Rotterdam Official Entry ‘Phantom Project’ by Chile’s Roberto Doveris Bows Teaser (EXCLUSIVE)

Chelsea Houska and Cole DeBoer are going from MTV to HGTV!

Anna Marie de la Fuente Miami-based FiGa Films has announced a flurry of sales and acquisition activity during the EFM. Among its stellar pics is ‘Nudo Mixteco,” the first indigenous film it has handled, which HBO Max has picked up for the U.S., to bow in May.Uruguayan doc, “Straight to VHS,” winner of the prestigious critics award, the Fipresci, at the Buenos Aires indie film fest, Bafici, has been sold to IndiePix for the U.S. It also acquired the film on which the doc is based upon, “Act of Violence on a Young Journalist,” that will be released as an extra on home video.“We are delighted to collaborate with IndiePix and with their enthusiasm for ‘Straight to VHS,’” said FiGa Films’ Sandro Fiorin, adding: “Their plans for a home-video release full of extras sounds like an instant collectible item.

Teen Mom 2‘s Chelsea and Cole DeBoer have embarked on a new adventure with HGTV. The network has given a series greenlight to Farmhouse Fabulous (working title), a new renovation and design show featuring the couple for premiere in spring 2023.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Netflix has recently released Spain’s first film using LED volume technology, teen romantic drama “Through My Window” (“A Través de mi Ventana”).Produced by Adrian Guerra’s Nostromo Pictures alongside sister company Orca Studios, the Spanish-language film features real-time rendered CG scenes shot in-camera as part of its production.Its LED volume technology is the same ground-breaking virtual production process utilized by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) on Disney Plus’ hit series “The Mandalorian” and is considered by many as the most significant technological advance since green screen.LED wall volumes replace static backgrounds in virtual studios with exterior or interior images that adjust in sync with camera movement, powered by video game PC engines, such as Unreal for “The Mandalorian.” “We selected three scenes — the heliport, the penthouse interior and the elevator — as they had different challenges and needs,” said Guerra, adding: “We also shot some car sequences directly in the LED volume, with driving plates from Barcelona projected on the LED screens and backgrounds in different sets.”Based on the YA novel by Ariana Godoy, a bestseller on online social reading platform Wattpad, “Through My Window” follows high schooler Raquel who has a been harboring a crush on her gorgeous neighbor, Ares, whom she spies on from her window. He’s also the scion of a wealthy family, so she feels he’s way out of her league.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Top Argentine sales and production company, FilmSharks Int’l, has picked up worldwide sales rights to Matias Lucchesi’s latest film “The Broken Land” (“Las Rojas”) ahead of its debut at the European Film Market (EFM).This will be the second time for a Lucchesi film to be present in Berlin. Lucchesi snagged the best feature prize at the Berlinale Generation Kplus sidebar with his feature debut, “Natural Sciences,” in 2014.Shot mainly in the majestic Cordillera de las Andes of Mendoza, Argentina, “The Broken Land” can be described as a thriller with Western undertones, highlighted by the soulful music of composer Hernan Segret.Drama centers on two female paleontologists, played by Argentina’s Mercedes Moran (“La Cienaga”) and Uruguay’s Natalia Oreiro (“The Unseen”), who are at loggerheads from the moment they meet. Oreiro’s character, Constanza, has come to the protected national reserve where Moran’s equally strong-willed character, Carlota, has been toiling for years.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorDutch-Caribbean teen documentary “Shabu” has debuted an exclusive clip, ahead of its screening at Berlin Film Festival on Monday. Reservoir Docs is handling world sales, except for Netherlands, Belgium and France.The film, directed by Aruban-Dutch filmmaker Shamira Raphaëla, world premiered at IDFA, winning the best youth documentary award, and also played at Rotterdam Film Festival.

