S11 Partners Launches Chinese Film Slate With Medialink Backing; Imagine Entertainment Co-Pros

Camila Cabello is setting the stage for her new record. After debuting a new hairstyle, and teasing a new song on social media, Cabello has released “I LUV IT,” featuring Playboi Carti. Camila Cabello reveals why she left Fifth Harmony amid reported reunionKarol G’s bikini pics gets Camila Cabello, Becky G, and Paris Hilton riled upThe song is a departure from Cabello’s ballads and pop songs, having an electronic and hyper-pop edge.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is set to celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with a retrospective featuring classic titles spawned by the Hollywood studio between the dawn of sound and the late 1950s. The Locarno retro, titled “The Lady With the Torch –– The Centenary of Columbia Pictures,” is being curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht, co-director of Italy’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, which is dedicated to cinematic treasures of the past and organized in partnership with Switzerland’s Cinémathèque Suisse.

EXCLUSIVE: Moonbug Entertainment, the owner of the lucrative CoComelon franchise, is plotting European expansion and has launched its first channel for older children.

Naman Ramachandran Its raining Ram Charan projects in India. A few days after “RRR” star Ram Charan‘s 16th film was unveiled. Now, the team has been revealed for his 17th.

EXCLUSIVE: MSNBC Films has unveiled its spring and summer slate including a Dave Eggers documentary about book-banning.

Neon has formed a strategic financial partnership with Ken Kao’s Waypoint Entertainment, the ​​full-service production company behind The Favourite and The Nice Guys, to deliver a slate “of bold, genre-spanning films for savvy theatrical audiences,” the distributor said. The partners will focus on larger indies in the $10+ million range.

UPDATED with more signatories: Reaction continues to The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer‘s acceptance speech after his film won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film this month.

Caitlyn Jenner and Lamar Odom are teaming up for a new podcast.

Variety Lounge at the 2024 Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) emerged as a dynamic hub of creativity and insight. The studio played host to a series of illuminating interviews featuring prominent figures in the global film industry including European filmmaker Cristiano Bortone, producer and co-founder of boutique studio S11 Partners Ltd.

Veteran producer and sales agent Rosa Bosch has joined the Madrid-based distributor and international sales agency Begin Again Films. Bosch will serve as part of the company’s international department. 

A long time ago, in galaxy far, far away…or wait, just this galaxy in December 2020, Patty Jenkins was set to launch the next spate of post-“The Rise Of Skywalker” “Star Wars” movies with “Rogue Squadron,’ with the movie hitting theaters on December 22, 2023. Obviously, that never happened, with Kathleen Kennedy & co.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Prime Video is diving into genre in the Nordics with a new slate of shows, including the Swedish mystery crime series “Blind Spot” starring Ida Engvoll (“Love & Anarchy”) and Pål Sverre Hagen (“Furia”), and Henrik Georgsson (“The Bridge“)’s dystopian thriller “VAKA,” starring Emmy-award nominated Jonas Karlsson and Aliette Opheim. Based on Anne Holt’s best-selling novel “1222” which revolves around the character of Hanne Wilhelmsen, a sharp and dark-minded police officer. The series, penned by celebrated author Sara Heldt (“Sandhamn Murders”) together with Erik Skjoldberg (“Occupied”), follows Hanne who finds herself sheltered in an isolated mountain hotel after a train crash and starts investigating on mysterious murders even though she’s been temporarily suspended from the police.

Antler, the designer luggage brand, has kicked off a massive spring sale with up to 40% off on selected suitcases and cabin bags.The sale started online this morning (Wednesday, 13 March) and is now open for shopping. One of the highlights is the Brixham Medium Suitcase in concrete grey, which has been marked down from £210 to £126.This soft shell suitcase measures 71x43.5x28cm and features an expandable zip that adds an extra 5cm in depth - it also comes with cushioned handles on the top and side.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cora Yim and Benjamin Lin, both established indie producers of Chinese-language content, have joined forces to launch S11 Partners. It is partially backed by Medialink Group, an IP, distribution and brand licensing mini-conglomerate that is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The pair, who previously worked on TV series “Taiwan Crime Stories,” are launching their venture at FilMart in Hong Kong with a slate of three feature films in development.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Film projects to be produced by Andrew Lau (“Infernal Affairs,” “Initial D”) and Han Sanping, the former head of China Film Corp., are among the new in-development titles that grace the FilMart slate of Hong Kong studio Media Asia. The Peter Lam-controlled studio is also poised, at an event within FilMart on Monday, to detail its new alliance with China’s Alibaba Pictures Group. Lau is producing “Behind the Scene,” a book-to-film adaptation to be directed by Lee Kwong-yiu (“Insanity”) in which four friends uncover a meticulously planned murder that is carefully disguised as a kidnapping. Suspicions fall on a bank president who is involved in counterfeiting. Han is aiming to produce “Fading Tracks,” another crime title that is also adapted from a novel.

Naman Ramachandran Indian sales outfit Indywood Distribution Network has sold Rupesh Paul’s “Kamasutra – The Revenge” wide ahead of Hong Kong’s film rights market FilMart. Starring Sherlyn Chopra, Milind Gunaji and Gajendra Chauhan, and produced by San2Creations, the film follows two princesses – one who is robbed of her dreams when forced to accept a middle-aged king as her husband, and another thirsty for revenge. Indywood has sold the film to Twin (Japan, all rights); A2 Filmes (Latin America TV/VOD); Filmbridge (Mongolia, all rights); Pioneer Film (Philippines, all rights) and RFT Films (U.K./Ireland, theatrical).

Danielle Brooks and Jeffrey Wright were among the Academy Award nominees who stepped out for the 2024 Women in Film Oscar Nominees Party!

Tribeca Enterprises has launched a subscription offering, with members gaining access to special events, limited-edition merchandise and discounts on Tribeca Festival tickets and packages.

Jesse Jo Stark has celebrated the launch of the latest collection for her merch line, Deadly Doll, alongside the likes of Yungblud and more. Check out exclusive photos from the launch below.Last Tuesday, Jesse Jo Stark hosted an exclusive dinner at Lilienblum in London to celebrate the new collection for Deadly Doll.

Alex Ritman Astral Projection, the production company set up by Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and British executive producer Polly Stokes (“American Honey,” “Wild Rose”) has signed a new first-look and development deal with Fremantle. The three-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all TV and film projects for Astral Projection, which co-produced “Dead Ringers,” Amazon’s six-part psychological thriller in which Weisz played both lead roles in a gender-swapped reimagining of the 1988 David Cronenberg film. Stokes, a former creative executive at Film4, and Weisz have a long-standing relationship and are building a slate of projects with Rebecca Servadio as Astral’s literary consultant.