Spanish Director Isabel Coixet to Head Venice Horizons Jury

As wildfires burn in Northern California, World Central Kitchen is there, providing emergency food relief. Likewise in Spain, it has responded to devastating wildfires that flared in July. You’ll find WCK in Ukraine, feeding countless souls affected by Russia’s brutal invasion.

Hunter Ingram Each morning as Toni Collette brushes her teeth, an owl stares back at her.The stoic bird of prey is not perched outside her window but rather ornately sitting on her countertop, contorted into the shape of a ceramic coffee mug that she places her toothbrush into before she starts her day.“It’s there looking at me daily — twice a day if I’m dentally honest,” Collette says. “Maybe I need a new receptacle.”Even if its days as her morning companion are numbered, the mug is a surreal artifact of her newly Emmy-nominated turn as Kathleen Peterson, a North Carolina woman found dead at the bottom of her stairs in 2001 — a case dramatized by HBO Max’s true crime limited series “The Staircase.” The shocking death occupied headlines for months as her husband, Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth), was tried and convicted of her murder — all of it later chronicled in a 2004 French documentary also called “The Staircase.” The making of that doc was part of the 2022 series.After years behind bars and later house arrest, Peterson was released in 2017 when he accepted an Alford plea, a paradoxical agreement in which he pleaded guilty but maintained his innocence.

Naman Ramachandran Tel Aviv-based Ananey Studios, part of Paramount Global, has signed a deal with Indian content producer Abundantia Entertainment to develop an Indian remake of the hit Israeli live-action teen drama, “The Hood” (“Schuna”).The original series, created by Giora Chamizer (Netflix’s “Greenhouse Academy”), is set in The Hood, a dingy cluster of low-income housing, where blue-collar families live, located in the middle of one of the richest districts. Kids in The Hood regularly prank the rich community’s snobbish teens, while the mayor constantly tries to get rid of the The Hood altogether.

Venice Days – or the Giornati Degli Autori – is an independent side bar to the Venice Film Festival in the vein of Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight section and is not directly associated with the larger La Biennale. But Ferrara’s “Padre Pio” will make its premiere at the fest as part of a larger lineup that was announced Thursday.LaBeouf in the film plays the title character Padre Pio, also known as Francesco Forgione and Saint Pius of Pietrelcina. In real life, Padre Pio was the subject of both adoration and controversy because he displayed bodily wounds or stigmata that many believed to be aligned and associated with the crucifixion of Christ.

Abel Ferrara has had several premieres of his films at the Venice Film Festival over the years. Now, Variety reports that Ferrara is back again this year with “Padre Pio,” one of the highlights of the Venice Days lineup announced today.

Abel Ferrera has had several premieres of his films at the Venice Film Festival over the years. Now, Variety reports that Ferrera is back again this year with “Padre Pio,” one of the highlights of the Venice Days lineup announced today.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAbel Ferrara’s “Padre Pio,” starring Shia LaBeouf as an Italian monk who gained rock-star status among the Catholic faithful, is among the titles set to launch from the Venice Film Festival’s independently run Giornate Degli Autori.The section, also known as Venice Days, will see LaBeouf back on the big screen after the actor — best known for his roles in the Transformers and Indiana Jones franchises — took a break from acting in 2020 following allegations made by his ex-girlfriend Tahliah Debrett Barnett. The singer, known as FKA twigs, sued the actor for sexual battery, assault and emotional distress.It is not yet known whether LaBeouf will be on the Lido to promote “Padre Pio.” In the latest film by Ferrara, who is known for cult classics such as “Bad Lieutenant,” LaBeouf puts in what Giornate chief Gaia Furrer called an “extraordinary” performance as the “mystic and feverish” Capuchin monk born in the late 19th century in a small Southern Italian town.

The 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival boasts one of its strongest lineups in years. There are new films from Luca Guadagnino, Noah Baumbach, Alejandro G.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBrussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired international sales rights to Mihai Mincan’s drama thriller “To The North” which will world premiere at Venice in the Horizons section. Inspired by true events, the film follows Joel, a religious Filipino sailor, who finds a Romanian stowaway, Dumitru, hidden between some containers during his shift on a transatlantic ship.

Luca Guadagnino is no stranger to the Lido, having world premieres for four of his films at the Venice Film Festival over the years, including his last film, 2018’s “Suspiria” remake. So, it’s no surprise that Guadagnino returns to the 79th edition of the festival with his latest film, “Bones And All.” The film is part of the 2022 program announced earlier today, in competition for Venice’s coveted top prize, the Golden Lion.

Earlier this year, indie filmmaker Ti West (“The Innkeepers”) released the indie horror hit “X,” set in 1979, and centered on a group of young filmmakers who set out to make an adult film in rural Texas. But when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast finds themselves fighting for their lives.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBerlin-based sales agent Pluto Film has acquired Michal Blaško’s suspense drama “Victim,” about a woman seeking justice in a racist society, ahead of its world premiere in Venice’s competitive Horizons strand.The Slovak-Czech-German coproduction tells the story of Irina (Vita Smachelyuk), a single mother from Ukraine living in a town in the Czech Republic. When her son Igor (Gleb Kuchuk) is attacked, the whole town stands in solidarity with her family and condemns their Roma neighbors, who allegedly committed the crime.

Refresh for latest…: The Venice Film Festival will unveil its lineup for the 79th edition this morning at 11 a.m. local time (2 a.m. PT/5 a.m. ET). The press conference is being held at the Library of the Biennale Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts in Venice with speakers including Roberto Cicutto, President of La Biennale di Venezia, and Alberto Barbera, Artistic Director of the Cinema Department who oversees the Lido fest.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNewly named Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer is set to attend the upcoming Venice Film Festival along with other Academy senior leaders, in what is being touted as the first time an official AMPAS delegation makes the trek to the Lido.Kramer will attend the fest’s opening night on Aug. 30th and subsequently meet with international AMPAS members, industry professionals and press.

Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera won’t announce the Lido line-up until next week, but certain films are all but locked in for premieres at the festival. And which movies lead that pack? Well, it’s a bevy of titles from U.S.

Spanish director Isabel Coixet will preside over the international jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti competition at the upcoming edition running from August 31 to September 10.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSahar Baghery has been appointed head of content for Amazon’s Prime Video in France, succeeding Isabelle Bertrand.The Paris-born executive joined Prime Video in 2018 as head of business development for France and the MENA region. She was then made head of worldwide business development.