Sundance Prize Winner ‘President’ Banned in Zimbabwe for ‘Potential to Incite Violence’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Christopher Vourlias Dubai-based sales agent Cercamon has acquired world sales rights for Juraj Lerotić’s “Safe Place,” which won three awards after its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival and was named best film at Sarajevo. The Croatian director’s feature debut is the emotional story of a family reeling in the wake of a suicide attempt that centers on a man’s struggle to save his younger brother, creating a rift in the family’s everyday life.  “Safe Place” plays on Lerotić’s own pained family history, with the Croatian multihyphenate taking on the lead role in his deeply personal story – a performance that also earned him the award for best actor in Sarajevo. “The film is reduced to the most acute, to a short time span and a clear situation that can be put in a nutshell: save the loved one,” the filmmaker said in a statement.

Annika Pham TrustNordisk has snapped up international sales rights to the new Danish crime thriller “Boundless,” based on fiction guru Jussi Adler-Olsen’s “Den Grænseløse,” his sixth novel in the Department Q series.   Danish helmer Ole Christian Madsen, credited for the HBO series “Banshee” (2013-16) and WWII drama “Flame & Citron” starring Mads Mikkelsen, has taken up the challenge of bringing Adler-Olsen’s suspenseful universe to the silver screens, working from a script by Jakob Weis (“The Interrogation”, “That Time of Year”). Christian Madsen will reunite with his “Banshee” actor Ulrich Thomsen (“Trom,” “Festen”). The latter reprises the role of detective Carl Mørck, which he played in Nordisk Film Production’s previous Department Q film version, “The Marco Effect”.

Annika Pham New Europe Film Sales has added U.K. distributor Signature Entertainment to the slew of global buyers won over by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s “Beautiful Beings,” which has racked up awards from Poland, Bulgaria, Italy and Taiwan, since its first bow at the last Berlinale Panorama. Earlier deals were closed with the U.S. (Altered Innocence), Hungary (Vertigo), Benelux (Arti Film), Germany/Austria (Salzgeber), Spain (Filmin), and CEE (HBO).Billed by Variety reviewer Jessica Kiang as an “Icelandic coming-of age, radiant with violence and tenderness,” Guðmundsson’s drama revolves around a young boy raised by a clairvoyant mother who decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. 

Annika Pham Swedish helmer Mika Gustafson, one of a roster of promising Swedish voices with “Clara Sola”’s Natalie Álvarez-Mesén at Stockholm-based Hobab, has finalised the cast for her directorial debut “Sisters.”  The feature is in final stages of filming, and co-produced by Italy’s Intramovies, Denmark’s Toobox and Finland’s Tuffi Films. Ida Engvoll, who broke out in Netflix romcom “Love & Anarchy,” plays Hanna, a young woman drawn into an unexpected adventure when she encounters Laura (16), eldest of a trio of socially-deprived sisters. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Faroese-born emerging director Andrias Høgenni, winner of a Canal+ award at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2021 with his short film “Illi illa meint,” just got married this summer. His project “Anything for Her,” introduced at this year’s Nordic Co-Production Market in Haugesund, is precisely about a wedding, and much more. Family conflicts, especially with step-parents involved, and the uniquely chaotic nature of a Faroese wedding set in a tightly-knit community of 52,000 souls. Spearheaded by Danish production partners Johannes Rothaus Nørregaard of Studiocanal-backed SAM Productions (“Borgen”) and Rikke Tambo Andersen of Tambo Film (“The Penultimate”), the project has secured co-production partners from France and the Faroe Islands, Variety has learned.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Danish international sales and aggregation outfit LevelK has boarded the thought-provoking drama “Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures” by award-winning Portuguese director Marco Martins, which world premieres in main competition at next month’s San Sebastian Film Festival.  Hailed by Variety as “a powerful study of intense grief,” Martin’s debut feature, “Alice,” won the Prix Regards Jeune at Cannes in 2005. The story unravels three months before Brexit, as hundreds of migrants descend on the UK village of Great Yarmouth seeking work in the region’s turkey processing plants. Once there, Tânia greets them with matronly authority, taking charge as innkeeper, accountant, and fixer. As she’s forced to deceive them, her conscience grows heavy and she dreams of a brighter, seemingly unattainable, future transforming derelict hotels into modern retreats for elderly tourists.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentDanish Broadcaster DR has ordered “Prisoner,” a dark-edged premium series which starts shooting this fall with a stellar local cast including Sofie Gråbøl (“The Killing,” “The Undoing”) and David Dencik (“Chernobyl”). “Prisoner” was created by Kim Fupz Aakeson, whose credits include the DR drama “Cry Wolf” and the HBO series “Utmark.” Michael Noer (“Papillon”) and Frederik Louis Hviid (“Shorta,” “Follow the Money”) are set to direct.

People in Greater Manchester are being asked where smoking should be banned ahead of plans to create a smokefree space by the end of this year. A new consultation has been launched, inviting residents, community groups and businesses to have their say on the plans to make some outdoor public spaces smokefree with the first to be created in Manchester city centre.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorExperiential media and immersive technology company Cosm will paunch its first public venue in Hollywood Park, it announced on Wednesday. The location will be the first venue of its kind to utilize Cosm’s domed and compound curved LED technology.As part of Hollywood Park’s retail district, the venue will showcase a 26.6-meter diameter LED dome in a 65,000 total square feet facility that can hold up to 1,700 guests.

Christopher Vourlias Croatia’s Drugi Plan and Bulgaria’s Agitprop, two of the leading production outfits in Southeast Europe, have been attached to co-produce the upcoming drama series “Sabre,” a political thriller revolving around the 2003 assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic produced by Belgrade-based This and That Productions.Created by Goran Stanković and Vladimir Tagić, the series will star Serbian-Danish actress Danica Curcic, known to international audiences for her lead role in the Netflix psychological thriller “The Chestnut Man,” as a reporter investigating the shocking murder.The companies announced the deal on Monday at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where This and That’s “Bad Blood” and Drugi Plan’s “The Silence” were among the top Balkan drama series vying for Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards, which were handed out at a ceremony in the Bosnian capital on Sunday night. “Sabre” was first pitched in Sarajevo three years ago during the CineLink Drama co-financing forum, where it was named best drama project.

Katie Price's daughter Princess Andre has been praised by fans after posting a stunning snap. Princess, 15, is the second child of Katie, 44, and her ex husband Peter Andre, 49. Katie and Peter were married from 2005 to 2009 after meeting on I'm A Celebrity...

Katie Price has reportedly found herself in hot water with her ex husband Kieran Hayler over a video she shared of their daughter Bunny online. A representative for Kieran reportedly said "alarm bells" rang when he watched the video, which has since been deleted by the former glamour model. The three-minute video showed eight-year-old Bunny eating a lollipop.

Katie Price has vowed to make sure her fourth wedding is "different" as she plans to marry fiancé Carl Woods in an intimate ceremony abroad later this year.The 44 year old – who has already been married to Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler – has been plotting to marry car dealer Carl, 33, for many months after he popped the question in April 2021. And after setting fresh split claims straight, a source tells OK! the pair have "already started looking at wedding venues in Italy and Spain".They continued: "Katie wants to have a small ceremony abroad.

Comedian Tig Notaro and Dulcé Sloan (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah) will serve as hosts for The Hollywood Critics Association TV awards Aug. 13-14 at the Beverly Hilton.

Katie Price has once again been spotted partying solo after her fiancé Carl Woods denied rumours that he and the former glamour model has split. The reality star didn’t appear to have a care in the world as she danced alongside her pals at a recent Christina Aguilera gig - without Carol appearing anywhere in sight.