Sundance Religious Drama ‘Starling Girl’ Acquired for International Sales by Architect (EXCLUSIVE)

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights to the Berlin-premiering family drama “Tótem,” written and directed by “The Chambermaid” helmer Lila Avilés. Winner of the festival’s Ecumenical Jury Prize, the film follows seven-year-old Sol, who spends the day at her grandfather’s home, helping her aunts Nuri and Alejandra with the preparations for a surprise party they’re throwing for her father, Tonatiuh, who is terminally ill. However, as night descends, a strange and chaotic atmosphere takes over, shattering the bonds that hold the family together, and Sol will come to understand that her world will change dramatically.

Club action returns this weekend as Manchester United host Championship side Durham in the fifth round of the Vitality Women's FA Cup.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Lie With Me,” a romance drama headlined by French stars Guillaume de Tonquebec and Victor Belmondo, has lured a raft of theatrical distributors at the Berlinale’s EFM. Represented in international markets by Be For Films and directed by Olivier Peyon, the movie is based on Philippe Besson’s book “Arrête avec tes mensonges.” The autobiographical novel was originally published in France by Editions Julliard in 2017 and won pair of awards including the Maison de la Presse prize in 2017. After selling several key territories earlier this year, Be For Films has now closed deals for the U.S. (Cinephobia Realising), Germany/Austria (24 Bilder), Brazil (Imovision), Poland (Tongariro), Greece (Cinobo) and Turkey (Bir Films).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Delegation,” a coming-of-age film about an Israeli school trip to Holocaust memorial sites in Poland, has debuted its trailer (below). Israeli writer-director Asaf Saban’s film world premiered at Berlinale Sunday in the Generation 14plus section. Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales is handling international sales. In the film, three Israeli high-school friends take part in a class trip visiting Holocaust sites in Poland – their last time together before going to the army. During the trip, shy boy Frisch, aspiring artist Nitzan and class heartthrob Ido deal with issues of love, friendship and politics against the backdrop of concentration camps and memorial sites. This journey will change them forever.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent German powerhouse ZDF Studios and U.K.-based Factual Fiction are reteaming for “#DorianGray,” an updated social media spin on Oscar Wilde’s classic, “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” In Wilde’s original, first published as a novella in 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the self-besotted Dorian Gray sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth, a picture painted of him recording the decay of his soul as in outward appearance he remains physically forever young.  Currently being written by Maiya John, a young London-based screenwriter, the contemporary reimagining is described by ZDF Studios as “a suspenseful ride through the life of a teenager as they construct their identity.” 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Berlin Film Festival has returned to its first fully in person edition since 2020. But this year, the Berlinale has come back with a vengeance, and added something that it wasn’t especially known for in its pre-pandemic days: star power. Indeed, it’s been hard not to bump into a famous person in the German city — almost giving this previously mostly auteur driven gathering a vibe that more closely resembles the latest versions of Sundance or Toronto. Artistic director Carlo Chatrian told Variety Sunday that A-list names help raise awareness for the festival’s core mission – to celebrate movies and encourage audiences to return to theaters.

Marta Balaga REinvent International Sales can feel the love tonight, having sold Berlinale Series Market Selects offering “Out of Touch” to Holland (NPB) and “Sleep Around” to Germany (RTL Passion).   “We are thrilled to see our two series find such great homes and look very much forward to introducing buyers to ‘Out of Touch’ here at EFM,” said sales & marketing director Helene Aurø.  Produced by Stockholm-based Breakable Films and Art & Bob, with Discovery+ attached, LGBTQ+ series “Sleep Around” was created by Mikael Ljung and Lina Åström. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent DR Sales has boarded “Always Be Closing,” a drama series about the dynamics, dominance, and discrimination within the telemarketing industry. The youth-skewing series will premiere on DRTV, the Danish broadcaster’s streaming service, on Feb. 24. “Always Be Closing” is created by Frederik Dirks Gottlieb, Kasper Lundberg, and Andrea Moyo, who themselves were part of the telemarketing industry in their youth. The cast is led by Danish star Anders Heinrichsen (“Follow the Money,” “Borgen — Power & Glory”) and upcoming talent Andreas Bruun Pedersen and Tarek Zayat. The series is directed by Svend Colding and produced by Laura Valentiner-Bohse for DR.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Vanessa Redgrave and Freida Pinto have boarded the family feature “The Boy at the Back of the Class,” based on the acclaimed children’s book. Directed by Stephen Herek (“101 Dalmations”), the film centers on a mysterious new boy called Ahmet who joins nine-year-old Alexa’s school. As Alexa learns that he is a refugee, separated from his family, she will do anything she can to help. With the adults out of the way, Alexa and her school friends come up with a daring plan to reunite Ahmet with his family – the start of an adventure that will take them all the way to Buckingham Palace. The film is penned by “A Street Cat Named Bob” screenwriter Tim John. Adam Rolston and David Braithwaite at Studio Pictures are producing. Nicola Pearcey of Picnik Entertainment and Paul Grindey are executive producing. Casting director is BAFTA nominee Carolyn McLeod.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International One of the hottest packages at the EFM has been taken off the table for international. Sources tell Variety that Prime Video has snapped up all international rights, excluding the U.S., to Justin Kurzel’s “The Order,” which stars Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult in a story about the titular white supremacist organization that operated in the 1980s. The project is penned by Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated writer Zach Baylin (“King Richard”), who based the screenplay on Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt’s book “The Silent Brotherhood.” Published in 1989, the book details the activities of the radical-right hate group The Order, which was one of the most sinister organizations to emerge in America since the Ku Klux Klan.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Adrien Brody is not interested in the culture wars. It’s fascinating, he admits, “but it’s really tragic.” “We see how fractured our world is. Look around: It’s not hard to see,” says the Oscar-winning actor from his home in New York. Brody had to dive into these dark corners when preparing for “Manodrome,” in which he plays a masculinity cult leader, and was quick to dive right out. “I tried to put this stuff down,” he admits. But his character, “Dad Dan,” isn’t the super-serious, nefarious figurehead one summons when envisioning a libertarian masculinity cult. Rather, his is a friendly, hoodie-wearing man of leisure who opens his house to all who need sanctuary. Sanctuary, that is, from the evil, entrapping ways of women and modern society.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sundance standout film “Animalia,” by French-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui, has been acquired for distribution across the Middle East and North Africa by Egypt’s Film Clinic, the shingle headed by producer Mohammed Hefzy. Film Clinic, a top film and TV production company that branched out into theatrical distribution in 2016, picked up “Animalia” from Paris-based sales company Totem Films. Alaoui’s genre-bending pic is the tale of a pregnant young woman in Morocco whose life is upended by an alien invasion. In her review, Variety review critic Jessica Kiang praised “Animalia” as “a compellingly different cultural and social perspective on a classic sci-fi premise.” “Alaoui, working from her own taut, confidently ambiguous script, also gets to comment on the position of women in Muslim societies and the limits of wealth and organized faith, as well as elegantly outlining the eerie experience that is suddenly finding yourself startlingly alone during a time of shared global panic,” Kiang noted.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International The U.K.’s British Film Commission and Film in Austria, the national film commission for Austria, have struck a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) paving the way for more film and high-end TV production between the two territories. New film and TV production incentives were introduced in Austria last month, including Europe’s first “green” filming bonus. Meanwhile, in the U.K., statistics released in February revealed that investment into film and high-end television during 2022 reached a record height of £6.27 billion ($7.72 billion). Through the MoU, which will be signed in Berlin on Sunday, the BFC and Film in Austria say they seeks to “encourage greater cultural, commercial and creative exchange between the U.K. and Austria whilst actively working together to foster opportunities to support inward investment film and high-end TV production in both countries.”