Anna Marie de la Fuente It’s a new dawn for Chile’s audiovisual industry. When Gabriel Boric, Chile’s youngest (at 35) and most left-leaning president since Salvador Allende, was elected in December, his pledge to more than double the state’s contribution to the arts was greeted with great fanfare.  After all, Chile’s prodigious film output this past decade has been remarkable despite the scant public support it has received. “If everything we have achieved in the last 10 years was done with so little money, imagine what we can achieve with an increase in audiovisual funding!” says Constanza Arena, executive director of Chile’s film promotion org, CinemaChile.In recent years, Chile has triumphed at the Oscars, starting when Pablo Larraín’s “No” was nominated for international feature in 2012, and culminating in an Oscar win for Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” in 2017.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Key Chilean projects being moved at this year’s European Film Market:AlisDirectors: Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás van HemelryckCasatarántula produced this Chile-Colombia-Romania doc along with Pantalla Cines and Defilm. Produced by Alexandra Galvis and Radu Stancu, it world premieres at Berlinale’s Generation 14plus sidebar.

Anna Marie de la Fuente It’s a new dawn for Chile’s audiovisual industry. When Gabriel Boric, Chile’s youngest (at 35) and most left-leaning president since Salvador Allende, was elected in December, his pledge to more than double the state’s contribution to the arts was greeted with great fanfare.After all, Chile’s prodigious film output this past decade has been remarkable despite the scant public support it has received.“If everything we have achieved in the last 10 years was done with so little money, imagine what we can achieve with an increase in audiovisual funding!” says Constanza Arena, executive director of Chile’s film promotion org, CinemaChile.In recent years, Chile has triumphed at the Oscars, starting when Pablo Larraín’s “No” was nominated for international feature in 2012, and culminating in an Oscar win for Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” in 2017.

Emiliano De Pablos International distribution house Pink Parrot Media has taken worldwide sales rights outside Spain and Portugal to 3D/2D animated musical film “Valentina,” the feature debut of Spanish producer-turned director Chelo Loureiro of Galicia’s Ábano Producións.Based out of Montreal and Madrid, Pink Parrot will introduce the toon feature to international buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market “Valentina” had its theatrical premiere in December on 160 screens in Spain, handled by Super8.Written, directed and produced by Loureiro and co-written by Lúa Testa, “Valentina” tells the story of a girl who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist but struggles to believe it is possible because she has Down’s syndrome.

Anna Marie de la Fuente International sales, distribution and production company Axxon Media has picked up a troika of films ahead of Berlinale. Leading the pack is Askar Uzabayev’s “Happiness” (“Bakhyt”) from Kazakhstan, which world premieres in the festival’s Panorama section.Making its market debut at the EFM is Algeria-set “Soula,” written and directed by Salah Issaad, a contender at the Red Sea Festival in Jeddah last December.The third film is Amalric Gérard’s French burlesque comedy “Public Enemy No.

Christopher Vourlias Paraguayan director Paz Encina, whose striking ecological fable and tale of the pain of exile, “Eami,” won the Tiger Award at this year’s Rotterdam Film Festival, is developing a slate of feature film projects, Variety can reveal.The first project, “Sy,” follows the titular character –  whose name means “mother” in the Guarani language – after she receives the news that she’ll give birth to a savior who will also be the son of her god. “In this project I would like to work on a woman’s dichotomy between motherhood and faith,” said Encina.The second film, “El Único Tiempo,” tells the story of an elderly couple living in exile, where they await news of the son who disappeared during Paraguay’s military dictatorship.

Ian Evatt gave Morecambe credit for keeping hold of star striker Cole Stockton in the January transfer window as he wants the Bolton Wanderers travelling fans to create a positive atmosphere for his side.

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A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the racial abuse suffered by Ashley Cole during Man City’s FA Cup tie at Swindon Town.

Julian Alvarez might already have realised he will not be given any special treatment as he prepares to sign for Manchester City during the January transfer window.

Christopher Vourlias Luis Campos’ Portuguese label Matiné has boarded “Mother of Gold,” the sophomore feature from Brazilian director Madiano Marcheti, which was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival’s CineMart co-production market.Set in a rural town in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest, the film tells the story of a troubled woman trying to overcome her past and reconnect with her estranged son, who was kicked out of the house when his father refused to accept his sexuality.After a group of prospectors invades the neighboring hillside in search of gold, the woman starts to have mysterious dreams. As the visions intensify, she slowly comes to realize that the hill itself appears to be calling her.