Scowl, Speed and Zulu drop out of Download Festival over Barclays sponsorship

Selome Hailu South by Southwest will not receive sponsorship from the U.S. Army for its 2025 festival, a decision made after multiple pro-Palestinian protests and boycotts earlier this year. “After careful consideration, we are revising our sponsorship model,” reads a statement on the SXSW website.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Making further inroads into markets in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, Studiocanal, one of Europe’s top production-distribution-international sales powerhouses, has clinched further sales on premium daily drama “The Vow” (“La Promesa”), closing Poland and two Baltic States, as well as France. Produced by Spain’s Bambú Producciones (“Velvet,” “Cable Girls”), a Studiocanal company, Studiocanal and national Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, “The Vow” has been acquired by Polish pubcaster TVP Poland, state-backed network ERR Estonia and state-owned LTV Latvia. In additional new sales, Dubai TV has closed rights to MENA territories.

Bambie Thug spoke to NME at Download 2024, telling us about life after Eurovision, using music as a force for change, festivals representing minorities, and their plans for the future.This year marked the Ouija-pop singer’s first time on the main Apex Stage at the Donington Park festival after debuting on the smaller Dogtooth Stage back last year. It also followed them competing in the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this spring, where they represented their native Ireland with the show-stopping track ‘Doomsday Blue’.They came in sixth place – Ireland’s best performance in 25 years – and made headlines for their vocal support of Palestine amid the conflict in Gaza, and for voicing their frustration at Israel being allowed to compete in this year’s competition.“The uptake in fans and support has been incredible,” they told NME of life since Eurovision.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Flow,” a director-driven animated feature which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and just swept three awards at Annecy Film Festival, has been embraced by a raft of major distributors in key territories, including the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy. The movie is represented internationally by Charades.

UK drama The Gathering was the big winner at the Golden Nymph Awards, which were announced at the closing ceremony of the Monte Carlo TV Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi-American actor Alexander Uloom has been cast in an undisclosed but key role in Prime Video’s biblical drama House Of David, which is shooting on location in Greece.

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli romcom drama series The Baker and the Beauty is being remade for France’s TF1, with French singer-songwriter Amir Haddad playing the lead in his debut TV role.

Barclays bank customers are being encouraged to switch their accounts following a series of protests by pro-Palestine group, Palestine Action.

Bambie Thug has dedicated a performance of The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ at Download Festival to the people of Palestine.The artist, who memorably represented Ireland at this year’s Eurovision, played the Apex Stage at the Donington festival yesterday (June 14) and took the time to highlight the cause that is close to their heart.After singing the track ‘Trash’ from inside a wheelie bin, Bambie said, “You know what else is trash? Governments that allow genocides to happen. Our voices are more important than ever.”They then played a cover of ‘Zombie’, a song about the innocent victims of political violence, before rounding off the song with a cry of “Free Palestine”.Bambie had previously shared a recorded version of the cover earlier this year, which you can listen to below.The musician spoke to NME in May about playing the main stage of Download Festival this weekend, calling it “mental”.“I can’t wait,” they told NME. “After Eurovision I was like, ‘I’m going to be so bored’.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed further deals for Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,”following the North American deal with Strand Releasing and the first international sales previously announced by Variety.The film has been acquired by Nour Films in France, One From the Heart in Greece, Mezipatra in Czech Republic and Slovakia, HBO Europe in Eastern Europe, Beta Film in Bulgaria and Falcon in Indonesia, in addition to the already announced deals with Vedette in the Benelux, Karma in Spain, Trigon in Switzerland and Lev in Israel.Films Boutique is in negotiations with potential buyers in the U.K., Latin America, Germany and Japan.Additionally, New Voice Film Productions Ltd. secured distribution deals with Golden Scene for Hong Kong and Macau and Flash Forward Entertainment in Taiwan.“All Shall Be Well” is written and directed by Yeung and was produced by Yeung’s frequent collaborator Michael J.

Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 had its first full day of play at the international box office on Wednesday with No. 1 starts in each of its eight material markets, including strong debuts in majors Korea and Germany as well as the Philippines. The total through day one overseas is $4.9M. Majors joining through Friday include Australia, Mexico and the UK.

