‘Riddick: Furya’ Sets Production Start Date As Rocket Science Locks In Pic’s International Distribution

Christopher Vourlias It’s been 20 years since the Czech Republic hosted its first pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film, with a Czech delegation arriving at the prestigious French fest just days after their country had joined the European Union. The timing was both propitious and symbolic: In the two decades since, the Czech industry has grown more international in its outlook, spurred on by a growing number of co-productions and a wave of industry professionals who have come of age since the country joined the E.U.

Mediawan CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton into France’s Legion of Honor last October, calling the exec “the ultimate French success story.” In a country rarely known to promote social mobility, Capton-esque career trajectories are scarce. A self-made entrepreneur born into a middle-class Normandy family, Capton began his professional life as a teen with an entry-level internship, eschewing elite universities, making the exec a rare bird among France’s top media execs.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent German actors Elisa Schlott (“Das Boot” TV series), Max Riemelt (“Sleeping Dog”) and Alma Hasun (“Corsage”) are set to star in Italian director Silvio Soldini‘s drama “The Tasters,” which reconstructs the untold true story of the women conscripted to be Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. Shooting is set to start on Friday in Italy’s northern Alto Adige region on the Nazi-era drama, which is being pre-sold at the Cannes Marché du Film by Rome-based Vision Distribution, headed by sales agent Catia Rossi.

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Dr. Bijukumar Damodaran‘s next film “Papa Buka” will commence principal photography in Papua New Guinea in July. The film will follow Indian historians Romila and Anand who go to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to write a book about the Indian soldiers who fought with the British and Australian armies against the Japanese during WWII in the country.

Jamie Lang Spanish public broadcaster RTVE held its fifth annual RTVE Showcase late last week in Madrid. Eight of the network’s top shows were profiled for international buyers, and several panels debated the current state of affairs in Spain’s TV production industry. Professionals from around the world tuned into this year’s Showcase, which had the overriding theme of international co-production.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor France TV Distribution has closed several territory deals for Sylvain Desclous’ “The Victoria System,” starring Damien Bonnard and Jeanne Balibar. The film has been acquired by Spentzos in Greece, Divisa Red in Spain, Arna Media in the CIS, NK Content in South Korea, AVJET in Taïwan and Mars in Turkey. The film centers on David Kolski, who is overseeing the construction of the highest tower ever built in France.

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran producers Frida Torresblanco (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Frank Murray (First Reformed) have teamed up to launch Hangtime International Pictures, a new transatlantic production company headquartered in London and New York.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based Nour Films has acquired French rights to Saudi director Tawfik Alzaidi’s first feature Norah ahead of its world premiere in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard.

A WASTE firm has pointed the finger at axed Green Party minister Lorna Slater for them suffering a £150million loss over the failed bottle recycling scheme.

Brittney Griner opened up about the thought of traveling internationally again after being detained in Russia for 10 months.

Former WME Independent agent Nelson Mok is launching a new investment and sales company named Mokster Films, which will focus on projects from Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Ben Croll The growth of France’s VFX sector cannot be overstated, as the implementation of a comprehensive 10% bonus for international productions that spend more than $2.1 million with local companies (and the fact that the full 40% tax rebate can be earned off digital expenditures alone) has supercharged the post-production ecosystem, funneling first financial and then human capital. On paper, the equation is self-evident: Where investment goes, talent soon follows. In practice, this cause-and-effect has fueled a wide repatriation, as skilled graduates of the country’s top training programs return from outposts abroad for the opportunity to work on projects at home. Studios like Paris- and Montpellier-based the Yard have reaped the benefits of this inverse brain-drain, building on commissions from recent projects like “Halo,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” to bulk up a workforce well-versed in international pipelines and methods — a staffing asset that further facilitates partnerships with bigger commissioners. “Our entire working model is similar to those of studios in Canada, the United States and England,” says the Yard founder and senior VFX supervisor Laurens Ehrmann.

Rising Riyadh-based independent studio Telfaz11 and newly launched UK distribution label Metis Films are partnering to release Saudi hit Mandoob in the UK and Ireland.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Director and producer Tom Tykwer has become managing director of Berlin-based production company X Filme Creative Pool, best known for “Babylon Berlin,” alongside Uwe Schott. Tykwer succeeds Stefan Arndt, one of Germany’s leading producers.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Indie Sales is re-teaming with rising Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel on her sophomore feature “In Adam’s Interest,” having previously sold around the world her critically acclaimed feature debut “Playground” which premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. “In Adam’s Interest” also reunites Wandel with producer Stéphane Lhoest at Belgium’s Dragons Films, and is produced by Delphine Tomson at Les Films du Fleuve, the Dardenne’ brothers banner. Co-producers are Jan de Clercq at Lunanime, who will release the film in Benelux under his distribution company Lumière; and Marie-Ange Luciani‘s Les Films de Pierre, the Oscar-nominated outfit behind “Anatomy of a Fall.” Memento will release “In Adam’s Interest” in French theaters.

Alex Ritman With vibrant green carpets no doubt already having been sourced for its various global premieres, “Wicked” is expected to be one of the biggest movie events this winter. It certainly ticks all the necessary boxes — a major musical adaptation of one of the world’s most successful stage shows and featuring an all-star cast led by the almost-EGOT Cynthia Erivo and, in her first feature-film lead role, pop princess Ariana Grande.

MadRiver Pictures has closed a multi-year equity financing and distribution deal with several major international distribution partners which gives it the ability to fully finance films at a budget of $25M-$75M for the global theatrical marketplace.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Music Box Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Daaaaaalí!,” the latest film by Quentin Dupieux whose upcoming movie “The Second Act” will world premiere on opening night at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The BFI is once again heading to the Cannes Market with its so-called Great 8 — a selection of projects from first and second-time filmmakers that it will present to international buyers. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Paris-based international sales and production company Totem Films has revealed its production slate, with projects by Nastia Korkia, Vytautas Katkus, Ernst de Geer and Anna Roller. Totem brought together the directors and writers of the projects they are developing to take part in a Script Circle in Berlin, led by consultants Françoise von Roy and Franz Rodenkirchen. Totem partners Bérénice Vincent and Laure Parleani said that the production companies they are working with, Garagefilm, TamTam and Kalekone, were “enthusiastic about this collaborative idea, so were the directors and scriptwriters.” They added: “It is very nurturing to have a mix of different personalities, countries and backgrounds.