Switzerland’s Akka Films Ramps Up Movie, TV, Doc Production

Marta Balaga Finland has responded to a spike in demand for its content with a slew of new series. As revealed by Laura Kuulasmaa, executive director at Audiovisual Producers Finland (APFI), over 30 will be released this year alone, a 20% uptick on 2018.“Compared to eight, ten years ago, when there were maybe only five scripted series per year, the increase has been huge,” she tells Variety ahead of French TV festival Series Mania’s “Focus on Finland” showcase. The Film in Finland cash rebate has facilitated international investments and growth of the budgets, she notes. Matti Paunio, head of production at the Finnish Film Foundation, adds:“I think the biggest trend overall is the diversification of subjects and points of view.

Erik ten Hag's potential arrival at Manchester United will be music to the ears of Donny van de Beek. Currently exiled from the club at Everton, Van de Beek has failed to make an impact since arriving in England. Although he joined in 2020, the Dutchman has remarkably only made 50 appearances at United.

Ed Meza @edmezavarInternational feature film and commercial content group Iconoclast and Berlin-based StickUp Films have established a new joint venture to produce feature films and series for the domestic and international markets.Represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the new shingle, Iconoclast Films Germany, is aiming to produce a minimum of three film or series projects annually within a five-year ramp-up period.The company is headed by Luis Singer and Dennis Schanz of StickUp Films – the creators and co-producers of Netflix’s award-winning series “Skylines” — as well as Iconoclast executive producer Swantje Rummel.Iconoclast sees the new venture as part of its international content strategy and a logical extension of its brand. In addition to producing recent works by the likes of Gus Van Sant (“Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot”), Julian Schnabel (“At Eternity’s Gate”), Harmony Korine (“The Beach Bum”) and Romain Gavras (“The World Is Yours”) through its companies in the U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: Saban Films is finalizing a deal to acquire North American rights to Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon, starring Kate Hudson, breakout Korean actress Jeon Jong-seo and Craig Robinson.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefScripted formats are enjoying increasing success in Asia. But what makes them successful varies from case to case.French producer, Harold Valentin of Mother Production (“Call My Agent”), Akehi Yuki (“Mother”), business director at Japan’s Nippon Television, and Hong Kong’s Tommy Lo, executive producer and script supervisor of the Hong Kong version of “Ossan’s Love” joined Content Asia’s Janine Stein on Tuesday at FilMart to discuss.Valentin: “We were very surprised that [‘Call My Agent’] began travelling really after season two, because initially Netflix didn’t know what to do with the strategy. The mixture of drama and comedy had disappeared a bit in U.S.

Lise Pedersen Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel (VdR), which revealed its industry program last week, has unveiled its full lineup as it prepares to welcome participants both in person and online. A total of 160 films will be screened throughout the fest, which runs from April 7 through to April 17 in half a dozen venues in and around the city of Nyon.While the event is back in its physical form, organizers have learned from the past two editions and decided to keep a strong online presence.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterThe SXSW Film Festival delivered a doozy of an opening night presentation with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” on Friday in Austin — offering up a buffet of images for viral memes.Fleshy hot dogs in place of human fingers, a talking raccoon voiced by Oscar winner Randy Newman, butt plugs that serve as portals to other dimensions, a martial arts showdown between Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, and a universe-shattering bagel all populate the A24 release. While Twitter will have its day with the inventive and well-crafted insanity, the filmmakers and cast also produced a rowdy crowdpleaser with themes of acceptance, optimism, and love literally conquering all.

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.

Reflection, a film set during the war in Donbass in eastern Ukraine in 2014 [via Variety].Switzerland’s Visions du Réel docs festival has announced that its selections for its April event will comprise four works directed and/or produced in Ukraine. Simon Lereng Wilmont’s A House Made Of Splinters, which won a directing prize at Sundance in January, is one of the included films.In November, the Stockholm Film Festival will host film screenings, director visits and masterclasses in order to promote the country’s cinema.The Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary Intl.

Chris Hemsworth is showing off his snowboarding skills.

Chris Hemsworth is enjoying a little getaway with his friends!

Cannes Film Festival has released a statement in response to the war in Ukraine saying it will not accept “Russian delegations” this year. Scroll down to read it in full.

EXCLUSIVE: IFC Films has set a July 8 stateside release date for Claire Denis’ Berlin Film Festival winner Fire, starring Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon.

For several years now, Bill Murray (“The French Dispatch”) has been a good luck charm for director Wes Anderson, a perennial member of his troupe, but he’s a notoriously hard get. You need a killer script and an “in” to get him to read it.

“Aziz Ansari is an incredible talent and, with this script, he brings a singular combination of insightful humor and pathos,” Searchlight presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with him on his feature directorial debut which is long overdue, and of course working with the genius Bill Murray once again.”Taylor Friedman and Cameron Chidsey are overseeing the project for Searchlight Pictures.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAziz Ansari has been appointed to direct an untitled comedic-drama for Searchlight Pictures. He will co-star in the movie with Bill Murrary.Ansari, who created the Netflix series “Master of None,” is making his feature directorial debut.

Aziz Ansari (Master of None, Parks and Recreation) is making his feature directorial debut with an untitled dramedy for Searchlight, based on the 2014 non-fiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by surgeon Atul Gawande, in which he’ll star alongside Oscar nominee Bill Murray (The French Dispatch, Lost in Translation), Deadline has confirmed.