Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh Named Distributor of the Year at CineEurope

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMaxime Saada, the chairman and CEO of Canal+ Group and chair of its film and TV subsidiary Studiocanal, has joined the management board of Vivendi.The arrival of Saada within Vivendi’s management board is part of the company’s recent strategic moves and underscores its ambition to continue growing its international scope and focus on content, media and communications. The management board, which remains chaired by Arnaud de Puyfontaine (who is also CEO), welcomed several other new members alongside Saada.Last month, Vivendi, whose supervisory board is chaired by Yannick Bolloré, launched a takeover bid for Lagardère, the French publishing and travel retail conglomerate, following the distribution of 60% of the share capital of Universal Music Group and its listing on the Amsterdam stock exchange.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCanal Plus’ longtime drama commissioner Fabrice de la Patellière has joined forces with Studiocanal to set up his production banner, 2e Bureau. De la Patellière, who stepped down from his position at Canal Plus in January, will be producing premium series and mini-series for French and international channels and platforms.

Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri is among the nominees for the 2022 CAF Young Player of the Year award.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorShooting has begun in Roccabianca in the province of Parma, Italy, on Marco Bellocchio’s new film, “La Conversione” (The Conversion), inspired by the story of Edgardo Mortara, the Jewish child who in 1858 was removed from his family to be raised as a Catholic in the custody of Pope Pius IX. “La Conversione” stars Paolo Pierobon, Barbara Ronchi, Fausto Russo Alesi, Filippo Timi, Fabrizio Gifuni, Enea Sala, playing Mortara as a child, and Leonardo Maltese, playing Mortara as an older boy.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorPay TV network Canal+ in Poland has greenlit a third season of local crime thriller “The Teach” after its previous runs broke ratings records, and sold around the world via the distribution arm of Studiocanal, which is also succeeding to secure international distribution for its other shows produced by Canal+ Poland. “The Teach,” which had the best ratings of any series on Canal+ in Poland, has been sold to Walter Presents in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.; Australian broadcaster SBS; New Zealand broadcaster Rialto; M7 Group, which runs pay TV and OTT services in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania; and digital channel Polar+ in France.

Naman Ramachandran A wealth of film and TV titles are available at launch on streamer Studiocanal Presents, which is now available as an Amazon Prime Video channel in the U.K.Some 300 films and series from Studiocanal’s catalogue are available at launch, including Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now: Final Cut” in 4K; Brian Helgeland’s “Legend”; Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Inside Llewyn Davis”; a digitally restored version of Carol Reed’s “The Third Man”; Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here,” zombie horror “Train to Busan” and Céline Sciamma’s “Girlhood.”Also available are Nicolas Roeg’s “The Man Who Fell To Earth” and Sidney Lumet’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” award-winners “Manchester by the Sea” and “Room,” seminal titles like Luis Buñuel’s “Belle de Jour” and Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” and modern British classics “Submarine” and “Four Lions.” Other recent additions include Sharon Stone classic “Basic Instinct” and John Carpenter’s “Escape From New York.” Studiocanal Presents also offers TV series showcasing the best of Studiocanal and Canal+’s own TV productions, including “Hannibal,” “Spiral” and “All the Way Up,” which broke streaming records upon its launch on Canal+ in France.A variety of new titles will launch on the channel every month, many of which can’t be streamed anywhere else in the U.K. New titles arriving include “Possessions,” “Animal Kingdom” and “The Guard.” After a seven-day free trial the service costs £4.99 ($6) a month.

Angelique Jackson The American Black Film Festival has announced this year’s Best of ABFF award winners, with “Our Father, the Devil” and “Feel Like Ghosts” among the top honorees.After two years of virtual programing, ABFF returned to Miami Beach for its 26th edition, with live events held June 15-19. The 2022 winners were announced by Emmy nominee Dondré Whitfield, who hosted the ceremony on the final day of ABFF’s in-person program, with a virtual presentation of the event now available to view on its custom-designed online platform, ABFF PLAY, where the festival continues until June 30.The Best of ABFF Awards includes winners in the official film selection categories — narrative and documentary features, web series and the 25th HBO Short Film Award Showcase, decided by a jury led by Michael Quigley, Warner Bros.

Earlier this month, former The Only Way Is Essex star Frankie Essex announced the happy news that she’d given birth to twins. The 34 year old reality TV star first revealed that she and partner Luke Luv were set to become parents back in February in an exclusive shoot. After announcing their birth on 24 May, Frankie shared a sweet snap of the non-identical twins, a boy and a girl, wrapped up in a blanket with their feet intertwined.

It’s Friday and that can mean only one thing, folks: another edition of International Insider. Jesse Whittock here to take you through another week in film and TV.

Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford is reportedly set to launch a solo career.According to Page Six, the singer is said to have shared the news during a live set at a Spotify event on the French Riviera yesterday (June 20) as part of Cannes Lions International Festival Of Creativity 2022.The report claims Mumford told the intimate audience that he was performing new material for the first time, and said that it would soon be available to stream on Spotify.One attendee told the outlet: “He just said today is day one for his next thing.”Mumford has recently shared a pair of videos on social media that see him working on music in the studio. You can check those posts out below.pic.twitter.com/cWmp2f5eze— Marcus Mumford (@marcusmumford) June 8, 2022pic.twitter.com/vRSoAJAg7q— Marcus Mumford (@marcusmumford) June 15, 2022NME has contacted Mumford’s representatives for comment.The news comes after Mumford & Sons banjoist Winston Marshall quit the band last summer amid backlash for praising a book by US journalist Andy Ngo, titled Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan To Destroy Democracy.“This is a difficult decision first brought about by an unintentional Twitter storm,” Marshall wrote in a statement at the time.Back in 2018, Mumford & Sons also responded after they faced criticism over a photo that saw several members posing with controversial academic Jordan Peterson.The group are yet to follow up on their fourth studio album, ‘Delta’, which came out in 2018.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentStudiocanal has acquired a majority stake in Dutch FilmWorks, a leading film production and distribution company operating in Benelux.Launched in 1998, Dutch FilmWorks produces and distributes 25 films each year, and has built up a library of over 900 Dutch and international films, including the popular family franchise “The Claus Family.” The acquisition of Dutch FilmWorks is part of Studiocanal’s aim to consolidate its pipeline of premium European content with international potential.Owned by Vivendi-backed Canal+ Group, Studiocanal already operates in all four major European markets — France, U.K., Germany and Spain — as well as in Australia and New Zealand. The banner also produces more than 200 hours of TV series each year at an international level, either in-house with Studiocanal Original, or through its network of European production labels, including Germany’s Tandem Productions, the U.K.’s RED Production Company, the U.K.’s Urban Myth Films and SunnyMarch TV, Spain’s Bambu Producciones or Scandinavia’s SAM Productions.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based Real War of Thrones has hired former Mediawan senior executive Jean-Marc Rouhette to the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer.

after college. Raiff sticks to the feel-good coming-of-age genre in this Sundance success. “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, earning the festival’s Audience Award.

Mubi Go, which has helped buoy NYC’s arthouse market by offering members a free movie ticket a week at participating theaters, expands to LA today where the biz could really use a boost. The films are curated and the first is Apple’s Cha Cha Real Smooth.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment has named Vanessa Picken to the role of chair and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand. Reporting to Sony Music Group Chairman Rob Stringer, she will begin her new role in September.Based in Sydney, Picken will oversee all operations, artist signings, marketing, and business partnerships for the company, according to the announcement.