Spain’s Soul Pictures Boards Indian Festival Favorite ‘Two Friends’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMemento International has closed major sales on Ursula Meier’s Berlin contender “The Line,” and “Boy from Heaven” by Tarik Saleh, the Swedish-Egyptian helmer of “The Nile Hilton Incident.” A religious and political thriller, “Boy From Heaven” is set in Cairo, in a Koranic school following the collapse of a grand imam which marks the start of a ruthless battle for influence.The movie is headlined by Tawfeek Barhom and Fares Fares, who previously starred in “The Nile Hilton Incident.” Saleh’s Stockholm-based outfit Atmo is producing the movie with Memento. Memento International has sold the film to Benelux (Cineart), Spain (La Aventura), Italy (Movies Inspired), Greece (Cinobo), Hungary (Vertigo) and Middle East (Falcon). Other territories in negotiation.

Javier Bardem at Saturday’s Goya prize ceremony. The prizes marked both Leon and Bardem’s seventh Goya wins. Produced by El Reposado and The Mediapro Studio, and a workplace dramedy skewering the abuse of power practised by a seemingly benign factory owner, “The Good Boss” also won best director and original screenplay for León, as well as best score and editing.Blanca Portillo beat out “Parallel Mothers’” Oscar-nominated Penélope Cruz, thanks to Portillo’s powerful performance as Maixabel Lasa, the real life widow of former Basque Country governor Juan Mari Jauregui who agreed in 2011 to meet one of his ETA killers. Her forgiveness, and Portillo’s portrait, has touched a large nerve in Spain.

Naman Ramachandran Kino Lorber has acquired U.S. rights to writer-director Ajitpal Singh’s debut feature, “Fire in the Mountains,” which premiered in the World Dramatic Competition of the Sundance Film Festival in 2021.A powerful feminist tale set in a tourist homestay in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, the film centers around a woman (Vinamrata Rai), the sole breadwinner of the household, who scrimps and saves for her son’s medical treatment, while her alcoholic husband believes that an expensive shamanic ritual is the answer to all their woes.The film is produced by Alan McAlex and Ajai Rai of prolific Indian arthouse producers Jar Pictures alongside Mauli Singh and Amit Mehta.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Netflix has recently released Spain’s first film using LED volume technology, teen romantic drama “Through My Window” (“A Través de mi Ventana”).Produced by Adrian Guerra’s Nostromo Pictures alongside sister company Orca Studios, the Spanish-language film features real-time rendered CG scenes shot in-camera as part of its production.Its LED volume technology is the same ground-breaking virtual production process utilized by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) on Disney Plus’ hit series “The Mandalorian” and is considered by many as the most significant technological advance since green screen.LED wall volumes replace static backgrounds in virtual studios with exterior or interior images that adjust in sync with camera movement, powered by video game PC engines, such as Unreal for “The Mandalorian.” “We selected three scenes — the heliport, the penthouse interior and the elevator — as they had different challenges and needs,” said Guerra, adding: “We also shot some car sequences directly in the LED volume, with driving plates from Barcelona projected on the LED screens and backgrounds in different sets.”Based on the YA novel by Ariana Godoy, a bestseller on online social reading platform Wattpad, “Through My Window” follows high schooler Raquel who has a been harboring a crush on her gorgeous neighbor, Ares, whom she spies on from her window. He’s also the scion of a wealthy family, so she feels he’s way out of her league.

Elle Driver has acquired world sales rights outside Spain and France to “La Maternal,” the second film from Pilar Palomero.Palomero’s 2019 film “Schoolgirls” (“Las niñas”) made her only the fifth first-feature director to win a Spanish Academy best picture Goya.BTeam Pictures is handling distribution in Spain.“Schoolgirls” also won Goyas for director, original screenplay and cinematography (Daniela Maciela), establishing Palomero as a leading light of Catalonia’s newest — and often female — generation of cineastes, making movies that are grounded in authentic local realities, but alert to broader social trends.Produced by Spain’s Inicia Films (“Schoolgirls,” Carla Simon’s “Summer 1993”) and BTeam Prods., “La Maternal” sees Palomero once more explore the borders between child and adulthood. Billed as a “sensitive and heartbreaking journey into teenage parenthood,” the film follows a pregnant Carla, fleeing social ostracism, eventually arriving at La Maternal shelter.There, she’ll learn to live with her teen classmates and prepare to be a mother.

Emiliano De Pablos Media giant Mediaset has acquired Italian distribution rights to Spanish writer-director Benito Zambrano’s drama “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake,” produced and sold by Barcelona-based studio Filmax.News of the deal comes just before Filmax screens “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” to buyers at this year’s online European Film Market.Described as high-quality cinema for adults and predominantly female audiences, “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” adapts the novel of the same title by screenwriter and casting specialist Cristina Campos. It has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide.A member of  Spain’s generation of directors that broke out in the 1990s,  helping Spanish movies find far larger favor with audiences at home, Zambrano’s breakout debut, 1999’s “Alone,” won the Panorama Audience Award at Berlin.

