Somali Director Mo Harawe Talks History-Making Cannes Title ‘The Village Next To Paradise’: “For 70% Of The Crew, It Was First Time On A Film Set”

EXCLUSIVE: The movie Donald Trump doesn’t want people to see is going global.

Love Island is coming back to TV screens, and millions of viewers are set to fall for - or loathe - the new crop of would-be lovers. At the helm of the programme once more is Maya Jama.

TrustNordisk has sold Georg Maas and Judith Kaufmann’s Franz Kafka biopic The Glory Of Life to several key markets, including North America and France. 

Thania Garcia In true glam goth spirit, Taylor Momsen of the American rock band the Pretty Reckless was bit by a bat as she was performing the band’s song “Witches Burn” in Sevilla, Spain. The band is touring as a supporting act for the European leg of AC/DC‘s “Power Up” trek.

Murtada Elfadl Dreams play a pivotal role in “The Village Next to Paradise.” One of the three main characters in writer-director Mo Harawe’s poignant debut, a pre-teen boy named Cigaal (Ahmed Mohamud Saleban), has a compulsion to share his dreams with anyone who’s willing to listen. Cigaal longs for a land full of sweets, a place he sees in his sleep. The central threesome each have modest dreams: a small shop, a steady job and schooling.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off the Cannes Film Festival where it won several awards, Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of The Sacred Fig” has been acquired by a flurry of high profile distributors in major international territories. Films Boutique, which represents the critically acclaimed political drama globally, has sold it to Lionsgate for the U.K.

EXCLUSIVE: Sky has swooped for The Penguin.

Mubi has doubled down on Andrea Arnold‘s “Bird” — starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogoswki — swooping on North American and Turkish rights to the Cannes competition entry less than two weeks after it announced it had bought the film for the U.K. and Ireland. The acquisition — which Variety understands came after a fierce bidding war — marks another buzzy U.S.

The Match Factory has finalized a raft of international deals for Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes Palme d’Or contender The Substance, following its buzzy premiere over the weekend in the presence of co-stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid.

EXCLUSIVE: Francis Ford Coppola‘s $120 million passion project Megalopolis has closed a fresh raft of deals following its buzzy world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival last week. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film.

Mubi has swooped on its third 2024 Cannes competition title, Variety has learned. Having acquired worldwide rights to Coralie Fargeat’s buzzy body horror “The Substance” and U.K.

Christopher Vourlias After making waves on the festival circuit with a pair of heralded short films, Somali filmmaker Mo Harawe makes his auspicious feature debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with “The Village Next to Paradise,” which premieres May 21 in the French fest’s Un Certain Regard section — the first feature from the African nation ever to screen on the Croisette. An intimate family drama set in a windswept Somali fishing village, “Paradise” follows Mamargade (Ahmed Ali Farah), a single father working odd jobs to provide a better life for his son, Cigaal (Ahmed Mohamud Saleban). They’re joined by his sister, Araweelo (Anab Ahmed Ibrahim), who comes back to live with the duo after her divorce.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Writer, director and actress Toni Kalem (“The Sopranos“) is adapting Lore Segal’s internationally acclaimed 1964 semi-autobiographical novel “Other People’s Houses,” about a Jewish child refugee who finds asylum in Britain via the Kindertransport rescue effort. The story follows a 10-year-old Jewish girl from Vienna who is sent to England as part of the 1938 children’s transport that followed Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria. She spends the next several years living in wildly disparate households, from wealthy families to modest working-class folks, an experience that presents her with stark impressions of England’s class system.

It's Friday evening, which means it's time for our weekly Friday night pub quiz!

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Cinema has closed a slew of international territory sales on its resistance epic “William Tell,” Nick Hamm’s adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s play. WME Independent represents domestic rights.

Paramount+ announced on Wednesday that South Park: The End of Obesity, its latest South Park exclusive event, will premiere in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, May 24, debuting in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria the following day.

EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired Northern American rights for Joachim A. Lang’s historical drama Goebbels and The Führer (aka Führer and Seducer) for a fall 2024 theatrical and digital release.  

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor European Film Promotion is playing host at the Cannes Film Festival to 20 up-and-coming European producers, selected for its Producers on the Move program. Variety invited the producers to share details of their upcoming projects. Katharina Posch, Austria“I’m Not Here to Make Friends”Director: Julia Niemann“I’m Not Here to Make Friends” is a sleek and sunny psycho thriller about a reality TV show set on a remote island.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “The Substance,” Coralie Fargeat’s buzzy horror movie starring Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore, has sold to one of France’s biggest distributors, Metropolitan FilmExport, ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The Match Factory is handling international sales on the female-powered movie, and MUBI just acquired the rights in North America, U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America and Benelux, where they will release the film theatrically this year. MUBI has also acquired the movie for Turkey and India.