Series Mania Forum Unveils Co-Pro Projects, With Buzzy Titles ‘Unspoken,’ ‘Asma’ and ‘YOP’

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Daniel Brühl (“All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Captain America: Civil War”) is set to star as late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in “Kaiser Karl,” the anticipated Disney+ original series which Gaumont (“Lupin”) is currently producing. The show is currently shooting in France, Monaco and Italy. The six-part series will chronicle the rise of Karl Lagerfeld through the world of 1970s Parisian high fashion. In 1972, a 38-year-old Karl Lagerfeld aspired to become the most famous French fashion designer, at a time when Yves Saint Laurent reigned supreme. Lagerfeld went on to become the head designer and creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his own label.

Netflix has announced that sports docu-series Break Point has been renewed for a second season.

EXCLUSIVE: Nigeria soccer legend Augustine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha is getting animated.

Frank Doelger’s eco-thriller drama The Swarm has made a splash on German TV.

EXCLUSIVE: Leo Messi is getting the animated treatment.

Love Island 2022 winner Davide Sanclimenti has delivered a sly dig at this year's winter edition as he admitted he hasn't been "entertained" by the drama in the South African villa so far.The 27 year old star, who won the show with his now-girlfriend Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, 28, swiftly became one of the show's most popular contestants ever to grace screens.The Italian stallion and his Turkish delight had an almighty journey on the show, with many convinced their fiery personalities couldn't make it in the long haul. But nearly seven months after the final last summer, the couple are still going strong.

Sundance prize winner Sofia Alaoui, Yemeni-Scottish Oscar-nominee Sara Ishaq and Emmy-feted Egyptian cinematographer Muhammad Hamdy will be among filmmakers presenting projects at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event, unfolding in Qatar March 10-15.

In this new teaser for Paramount+’s Fatal Attraction series, Lizzy Caplan’s Alex Forrest shares an elevator with Joshua Jackson’s Dan Gallagher and asks “Do you ever push that red button?” We can be pretty sure she’s not merely talking about an emergency stop.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Ramsay Street is gearing up to welcome a few more familiar faces. Seven long-time characters are joining Amazon Freevee’s continuation of Australian soap “Neighbours.” The new additions include Annie Jones (as Jane Harris), Rebekah Elmaloglou (as Terese Willis), Georgie Stone (as Mackenzie Hargreaves) and Tim Kano (as Leo Tanaka). All cast members will return as series regulars. Meanwhile, those returning in guest roles are Ian Smith (as Harold Bishop), April Rose Pengilly (as Chloe Brennan) and Melissa Bell (as Lucy Robinson). They will be joined by “Neighbours” stalwarts Stefan Dennis, Alan Fletcher, Ryan Moloney and Jackie Woodburne, who were previously announced.

With all the drama caused by Casa Amor still unfolding, you’d be forgiven for not paying particular attention to the Love Island stars’ manicures – but don’t worry, we have been. Last season, there was one main nail trend that the Islanders chose to wear: French nails complete with white tips and opaque pink base shades.This winter season, however, sees an opposing nail look trend: colour.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content will deliver a keynote at Series Mania’s Lille Dialogues whose one-day summit looks set to take the pulse on a global content industry as content investment flattens and ask how to build a more responsible industry in the future. Marking an early opportunity to hear from streaming platforms after both Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney have announced multi-billion dollar cuts in content investment, the Lille Dialogues also count on a keynote from James Farrell, head of local originals, Prime Video. Further keynotes will be delivered by top execs at France’s biggest free-to-air service, TF1, as well as its energetic public broadcaster France Télévisions and Europe’s biggest pay TV operator, Sky. Jan Mojto, CEO, Beta Film, can be expected to deliver a wide-angled vision of how stories made in Europe can find a market worldwide.

When Laurence Herszberg first launched Series Mania back in 2010 in Paris, the former Forum des Images director was keen to apply her deep knowledge of film and the film festival model to the television sector. At the time, says the French exec, no one was doing any kind of TV festival “solely dedicated to series.”  

Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is eyeing a world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, potentially giving the annual celebration of cinema one of the glitziest red carpet bows of its eight-decade history. The Apple movie, which was pursued by both Venice and Cannes toppers, may ultimately be unveiled in the South of France. Of course, there could still be a last minute change of plans by the time the lineup is unveiled in April, but it’s looking promising enough that Scorsese is even rumored to have reserved a suite at one of the posh hotels along the Croisette. Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ director, is preparing a massive 2023 edition and traveled to L.A. earlier this month to screen Scorsese’s movie and discuss other potential Hollywood titles. Alberto Barbera, Venice’s artistic director, was in town at the same time taking meetings with studio bosses, which led to an awkward situation even though they didn’t bump into each other, according to an industry insider.

EXCLUSIVE: Wade Allain-Marcus (Insecure, Snowfall) has been cast in the Netflix limited series, Eric, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, in a recurring role. He will portray club owner, Ali Gator.

The White Lotus is almost certainly checking into an Asian hotel for its third season — and it’s been revealed Netflix’s Dahmer star Evan Peters nearly starred in the second run.

K.J. Yossman S.N.A.P. Films have unveiled their new development slate, including a film and true crime limited series about the first female mob boss Bessie Starkman. The Canadian production company, founded by Sergio Navarretta and Alessandra Piccione, has also secured Dr. Bernie Siegel’s life rights with a view to working on a documentary and feature film about what they describe as “America’s most controversial doctor in the field of mind-body healing and patient empowerment” as well as optioning the rights to the book “Rocco Perri: The Story of Canada’s Most Notorious Bootlegger” by Antonio Nicaso, which they are also planning to adapt as a feature.

One of Stanley Kubrick’s lost projects, a large-scale biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte, has been in the works for HBO for the last seven years.

Marta Balaga Nikolaj Lie Kaas’ series “Agent,” shown at Berlinale Series, centers around Joe, who has high hopes for his famous clients. But it’s not another remake of a certain French smash. “I started writing it before ‘Call My Agent!’ even came out. Then I saw it on Netflix and went: ‘Oh, for f**k’s sake…’,” Danish actor-turned-director tells Variety. “I guess I was just longing for a comedy, something that would also have depth, heart and all that stuff. I said to myself: ‘Nikolaj, you are being a bitch about it. Create something yourself, instead of asking others to do it.’” 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Elsa Zylberstein, one of the most famous – and bankable — faces of French cinema, known for her Cesar-winning performance in “I’ve Loved You For So Long,” is preparing to emerge as a major film producer. Having recently set up banners in France and the U.S., Zylberstein is actively developing a raft of films and series, working with the likes of Oscar-winning Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad (“The Cave”), Ted Braun (Darfur Now”) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton (“The Father”), among others. These include “Kingdom of Hope,” a movie about Elise Boghossian, a French acupuncturist and humanitarian worker in a war zone who has healed children victims of ISIS . The movie will be directed by Fayyad, who is based in Berlin, and is being penned by Braun, based on Boghossian’s autobiographical book “Au royaume de l’espoir, il n’y a pas d’hiver.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema has unveiled its 85-title lineup for the edition that starts later this month (February 28 to March 7, 2023). Elements include a 10-film competition section, a 10-film documentary film section, a tribute to the Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu; a thematic section “Asian Diaspora Cinema” offering a panorama of works by directors from Asian countries living in exile; and a Philippines cinema sidebar. Fiction films in competition include: Azerbaijan’s “Cold as Marble,” by Asif Rustamov; China’s “In Our Prime,” by Liu Yulin; Korea’s “A Letter from Kyoto,” by Kim Min-ju; India’s: “Behind Veils,” by Praveen Morshhale; Iran’s “No End,” by Nader Saievar; Mongolia’s “The Sales Girl,” by Sengedorj Janchivdorj; The Philippines’s “Feast,” by Brillante Mendoza; Singapore’s “#LookAtMe,” by Ken Kwek; and Vietnam’s “Memento Mori: Earth,” by Marcus Vu Manh Cuong. The president of the jury is Lee Yong-kwan, president of the Busan film festival.