Film Factory founder Vicente Canales. “Now, either a film works, and sells pretty much the world, or it doesn’t work at all.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Best Friend Forever has boarded Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s debut feature “Banel & Adama,” a lushly lensed Senegalese female emancipation drama. Now in post, the movie is expected to have its world premiere later this year. ‘Banel & Adama’ is set a remote village of Northern Senegal where Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. Longing for a home of their own, they have decided to live apart from their families. When Adama refuses his blood duty as future chief and informs the village council of his intentions, the whole community is disrupted and chaos ensues. Sy studied at France’s prestigious film school La Femis and previously directed the short film “Astel” which played at Toronto, New Directors/New Films and Clermont, where it won the Special Jury award, among 80 festivals to date. Ramata, meanwhile, previously co-wrote “Our Lady of the Nil” which played at Toronto, and “Sibel” which played at Locarno and Toronto.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Writer-director Dustin Guy Defa has shared a first-look clip (below) of his feature comedy drama “The Adults,” which will have its world premiere Saturday at the Berlin Film Festival, with stars Michael Cera, Hannah Gross and Sophia Lillis, and Defa in attendance. The film, which is distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures Content Group, will be releasing internationally on July 3 and in the U.S. on July 4. In Berlin, it plays in the Encounters section. “The Adults” follows Eric (Cera) as he returns home for a short visit and finds himself caught between reuniting with his sisters and chasing a victory with his old poker group.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Dogwoof has boarded MTV Documentary Films’ Sundance winner “The Eternal Memory” for international sales excluding the U.S. The latest feature from Oscar-nominated “Mole Agent” director Maite Alberdi had its world premiere as part of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at Sundance last month, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize before MTV Documentary Films acquired worldwide rights. Dogwoof will work in partnership with MTV Documentary Films to represent the film for international sales. The project marks the second collaboration between Dogwoof and Alberdi, having represented “The Mole Agent” for international sales before it was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature in 2021.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Protagonist Pictures has sold out international on Rebecca Miller’s Berlinale opener “She Came to Me.” The Peter Dinklage-led film has sold into Sky for the U.K. and Ireland, Belga for Benelux, Originals Factory for France, Lusomundo for Portugal, Trip Pictures for Spain, M2 Eastern for Europe, Cinesky for Airlines, Aud for South Korea and Shochiku for Japan. In addition, Universal Pictures Content Group has made a multi-territory deal that spans Germany, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Scandinavia, Iceland, Switzerland, Israel, Middle East, South Africa, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Asia pay-TV rights.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Charades has secured a flurry of deals on Charlotte Regan’s British dramedy “Scrapper,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Starring Harris Dickinson (“Triangle of Sadness”) as a downbeat dad, “Scrapper” has been sold to Spain (Caramel), Australia (Madman), Poland (Against Gravity), Baltics and CIS (Arthouse), Greece (Cinobo) and Airlines (Aardwolf). “Scrapper” has already sold to the U.K. (Pictures House). Charades is currently negotiating deals for Japan, Israel, USA, Scandinavia and South Korea. The film follows Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl who lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality.

Duran Duran's Andy Taylor is not giving up in his fight against cancer. Nearly five years after initially receiving his diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer, the musician is providing an update on his health as well as revealing new details on how he originally learned the news of his disease. The first symptoms were pain while exercising and some lumps in his lymph nodes, Taylor explained in a new interview with People.