Swiss Doc Festival Visions du Réel to Screen 160 Films in Hybrid Edition

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorLimonero Films, a boutique distributor of factual shows and documentaries, based in London, has announced a string of sales ahead of MipTV.Make Waves Media’s “Thirties in Color: Countdown to War” has been sold to Japan’s NHK, Italy’s RAI, Spain’s RTVE and Germany’s RTL, which also licensed “Victorian Britain on Film” and “Wild Relations.”The wildlife title “Wild Relations” was picked up by KBS in Korea and Radio Television Hong Kong.“Framed in Miami: The Versace Connection,” Limonero’s first true crime series, was picked up by Discovery in Italy, and their food and travel show “Hidden Flavors of India: North East” by Discovery Asia.Andy Cohen’s “Beijing Spring,” about the Chinese cultural revolution of 1979, was licensed to Sweden’s SVT and Switzerland’s RSI.

Christopher Vourlias CAA Media Finance is representing worldwide distribution rights to a new documentary feature from the producers of “The Lost Leonardo,” Variety can reveal.The untitled project follows a Swiss art dealer and Russian oligarch caught in a web of secrets, lies and mad money, telling the inside story of an international, billion-dollar game where power is the ultimate currency. The film is produced by Elk Film (Denmark) and Pumpernickel Films (France) and directed by Andreas Dalsgaard, whose previous credits include “The Lost Leonardo” and “The War Show.”The pulled-from-the-headlines documentary follows the scandal that erupted in 2015 with the arrest of the Swiss businessman and free port magnate Yves Bouvier, “a very discreet guy who was suddenly arrested in Monaco, accused of swindling a billion dollars from the Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev…[through] the purchase of 38 masterworks,” according to Dalsgaard.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBlue Note New York has announced the 11th Annual Sony Presents Blue Note Jazz Festival. The festival kicks off on June 1 with a free show in Washington Square Park headlined by Robert Glasper — who performed on the Oscars Sunday night — in association with Washington Square Park Conservancy.Taking place at major venues across New York City, including Blue Note New York, Sony Hall, The Town Hall, and SummerStage in Central Park, this year’s festival features performances from George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Chris Botti, Charles Lloyd, Macy Gray, Kenny G, Al Di Meola, Madeleine Peyroux, Dave Holland & Kenny Barron, Robert Cray, Kenny Garrett, José James, Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott), Bilal, DOMi & JD Beck, Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Theo Croker and so many more legends, with a major headliner announcement on April 26.

BBC Greenlights Drama On Football Sexual Abuse Scandal; Nick Rowland & Matt Greenhalgh Attached

Ben Croll Ever since his first trip to Russia in the late 1990s, filmmaker Antoine Cattin has always been tickled by his adopted country’s record number of national celebrations. Born in Switzerland and based in Saint Petersburg for the past two decades, Cattin has paid an up-close and rather bemused view to the parade of party days where people take to the streets, fireworks light up the sky, and the government sends often contradictory messages about national heritage and civic pride.With “Holidays,” which is set over the course of seven of such public fêtes, and which will world premiere at CPH: DOX on March 29, Cattin both filmed and offered cameras to a Kazakh migrant, an aging public administrator, a xenophobic young activist, and a thrill-seeking urban explorer, making the film’s four characters both subjects and guides on a kaleidoscopic tour of modern Russia.

K.J. Yossman Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will be among the winners at the Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) awards on Friday night alongside actor Charlotte Riley and senior vice president of studio operations Warner Bros.

New Zealand-born Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik might be on the precipice of a banner year. His long-awaited Marilyn Monroe film starring Ana de Armas, “Blonde,” just received an NC-17 rating from the Film Ratings board, something of a first for Netflix, and should make its world premiere later this year (likely Venice, since Netflix avoids Cannes).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAfter several hours of heated debates, Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France and Germany, has been chosen by the board of the Cannes Film Festival to become its first female president, as Variety has learned . She will succeed Pierre Lescure who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.The German-born, Paris-based executive was elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, amid much controversy in France.

super-spreader event, with “Belfast” nominees Kenneth Branagh and Ciaran Hinds among those testing positive.Other “layers” to the story: There are fewer seats available this year due to COVID distancing protocols. And despite the fact the Steven Spielberg film is up for Best Picture, that doesn’t mean its lead actress is automatically invited, unlike costar Ariana DeBose, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Jessica Kiang There is a certain satisfaction in learning the stories of people who, through luck, circumstance or sheer grit, have ended up in precisely the right job. Australian director Lachlan McLeod’s “Clean” turns out to be just such a story, but here the job is trauma cleaning — that is, swabbing down crime scenes and suicide sites, clearing out inherited or repossessed houses, assisting the mentally and physically disabled with home maintenance and tackling the grimly fascinating phenomenon that is hoarding.

Exclusive: Miranda Lambert's stylist shares the singer's wardrobe secretsSharing a picture of their date night together, Tyler shared that watching his four-year-old Olivia "grow up and seeing the world through such kind, loving, empathetic eyes, truly makes me want to be a better father, husband, and friend".WATCH: Florida Georgia Line star Tyler Hubbard shares details of 'life-changing' songIn the snap, Tyler was on his knees after presenting her with a bouquet of flowers. Olivia wore a sweet blue floral dress with a white cardigan and tan sandals, while Tyler wore a gray charcoal suit."I love this girl with all my heart.

For the children of Lusia “Lucy” Harris, the woman at the center of The Queen of Basketball, the prospect of the upcoming Oscar ceremony brings a feeling of joy, along with a measure of sadness.

Deaf representation has taken a major step forward with two Oscar-nominated films this year — one a fictional story, the other entirely real.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has reverberated across the film industry locally and globally.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to the feature documentary The Return Of Tanya Tucker — Featuring Brandi Carlile, on the heels of its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival.

The Berlin International Film Festival has joined fellow events including Cannes and Venice in saying it will not ban Russian movies at the next edition of its fest, but will block official Russian delegates.

ITV Saturday Night Takeaway fans have been left crushed as Ant and Dec confirm the end of a popular feature. The Geordie duo have moves to announce a beloved feature is coming to an end.

The filmmakers behind some of this year’s Oscar-nominated live action shorts used their films as a platform to bring awareness about issues ranging from bride kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan, to the dehumanization of individuals in the U.S. correctional system.The directors and screenwriters of “Ala Kachuu – Take and Run,” “The Dress” and “Please Hold” sat down for a conversation with TheWrap’s Brian Welk, to discuss the importance of presenting pressing issues to audiences despite obstacles such as having a low budget, tight deadlines and in some cases, a language barrier.“I think it’s really important that the whole world try to watch this thing going on in countries like Kyrgyzstan.

Lise Pedersen Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has unveiled its VdR-Industry selection, which includes 27 projects in different stages of production.The works will be invited to participate in three key forums – VdR-Pitching, VdR-Work in Progress and VdR-Rough Cut Lab – that run as part of the fest’s industry activities in Nyon from April 10-14.Those who cannot make it to the festival will be able to participate online but organizers are focusing strongly on the in-person event.“We can’t wait to finally welcome back project holders and industry representatives to the shores of Lake Geneva. We feel strengthened by the lessons we have learned from the digital and hybrid editions of the last two years.