgium-set Indian immigrant drama “Minimum,” which will commence principal photography in June.The film will follow newly-wed immigrant Fauzia, whose mother-in-law Ruxana keeps her captive. She finds out that everything she had been told about her husband Ali was a lie and loses hope until a French tutor, Laurie, is hired to teach her the basics.

EXCLUSIVE:UK producer and distributor Signature has secured global rights to British true crime docs Bellfield and The Search for a Serial Killer.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are celebrating the third and final movie of their trilogy by welcoming back some fan favorites from the world of !The pair sat down with ET's Kevin Frazier this week to discuss the upcoming film, , and they couldn't help but rave about getting to spar with dinos alongside OG cast members Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and BD Wong, all of whom reprise their roles in the new flick. «The storylines are so surprising and fulfilling,» Pratt raved. «You're watching the end of the arc that started 30 years ago, with these characters from: Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, BD Wong.

Jennie Punter Hot Docs has wrapped its 11-day hybrid edition, handing out three more cash prizes, announcing audience top picks, and tipping the hat to the 225 films from 63 countries that screened during the festival.The animated documentary “Eternal Spring,” by Jason Loftus, won the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Documentary, which comes with Cdn. $25,000 cash, and also claimed the top spot in the overall audience poll of cinemagoers and online doc-watchers.“Eternal Spring,” which had its North American premiere at Hot Docs and has racked up other awards this year at European festivals, mixes 3D and new live footage to trace the story of comic-book illustrator Daxiong (“Justice League,” “Star Wars”), a Falun Gong practitioner, who fled China after police began cracking down on members of the outlawed spiritual group.

Christopher Vourlias “Million Dollar Pigeons,” which had its world premiere this week at Hot Docs, follows a colorful cast of pigeon masters from far and wide who compete in the most lucrative pigeon races on the planet. Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer, and speaks to the director, Irish filmmaker Gavin Fitzgerald.The third documentary feature from Fitzgerald, the film enters the world of the passionate “pigeon fanciers” who put their reputations and livelihoods at stake in pursuit of ever-growing prize purses.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentPulsar Content has boarded Anissa Bonnefont’s erotic drama “La Maison” based on Emma Becker’s controversial bestselling novel chronicling the young author’s two-year undercover experience working as a sex worker at a Berlin brothel. Now in post-production, “La Maison” is headlined by Ana Girardot, the rising French star of “The Returned,” “Back to Burgundy” and “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” as well as Rossy De Palma (“Julieta,” “Madres Paralelas”) and Aure Atika (“10 Days With Dad”). De Palma will also be at Cannes to preside over the jury of the Golden Camera Award.

Naman Ramachandran Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay, has revealed the first international adaptation of hit U.K. format “Starstruck,” with a deal confirmed in South America.The show launched earlier this year to a consolidated 4.7 million viewers on U.K. broadcaster ITV and streamer ITV Hub and was re-commissioned for a second series.

Christopher Vourlias London-based documentary specialist Dogwoof has closed a host of sales for Daniel Roher’s “Navalny” and Jono McLeod’s “My Old School,” both of which premiered at Sundance and are screening this week at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.Roher’s riveting documentary thriller (pictured above) won the Festival Favorite Award and the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at Sundance.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor“POV,” the Emmy-winning PBS documentary series, has announced the acquisition of environmental thriller “Delikado” as part of its upcoming 35th season.The film, which premiered April 29 at the Hot Docs Canadian Intl. Documentary Festival, is the directorial debut of award-winning journalist Karl Malakunas.

Christopher Vourlias Irish director Frankie Fenton explores the movement of global activists who believe nuclear power is our best hope to fight climate change in “Atomic Hope: Inside the Pro-Nuclear Movement,” which world premieres May 3 at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. Paris-based documentary specialist Java Films, which is handling world sales on the film, has given Variety exclusive access to the trailer.Intimately filmed across more than a decade, “Atomic Hope” follows the small movement of nuclear-energy advocates from Japan to Switzerland, America to Australia, as they try to win over a skeptical public – despite stiff opposition from traditional environmentalists and other interest groups.Fenton admits he was as much a nuclear-energy skeptic as the next when he began researching the film.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentJosé Luis López Linares’ “Goya, Carrière and the Ghost of Buñuel,” a portrait of French film great Jean-Claude Carrière, captured breaking down the paintings and personality of painter Francisco de Goya, has been acquired for international sales by Reservoir Docs.In its earliest sales, the doc feature has closed the two biggest markets in Europe with reputed distributors, licensing France to Epicentre and Germany and Austria to Weltkino.  Launched in 2020 by Anais Clanet, Reservoir Docs will bring the documentary feature onto the market at next month’s Cannes Festival.“Reservoir Docs has always been a key sales agent for theatrical art & culture docs and Jose Luis’ work fits perfectly,” said Clanet.

Selome Hailu Tika Sumpter, Chris “Comedian CP” Powell and Ishaa Blaaker have been cast in recurring roles in Season 2 of Starz’s “Run the World” while Cree Summer and Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins will guest star, Variety has learned exclusively.The series follows a group of smart, funny and vibrant 30-something Black women who live, work and play in Harlem.Sumpter plays Naomi, the biological mother of Amari (Ellie Reine) who has returned home from the Navy. With the assertiveness of a military officer, she immediately reclaims her position in Amari’s life, leaving Sondi (Corbin Reid) to question her place in this new family dynamic.Comedian CP plays Preston Thurgood, the multi-millionaire creator of Prestify, who has no need to put on airs. His hilarious, down-to-earth personality is plenty to get Renee’s (Bresha Webb) attention; however, his lavish lifestyle certainly won’t hurt his case.

Christopher Vourlias Wolfe Releasing has acquired all North American rights for director Magnus Gertten’s feature documentary “Nelly & Nadine” ahead of its North American premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival on April 30. Wolfe Releasing has slated the documentary for a theatrical and streaming release in late 2022.Produced by Ove Rishøj Jensen from Auto Images, “Nelly & Nadine” had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the Teddy Jury Award, the highest honor for an LGBTQ+ film.“Nelly & Nadine” is the story of two women who fall in love on Christmas Eve 1944 in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Buoyed by the Oscar nomination for Maite Alberdi’s “The Mole Agent” last year, which was also shortlisted in the International Feature category, Chilean documentaries are attracting ever more attention worldwide. One of its leading lights, Patricio Guzman, will have the world premiere of his latest opus, “Mi País Imaginario” as a Cannes  Festival special screening.For the third time in a row, Chiledoc will be presenting a Chilean Docs in Progress showcase, scheduled for May 23 within the framework of Cannes Doc, which runs May 17 to 25.Spearheaded by Chiledoc director Paula Ossandón, the showcase comprises four films at editing stage.