Sydney-Winning, SXSW-Bound Gender Politics Thriller ‘Birdeater’ Boarded by Blue Finch Films (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Former Blue Ant Media execs Solange Attwood and Asha Daniere have launched an “internationally-focused, next generation studio business” out of Canada.

UK TV producers will be given the opportunity to pitch to helm the BBC‘s Eurovision Song Contest coverage, Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) awards and iconic kids show Blue Peter as the BBC unveils its next set of tenders.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Totem Films, the Paris-based sales and production company known for arthouse breakouts such as “Compartment No. 6” and “Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry,” has boarded sales on “My Favourite Cake” by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha. The Iranian writing-directing duo’s latest feature was just announced in competition at the upcoming Berlinale.

Jesse Moss’ chilling and engrossing documentary “War Game” begins ominously, moves with urgency, and never lets up. The film begins with two suspicious men surveilling the capitol building in Washington D.C.

Oliver Stone has a lot of opinions about the current film industry and says movies like Barbie are contributing to the “infantilization of Hollywood.”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, the co-writers and co-directors of Aardman Animations’ musical film “Robin Robin,” which premiered on Netflix in November 2021, and was nominated for an Oscar the following year, say that a spinoff is in the cards. “We are currently working on more stories in the world of ‘Robin, Robin,’” Please tells Variety. “I think that’s all we’re allowed to say.

Dakota Johnson stars in Madame Web and said that she put her trust in director S.J. Clarkson as filming it was “absolutely psychotic.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Sound of Freedom,” the indie action-drama film that earned some $184 million at the North American box office, has set a significant theatrical release in South Korea. Angel Studios, the crowd-funded Utah-based production and distribution firm behind the film, initially set up direct-to-theater releases for the film’s first international outings in the U.K., Australia and Latin America. In Korea, rights have been licensed in conventional fashion by the N.E.W. – Contents Panda group, which plans to give the picture a release from Feb. 21, 2024.

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights to horror film “Mom.” Blue Finch will be selling the film at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) in February. “Mom” will have its world premiere at FrightFest Glasgow in March. The film follows a struggling mother who is abandoned by her family and partner after a horrific incident.

Alex Ritman The nominees for the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards are set to be revealed on Thursday, with Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir — both former BAFTA Rising Star nominees — making the announcement at 12 p.m. U.K. time (4 a.m.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Be For Films, an independent film sales company based in Brussels, has acquired international rights to German filmmaker Michael Fetter Nathansky‘s “Every You Every Me,” which has been selected in the Panorama section of the Berlinale. “Every You Every Me” won two Work-in-Progress Awards, under its previous title “Mannequins,” at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Beta Film has boarded ZDFneo’s new medical drama series “Krank Berlin,” set in the toughest and most overcrowded hospital in the German capital. Created by former British emergency room doctor turned screenwriter Samuel Jefferson, “Krank Berlin” will be part of the Berlinale Series Market showcase Up Next: Germany, which presents an exclusive selection of the country’s upcoming high-end series to international buyers at the EFM. Set against the backdrop of the vibrant, fast-paced and multicultural Southside districts of Neukölln and Kreuzberg, the series stars Haley Louise Jones (“Dear Child,” “Paradise”) as Dr.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor September Film has acquired all rights for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg for “In the Land of Brothers,” which has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section. The film is written and directed by Iranian filmmakers Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi. Alpha Violet is handling world sales.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-based sales and distribution company Black Mandala has picked up international rights to Spanish-language genre film and 2023 festival hit “I’ll Crush Y’All” (aka “Os Reviento”). Portrayed by Mario Mayo, Gabriel, better known as ‘Tarado,’ is a former boxer who lives in a secluded village outside the city with his father and his dog. He could still box, but to avoid what led him to spend a few years in prison, he prefers to lead a quiet life.

Taylor Swift knows a thing or two about being catnip.Indeed, the pop superstar worked all of her flirtatious feline wiles as Bombalurina in “Cats,” the much-maligned 2019 movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.But Swift had a different kind of kitty persuasion on “Argylle,” the upcoming spy thriller starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson and more.Director Matthew Vaughn (“Kick-Ass,” “X-Men: First Class” and the “Kingsman” films) says that it was the “Anti-Hero” singer who was “responsible” for the scene-stealing Scottish Fold cat featured in the film, which hits theaters Feb. 2.It all started when Vaughn’s two daughters with his supermodel wife, Claudia Schiffer, convinced their mother to buy them a Scottish Fold for Christmas after seeing Swift’s cat in her 2020 “Miss Americana” documentary.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bille August, the two-time Palme d’Or-winning director, found his creative match with the former Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, who reinvented herself as a detail-oriented costume designer on his hit Netflix film “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction.” The film, which took a decade to bring to life, is nominated for three Robert Awards, the Danish equivalent to the Oscars. A playful royal scandal set in the early 19th century, “Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction” was penned by Anders August and based on a 1963 novella by Karen Blixen, the Danish baroness who was played by Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa.” The film revolves around Cazotte, a young portrait painter who considers himself an expert on love matters and is challenged by the Grand Duchess to seduce a young woman, as well as help her secure an heir.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Newen Connect has closed a raft of sales on “Kina & Yuk,” a live action family adventure from the team behind “Ailo’s Journey,” ahead of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous showcase. Directed by Guillaume Maidatchevsky (“Ailo’s Journey”), the feature is a wild arctic tale following two foxes who are separated by the melting polar ice and must overcome a number of dangers in the hope of being reunited and raise a family together. The movie was released in French theaters by UGC on Dec.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Shtisel,” the popular series following the lives of a tight-knit ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem, is changing its U.S. home. Previously available on Netflix, all three seasons of “Shtisel” have been acquired by Amazon Prime Video from Yes Studios.

Showbiz 411, the E-street band leader, 74, was allegedly hired by “Black Mass” director Scott Cooper, who is also known for his 2009 film “Crazy Heart” starring Jeff Bridges. Springsteen’s sixth studio album was lauded as an introspective turn for the “Born To Run” belter, turning a bout of depression into artistic inspiration.As the story goes, the New Jersey-born musician intended to rerecord the raw, emotional demo tracks that would comprise the forthcoming “Nebraska,” but eventually decided to release the songs as they were. The stripped-down album is also said to have given rise to Springsteen’s 1984 hit, “Born in the USA.”Little is known about the upcoming film aside from the fact that Cooper, 53, is slated to direct.

Stewart told Variety, adding that it’s a change of pace from standard sex scenes in movies featuring heterosexual characters.“All you ever see is a dress coming up and a head going down under,” she said. “I think even hetero sex on film is so rote.