Lankum have said they have signed a letter asking Latitude to drop Barclays as a sponsor amid the current boycott of the bank over its ties to companies who are supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.Numerous acts have already pulled out of the Henham Park festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, including CMAT, Pillow Queens, Mui Zyu and Georgia Ruth. Comedians Joanne McNally and Alexandra Haddow have also dropped out.Now, Lankum have lent their voices to the conversation by revealing that they have signed a letter to Latitude over the issue, suggesting that the festival itself will be subject to acts taking a collective stand.“In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine,” they wrote in a statement.“We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts scheduled to play at the festival as we firmly believe that collective action is the most effective action.“Hopefully we will have more news on this soon.”“Love and solidarity, Cormac, Daragh, Ian and Radie.”In relation to the Barclays sponsorship of Latitude Festival, we have signed a letter asking the festival to drop the bank due to their links with weapons firms involved in the genocide in Palestine.We have also been working behind the scenes with a number of the acts… pic.twitter.com/DIGdmhDxIp— LANKUM (@LankumDublin) June 12, 2024The announcement of artists pulling out of Latitude comes shortly after the major boycott of The Great Escape in Brighton last month, also due to its ties with Barclays.

Download 2024 yesterday (June 10) over its partnership with Barclays Bank – which has ties to Israel – have announced a show together in Birmingham to raise money for Palestine.Pest Control were the first band to pull out of the Donington Park festival, saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.” Later on, Scowl, Speed and Zulu all followed suit, with Scowl revealing that Pest Control had alerted them to the issue.This Friday! A benefit for Palestine

Latitude 2024 due to the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.They are the two leading names when it comes to the comedians who are boycotting this year’s edition of the event, and follow numerous musical acts who are refusing to perform while it is still sponsored by the bank.Joanne McNally announced her withdrawal from the festival last week, when she shared an update online. She was set to close the comedy tent at Latitude 2024, which will be held at Henham Park in Suffolk between July 25 and 28.“I’m getting messages today about me performing at Latitude when it’s being sponsored by Barclays,” she began on Instagram (via Goss.ie).

Pest Control have pulled out of Download 2024 over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The band took to their official Instagram to share a statement explaining why they would be boycotting the annual festival in Donnington. “We have made the decision to pull out of our upcoming shows at Download festival this week (Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June),” began their statement.They explained that they are taking part in the boycott against Barclays bank who are sponsoring the music festival.

Kneecap have discussed their reasons for not participating in the boycott of The Great Escape last month.Over 100 artists pulled out of the Brighton festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, which has been accused of financial ties to companies arming Israel. However, the bank claims it is “trading in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand”.The Irish rap trio’s decision was caused some controversy online given that they have always taken a stand against what they call Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza.They helped to raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine and spoken publicly about it via social media and a message shared after a high-profile appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. They have also made headlines for ignoring Irish public broadcaster RTÉ’s requests to not wear pro-Palestine badges.Kneecap did participate in the boycott of SXSW (after the UK government withdrew arts funding to get them to get there; resulting in a legal battle) after discovering the US military was supporting the festival.

Eurovision following the controversial disqualification of Joost Klein in last month’s contest, their state broadcaster has said.Klein – who was set to represent the Netherlands with his song ‘Europapa’ – was disqualified from the contest in Malmö, Sweden just hours before Saturday’s finale (May 11). At the time, police stated that the decision was made after he was accused of making verbal threats towards a female member of the production crew.The incident marked the first time that an act had been disqualified after reaching the Grand Final in the competition’s 68-year history and, before his disqualification, the 26-year-old singer was named as one of the favourites to win.Jimmy Modin, a spokesperson for the police, spoke to The Guardian about the incident and revealed that it was looking likely that Klein will face legal action.

K.J. Yossman Over 100 Jewish creatives have signed an open letter accusing the BBC of double standards over the corporation’s response to a cricket commentator’s controversial comments.

The Eurovision Song Contest could be set for a shake-up as an "independent expert" is being brought in to review the event after a year filled with drama and disputes.The most recent contest was overshadowed by the disqualification of the Dutch act, Joost Klein, following allegations he made verbal threats to a female staff member, alongside the contentious inclusion of Israeli singer Eden Golan amidst escalating tensions in Gaza. Israel's broadcaster later expressed that their team experienced "an unprecedented display of hatred" from fellow competitors and nations during the event.

Cornerstone has closed worldwide distribution deals for Andrea Arnold’s latest feature film Bird, which debuted at last month’s Cannes Film Festival.