Spain’s Les Films de la Résistance Relaunches as International Distribution Lifeline to Non-Fiction Titles (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Deckert Distribution CEO Liselot Verbrugge is to launch a new company as the German sales agency prepares to wind down its operations in 2024, with founder Heino Deckert moving fully to production. Verbrugge is attending IDFA documentary festival this week, where the Sundance awarded film “Against the Tide,” one of the agency’s bestsellers this year, is playing in the Best of Fest section. Amsterdam-based Verbrugge joined Deckert at the start of 2019 as head of sales and acquisition, starting with the roll out of double Academy Award nominated “Honeyland.” She took over the reins of the company as CEO two years ago.

EXCLUSIVE: Documentary+, the ad-supported streaming platform launched by Bryn Mooser’s XTR, is moving into distribution.

Sleaford Mods have cut a concert short in Madrid after a Palestinian scarf was thrown onto the stage during their performance.The duo were playing at La Riviera in the Spanish capital yesterday (November 3) but decided to end the show early, leaving the stage after the item of clothing was repeatedly thrown at them.The band subsequently addressed the situation on X, formerly Twitter. The band’s singer Jason Williamson wrote: “Don’t be asking me to pick sides for something I ain’t got any real idea about, at a gig.”Don’t be asking me to pick sides for something I ain’t got any real idea about, at a gig. I’m a singer.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Helen Lee-Kim has extended her contract as president of international for Lionsgate‘s Motion Picture Group. Lee-Kim has generated nearly $1 billion in sales since rejoining the company in December 2017, according to the company.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based company 2425 Films, recently acquired by Mediawan, is working with a pool of rising filmmakers on timely movies, including Charly Delwart’s “1,5 degré,” Ilan Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” and Thomas Kruithof’s “Les Braises.” 2425 Films, founded by Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber, has been thriving with smart, high-concept commercial movies, such as Yann Gozlan’s “La boite noire” and “An Ideal Man,” as well as the thriller “Burn Out.” The company also presented Gozlan’s latest film, “Visions,” a thriller starring Diane Kruger (co-produced by Eagle Team Entetainment) at this year’s Angouleme Film Festival. Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” is a film set in the world of French politics, with a duo of French stars, Marina Fois and Laurent Laffite, who previously co-starred in “Papa ou Maman,” a French hit comedy franchise.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent WestEnd Films has scored multiple sales, including to North America, on British director Patrick Dickinson’s drama “Cottontail,” which stars Japan’s Lily Franky (“Shoplifters”) and Ciaran Hinds. The film, first announced at the AFM in 2019, won the prize for best first feature last week at the Rome Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.

Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” which premiered at the 2023 Cannes International Film Festival. Following the 1980 release of “Caligula,” producer and reconstructionist Thomas Negovan re-edited the film for three years utilizing the original materials for “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” which includes never-before-seen footage shot in 1976. Negovan’s reconstruction was created from 4K scans of the original camera negatives and features the complete performances of Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren for the first time.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese drama film “Mountain Woman,” which was one of the standouts titles at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, is to be represented for global sales by EST N8. Inspired by “The Legends of Tono,” which is Japanese folklore from the Tohoku region, the film depicts a small Japanese village overrun by famine. The burden falls upon Rin, a woman whose connections with the spirit and natural worlds allow her to rise amidst familial conflicts.

EXCLUSIVE: Amidst a recent expansion into docs and scripted series, after just two years as a producer-financier of features, Closer Media has added accomplished producers Joey Marra and Nate Matteson to its leadership team. Former Jigsaw exec Marra will lead the company’s non-fiction division, with former manager Matteson set to oversee scripted television.

Agnieszka Holland for the 2023 Career Achievement award. LAFCA’s awards honoring the year’s best achievements in filmmaking will be decided on Dec. 10.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Kingsman” director Matthew Vaughn knows a thing or two about bringing comic books to life on the big screen as the filmmaker behind acclaimed outings such as “Kick-Ass” and “X-Men: First Class.” In a recent interview with ScreenRant, the director shared his thoughts on the current era of comic book movies. He said poor visual effects are negatively impacting superhero movies, while also sharing his belief that Marvel needs to take a “less is more” approach. “I genuinely don’t know what’s happening with the superhero [genre] in the sense that, I do think, maybe we all need a little bit of time off from it,” Vaughn said.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In perhaps one of her meatiest roles since Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” Oscar-nominated thesp Yalitza Aparicio stars in Prime Video’s upcoming series “Cometierra,” created by its showrunner Daniel Burman, The Mediapro Studio’s head of content for the U.S., Mexico and Central America. Principal photography is underway, predominantly in Mexico, with some scenes shot in Uruguay.

Matthew Vaughn is no stranger to the superhero genre being the director of Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class and has a suggestion for Marvel Studios and DC as “superhero fatigue” continues to be a topic of conversation.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Samuel Goldwyn Films has signed a worldwide catalog deal with Concord Originals for rights to three Rodgers & Hammerstein films. The distribution pact involves two classic Hollywood films, 1958’s “South Pacific” and 1955’s “Oklahoma.” It also includes a filmed Royal National Theatre production of “Oklahoma!” that was staged in 1998 and starred a pre-Wolverine Hugh Jackman.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a deal unveiled at Mipcom, Movistar Plus+ International, the prominent Spanish pay TV/SVOD platform’s sales division, announced at Mipcom a key sale to HBO Latin America of series “La Mesías,” hailed as the buzziest title at the San Sebastian Film Festival in September. The series is written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo of Suma Content, best known for their series “Veneno,” an HBO Max U.S. pickup, as well as “Paquita Salas,” sold to Netflix.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Viaplay Content Distribution has partnered up with German broadcaster ARD Degeto to co-produce “Ronja the Robber’s Daughter,” an epic adventure series. ARD Degeto will join the series’ existing co-production partners, Filmlance International, Film i Väst and Ahil Films.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Film’s Channel4/Starz drama series “The Couple Next Door” is moving across European neighborhoods, being sold ahead of Mipcom to Movistar Plus+ in Spain and throughout the Nordics. Public broadcasters NRK for Norway, YLE for Finland, SVT for Sweden, DR for Denmark and RUV for Iceland snagged the thriller, starring Sam Heughan (“Outlander,” “Suspect”) and Eleonor Tomlinson (“Poldark,” “The War of the Worlds”). The show explores the stultifying claustrophobia of suburbia and the fallout of chasing one’s darkest desires.

Todd Haynes tells me that May December, his gripping melodrama starring Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, “aggressively disturbs our moral moorings.”

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “When will Taylor Swift’s film career take off?” has been a question lurking in the back of a lot of people’s minds ever since she started getting her feet wet with bit parts in “The Giver” and “Valentine’s Day”… and then further limited herself to keeping her toes damp with “Cats” and “Amsterdam” cameos. But do we finally have an answer to that question now, or what? Nobody should suppose that “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” doesn’t count as establishing her as a movie star, just because it’s a straightforward rendering of an ongoing concert tour that’s soon to become the most successful in history.

Fifth Season and Roku have struck an unscripted international distribution deal.