Emiliano De Pablos Barcelona-based Filmax has picked up international sales rights to psychological thriller “Girl Unknown” (“La desconocida”), the sophomore film by Spanish director Pablo Maqueda (“Dear Werner”).The film is based on the hit play “Grooming,” penned by Paco Bezerra, which has been adapted in more than 10 countries. Filmax is launching the film with a first promo at the European Film Market.Produced by Spain’s Elamedia Estudio, La Fragua Producciones and Fórmula Cine, “Girl Unknown” shot on locations in Madrid and Albacete, and is currently in post.Maqueda, Bezerra and writer-producer Haizea G.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Leading Italian sales company The Open Reel has snagged the international sales rights to Pablo Garcia Perez de Lara’s latest doc, “Born to be Born,” ahead of its world premiere at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin.Doc revolves around a progressive public school, the Escola Congrés-Indians, in Garcia’s native Barcelona, where preparations for an end-of-year trip of the school’s first graduating class are underway. Children learn at their own pace in the primary school which instills, above all, the values of respect and empathy for other people.“I was struck by the director’s ability to discreetly document the important educational role that the school and its educators play with these young students,” said The Open Reel founder Cosimo Santoro, adding: “They guide them through understanding and dialogue in every phase of their discussions and through any possible conflicts that may arise.” Garcia has trained his camera on children in many of his previous features and shorts.

Jamie Carragher has compared Mohamed Salah's Africa Cup of Nations penalty shootout decision to Cristiano Ronaldo's against Spain for Portugal.

is a refreshing bilingual rom-com that explores romance, heartbreak, culture and a little bit of mischievousness — which is exactly what attracted Sam Claflin and Verónica Echegui to the film.Claflin stars as uptight English writer Henry Copper who, much to his surprise, discovers that his dull and failed novel has become a huge hit in Mexico. Without knowing a lick of Spanish, he travels to the Latin American country to promote the book, only to find out that his Spanish translator, Maria, portrayed by Echegui, has rewritten his work as an erotic novel.«It was just a really uplifting story, very beautiful characters, and even the way that it was described in the script, it just gave so much life to Mexico and the sort of characters within it and the world that these characters lived in,» Claflin tells ET about what attracted him to the project.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCharades (“Petrov’s Flu,””Diamantino”) has come on board “Hit Big”, a dark humor-laced crime film set in Spain and directed by critically acclaimed Finnish filmmaker, Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa (“They Have Escaped”). Currently in post, the film is being presented at the work-in-progress sidebar of Goteborg Festival’s Nordic Film Market.

Emilio Mayorga Barcelona-based Nanouk Films and Funicular Films and Spanish pubcaster TVE are partnering to produce “This is Not Sweden,” a dark comedy half hour which marks the first Spanish show to be presented at the Göteborg’s Festival’s TV Drama Vision.Set in the idyllic Vallvidrera, a suburb in the foothills of the Collserola mountains surrounding Barcelona, the six-part series explores parenting and other family-related issues by focusing on a young couple ­– Mariana and Samuel – who has just moved there and wants to raise their children in contact with nature.“This is Not Sweden” is created by actor-director Aina Clotet, a Malaga Fest best actress winner for “Someone’s Daughter” and by producer Sergi Cameron. Clotet will direct along with Coll, who won a best new director Goya for “Three Days with the Family.” “‘This is Not Sweden’s’ international appeal has always been a key objective for Aina, Marta and myself.

“Rifkin’s Festival” is bombing at the box office.The comedy flick starring Gina Gershon and Wallace Shawn has the lowest opening of the 86-year-old filmmaker’s long career, which tanked after he was accused of molesting his his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow.“Rifkin’s Festival” is Allen’s 49th film to date and only made $24,000 on Friday and Saturday from 26 theaters, according to the Wrap. Landmark Theaters owns many of the cinemas that the movie is being screened at.

Most of the theaters screening the film are owned by Landmark Theaters, whose flagship Los Angeles location posted the highest single theater total for the film with $2,300. Other theaters outside of Landmark’s circuit screening the film include the Quad Theatre in New York City, where the film grossed $1,600 over two days.By comparison, Allen’s previous film “Wonder Wheel” earned approximately $125,000 from five screens on its 3-day opening weekend in 2017, when the rise of the #MeToo movement brought long-standing allegations by actress Dylan Farrow against Allen — her adoptive father — returned to the public eye.

EXCLUSIVE: Saban Films has acquired North American and other overseas territory rights to The Old Way, the Western from director Brett Donowho that stars Nicolas Cage. The distributor is targeting a theatrical and VOD release for the pic sometime during the fourth quarter of 2022.

Jamie Lang Spanish production giant Atresmedia has appointed Miguel García to head its international sales department. García joins Atresmedia from Mediapro, where he has been The Mediapro Studio’s international sales manager for Latin America, the U.S.

th feature film, Allen returns to a well that is not so much dry as desiccated. The movie opens with Wallace Shawn as our Allen doppelgänger, Mort Rifkin. Mort, an anxious former professor, is also a dedicated cinephile and self-defined intellectual who spends the next hour and a half complaining vociferously to his analyst.He’s reminiscing about a troubled trip to Spain’s San Sebastián Film Festival, which he recently took with his publicist wife, Sue (Gina Gershon).