Sitges FanPitch: ‘Idaho Winter,’ ‘Malamuerte,’ ‘This Thing,’ Loneliness, Women’s Empowerment, and Gruesome Takes on the Zeitgeist

Marta Balaga Ahead of its 39th edition, Poland’s Warsaw Film Festival is betting on timely topics. “The role of filmmakers, and artists in general, is to react,” says festival director Stefan Laudyn. “For years, we have been showing films that criticize the situation in various countries, not just in Poland.

David Beckham is offering an unfiltered look at his extraordinary life and career in the new Netflix documentary Beckham.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Mexico’s Mónica Lozano, producer of Alejandro González Iñarritu’s “Amores Perros” and Eugenio Derbéz’s “Instructions Not Included,” has boarded “Cepeda,” an envelope-pushing Mexico-set procedural, turning on a Mexican cop who’s an Indigenous woman and great at her job. Development over the last two years has been financed by Acuña’s Chile-based Promocine.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “The Head,” The Mediapro Studio’s biggest hit, will have a third season, Ran Tellem, TMS head of international content development, confirmed Tuesday at Iberseries & Industria Platino. “‘The Head’ started out something like four years ago as a limited series only for six episodes and now it’s going into third season, so you might say we never lived up to our promises,” Tellem joked on stage at an early Iberseries panel, entitled Creative Content Strategies, where he shared the stage with former Netflix international head Erik Barmack, now at L.A.-based Wild Sheep Content. The Mediapro Studio will produce ‘The Head,’ Season 3 out of Spain.

Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan appeared in high spirits as they enjoyed a wholesome Saturday night this week, taking the former's mum, Jill, out for dinner in Manchester.The couple, who won Winter Love Island in March this year, have been going strong for six months now and appear close to one another's families. Snapped heading out for the evening, 25-year-old Kai had his two ladies on a side each as he wrapped a loving arm around his mum, while holding onto Sanam's hand.

Graham Norton and his husband Jonathan McLeod were spotted taking a stroll through London with their adorable pet dog today, in a rare moment of loved-up couple-ness for the pair. The duo, who got married last summer in a stunning ceremony, enjoyed their weekday walk around the Hampstead area of North London, as both donned sunglasses and kept their looks casual in public. Superstar chat show host Graham, 61, who has interviewed the biggest stars in the business on his BBC One staple The Graham Norton Show, looked a far cry from his usually glitzy outfits.

It’s been reported that Katy Perry feels “sick to her stomach" following the allegations made against Russell Brand.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “Modestly speaking, we’ve tried to create a culture at Movistar Plus+ which attracts talent. We have a lot of respect for what creators want to tell and believe in them,” Domingo Corral, Movistar Plus+ director of fiction and entertainment, has said. One case in point is Berto Romero, whose latest series, “The Other Side” (“El otro lado”), world premieres at Spain’s San Sebastian Festival on Sunday.

When it comes to relationships, no couple will ever be perfect, which is a theory that also applies to members of the royal family such as the Prince and Princess of Wales.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent SAN SEBASTIAN — In a first big deal to be announced during this year’s San Sebastian Festival, Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio, one of Europe’s biggest independent and international creation-production-distribution powerhouses, has acquired Cimarrón, the Uruguay, Argentina and Mexico-based production house and services company. Of “highly significant value,” TMS said Friday, the deal looks set to consolidate TMS’ presence in Latin America and beyond.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Spain’s 71st San Sebastian Film Festival is tracking to welcome an even larger industry presence than 2022, currently up 10% in attendance on 2022’s already bullish figures, its status as the biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world remaining undiminished. Here are 10 key takes on potential highlights and trends which look likely to shape this year’s edition, running Sept.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent SAN SEBASTIAN — Paris-based Luxbox has clinched major territory pre-sales on anticipated San Sebastian competition title “Puan,” an original attempt by its writer-directors, María Alche (“A Family Submerged”) and Benjamín Naishtat (“Rojo”) to deliver a state of the nation take on Argentina – and any country in thrall of European ideas – but in a notably lighter tone than most Latin American arthouse fare. Key first major territory buyers take in Condor for France, whose release lineup has featured major auteurs such as Kelly Reichardt, Casey Affleck, Agnieszka Holland, Paul Schrader, Denis Villeneuve, Michel Franco and Ira Sachs.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Mexico’s Katina Medina Mora, director of Netflix hits ‘Emily in Paris’ and ‘Firefly Lane’ and Apple TV+ standout “Swagger,” is teaming with Chile’s Julio Rojas, creator of podcast phenom “Caso 63,” to direct and co-write with Rojas “Freeland.” Medina Mora, Rojas and “Freeland” producer Nestor Hernández, a former Sony and HBO development exec for Latin America, will attend the San Sebastian Film Festival, which kicks off on Sept. 22, to present the project.

It has been alleged that female comedians within the industry set up a WhatsApp group with warnings about Russell Brand.

Earlier this week, you may have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights in Scotland.

Sean "Diddy" Combs has spoken up about his decision to reassign the publishing rights back to artists and writers on Bad Boy Records. In the latest Billboard cover story, the hip-hop mogul explained that he made the decision mid-2021, but it took him the last couple of years to finalize the deal. "I was put in a position where I felt like I had to look in the mirror," he told Billboard.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Batgirl” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah told Insider while promoting their new Syrian war drama “Rebel” that watching Warner Bros.’ most recent DC tentpole, “The Flash,” was a sad experience for them. They claim they were told by studio executives that “Batgirl” would release after “The Flash,” thus continuing Michael Keaton’s revived run as Batman/Bruce Wayne. But that never panned out after Warner Bros.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Alicia Moncholí, winner of the New Directors of Asturias Award for her latest short, “Campolivar,” is developing her first feature film, the coming-of-age drama “Weekends,” just announced as one of the five titles in development set to be presented at the Second Spanish Screenings on Tour. They unspool at Rome’s MIA forum, which takes place Oct.

Soap lovebirds Amy Walsh and Toby-Alexander Smith have revealed they have tied the knot in a breathtaking ceremony surrounded by the stunning mountainous views of Montenegro.