Sebastian Meise’s ‘Great Freedom’ Snags Top Prize at the Seville European Film Festival

Canal Plus has reached a new agreement with French film industry organizations which sees the pay-TV group commit to invest more than 600M euros ($679M) in local and European film across the next three years.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorSlovak filmmaker Peter Kerekes’ “107 Mothers,” which premiered in Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section and was selected as the Slovak entry for the Best International Feature Film category of the 94th Academy Awards, has won the Arab Critics’ Award for European Films.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentOstinato Cine, one of the high-energy company hubs on Ecuador’s burgeoning film scene, is teaming with Germany’s Rohfilm Productions to co-produce “Alfredo Larón,” the feature film debut as a writer-director of Benjamin Mirguet, an editor on Carlos Reygadas’ “Battle in Heaven” and João Paulo Miranda Maria’s “Memory House.”Developing and financing features for the international crossover arthouse sector, Rohfilm Productions’ credits include Cannes’

Anna Marie de la Fuente Tapping a widely successful genre, Sony Pictures Int’l Productions (SPIP) is producing the musical romantic comedy “Voy a pasarmelo bien” (“I’m Going to Have A Good Time”) in association with transatlantic production powerhouse, El Estudio and Spanish pop rock band Hombres G.The film is inspired by the music of the iconic band which rose to prominence in the ‘80s with their Beatles and British new wave-influenced music.Based in Madrid, Hombres G is formed by David

Naman Ramachandran Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival (Dec.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFor the upcoming 43rd edition of the Cairo Film Festival, which is the grande dame of Arab film events, fest chief Mohamed Hefzy and his team have assembled a rich mix of top notch Arab and international titles, including the world premiere of Tunisian star Dhafer L’Abidine’s directorial debut “Ghodwa” and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) premiere of “House of Gucci.” They have also recruited high-caliber talents and industry personalities such

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s Torino Film Festival, the pre-eminent event for young directors and indie cinema — now being revamped after going virtual due to the pandemic — will somewhat symbolically kick off its upcoming 39th edition with the international premiere of “Sing 2” with director Garth Jennings in tow.“It’s a hymn to going back into movie theaters,” says Torino artistic director Stefano Francia di Celle on choosing the animated musical comedy, featuring more

A scene from I Am Samuel, the closing night film

Naman Ramachandran Italy’s Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar, BAFTA and Cannes winning film “Cinema Paradiso,” will preside over the features competition jury at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival (Dec. 6-15).

George Bird Two of the most acclaimed climbing films of the year, Max Lowe’s “Torn” and The Alpinist, from Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen, have taken big awards at this year’s Kendal Mountain Film Festival, held in the U.K.’s Lake District.Its hybrid edition proved once more a dazzling showcase of mountain and sports films whose subjects, themes and emotions went far beyond the adrenalin-rush thrills of reportage.Awards for the festival’s main international film competition were unveiled

The New Frontiers section of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival will be presented both in person, at a new Park City venue, and via a remote VR platform, the Sundance Institute announced today.

Ventana Sur’s 4th Proyecta co-production forum, a wide-ranging showcase of emerging auteurs and new talents to track from Latin America and Europe.“Alfredo Larón,” for example, marks the feature debut of Mirguet, the editor of Carlos Reygadas’ “Battle in Heaven,” and also a former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight programmer.

Will Tizard ContributorLife on the road and fantasy worlds held sway at the 29th edition of the EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival on Saturday, winning big after a week of scaled down but enthusiastic industry events, seminars and screenings celebrating cinematography.“C’mon C’mon,” shot by Robbie Ryan and directed by Mike Mills, won this year’s Golden Frog.

Almost a decade has passed since Austria won an Oscar with Michael Haneke’s Amour, but Sebastian Meise’s well-received third feature Great Freedom is gaining global acclaim after bagging the Un Certain Regard jury prize earlier this year at Cannes.

Marta Balaga Acclaimed cinematographers and ASC members Michael Chapman and Allen Daviau, who both died last year, were the focus of a legacy panel at EnergaCamerimage Film Festival on Monday, led by the likes of Lawrence Sher (“Joker”), Xavier Pérez Grobet (“Watchmen”), Amy Vincent (‘Footloose”) and Seamus McGarvey (“Atonement”).Nominated for five Oscars for his work on “Bugsy,” “Avalon,” “Empire of the Sun,” “The Color Purple” and “E.T.

Academy Awards.The best director award went to Venezuelan filmmaker Lorenzo Vigas, whose Mexican movie “La Caja” (The Box) is about a teenager who travels to collect the remains of his father and who begins to doubt his father’s demise.

Christopher Vourlias Samuel Theis’ “Softie” won the top prize at the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival, which wrapped Sunday night with a ceremony in Greece’s second city.The film, which premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week section, was awarded the Golden Alexander and a €10,000 ($11,400) cash prize by a jury comprised of writer-director Nanouk Leopold, sound designer Roland Vajs and actor Michelle Valley.The Special Jury Award was given to “Clara Sola,” by Natalie Álvarez Mesén, while the Special

As host of NBC’s public affairs program Meet the Press, Chuck Todd generally can’t stray far from D.C. But for part of this week, anway, he’s venturing to the other coast.

Formula 1 has introduced a new rule obliging celebrities to lose their bodyguards before the start of races, according to Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle. The 62-year-old former McLaren and Williams driver’s eccentric grid walks, where he interviews drivers, team principals and VIPs just before the start of a Grand Prix, have been a cornerstone of motorsport coverage in the UK across ITV, the BBC and Sky Sports since his media career began in the 1990s.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe international premiere of animated musical comedy “Sing 2” will open the upcoming Torino Film Festival, Italy’s preeminent event for young directors and indie fare, which will be honoring Monica Bellucci with a lifetime achievement award.Director Garth Jennings will be on hand in Torino for the overseas festival bow of his sequel to 2016’s “Sing,” which follows a koala named Buster Moon, voiced by Matthew McConaughey, as he and his cast of