TelevisaUnivision Secures Spanish-Language Rights to Super Bowl LVIII

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired all North American rights for “Last Summer,” directed by Catherine Breillat, her first film in a decade, the companies announced on Friday.The film, which just screened In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival to rave reviews, tells the story of Anne, a brilliant lawyer who lives in perfect harmony with her husband Pierre and their six and eight‐year‐old daughters in the suburbs of Paris. One day, Theo, 17, Pierre’s son from a previous marriage, moves in with them.

Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired all North American rights for Catherine Breillat’s drama Last Summer (L’été dernier) following its well-received premiere in competition in the final days of the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27).

EXCLUSIVE: MTV Documentary Films has acquired worldwide rights to Pay or Die, a heart wrenching film about Americans living with diabetes who face a cruel choice: pay the “extortionate” cost of insulin charged by pharmaceutical companies or risk death.

Callum McLennan Top Argentina’s free-to-air channel Pakapaka has inked a deal with Paris-based animation house Dandelooo on award-winning series “Jasmine & Jambo,” to be broadcast on the Argentine government funded channel dedicated to children’s content.  Melissa Vega, international sales manager at Dandelooo told Variety, “Jasmine and Jambo is an amazing series that is doing great internationally. Pakapaka is the perfect home for the series.” “Jasmine & Jambo,” a 26-part series spangled with humour and musical notes, is designed to engage both upper preschoolers and their parents. It is the brainchild of Barcelona-based company Teidees and Catalan broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya. At the helm of the show is Silvia Cortés, co-founder of Teidees. “Jasmine & Jambo” bagged the best international series at the Festival Ecran Jeunesse and secured a nomination for the Quality in Children’s TV Worldwide award at the prestigious Prix Jeunesse International. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy, whose absurdist social satire “Feathers” won the Cannes Critics’ Week prize in 2021 and went on to make a major splash, is set to helm “Mammals,” an English-language drama that will be a reflection on Western capitalism and family ties. El Zohairy’s sophomore film, which will feature still unspecified actors from different countries, is being co-written by the buzzed-about auteur with British Egyptian writer-director Mohamed Adeeb, who wrote the hit Egyptian TV series “Bimbo,” directed by Amr Salama. “Mammals” is partly inspired by the biography of El Zohairy’s father, who died in 2016 in the United States, where he was an immigrant living under difficult conditions. In the film, a young man visits his distant father in one of the world’s most lavish resorts. When he arrives there he discovers that, unbeknownst to him, his father has locked him into a business deal that he cannot reject. The young man rebels, but also starts to like his new life and eventually loses his sanity. 

Reservoir Media has announced a new deal to acquire the full songwriting catalogue of Miami Sound Machine’s Enrique ‘Kiki’ Garcia.Garcia wrote hits for the band, including ‘Conga’ and ‘Dr Beat’, as well as co-writing several more hits with vocalist Gloria Estefan, such as ‘1-2-3’, ‘Give It Up’ and ‘Rhythm Is Gonna Get You’.“You never write a song thinking you’re creating an anthem that will be loved around the world”, says Garcia. “‘Conga’ is just that.

Charna Flam Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to “Story Ave,” which won a special jury award for cinematography at SXSW. From debut filmmaker Aristotle Torres, “Story Ave” stars Luis Guzmán (“Narcos,” “Boogie Nights”) and Asante Blackk (“When They See Us,” “This Is Us”), with Guzmán serving as executive producer alongside producer Jamie Foxx. “Story Ave”follows teenage graffiti artist, Kadir Grayson (Blackk) who recently ran away from home and tries to prove himself to his neighborhood gang. One night Kadir heads over to the Story Ave. subway platform and attempts to hold up MTA worker Luis Torres (Guzmán) in a robbery. But once Luis proposes he’ll hand over the cash if Kadir has a meal with him, the two get to know each other throughout the meal, and with time their connection turns into growing and sincere friendship.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN will shift the bulk of its operations behind its Spanish-language efforts to Mexico City, scaling back production of content for linear television in favor of work aimed at reaching a younger audience that favors mobile video. The move is likely to mean the elimination of jobs in Miami and Atlanta, but will also result in a ramp-up of jobs in Mexico and Los Angeles, where CNN will aim to add more than staffers, according to a person familiar with the plans, which were disclosed to employees Thursday afternoon. CNN CEO Chris Licht had nodded to the future of the Spanish-language network in November at a town-hall meeting. At issue is how to maintain outreach to Spanish-speaking viewers at a time when the economics of big media companies are under intense scrutiny. CNN and its corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, have already cut operations, but the question of how to keep CNN en Espanol under such conditions has been under debate for some time. In the past, discussions had been underway to shut down the cable network, which has only limited distribution of around nine million in the United States.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Álvaro Morte, immortalized by his performance as the Professor in “Money Heist,” has inked a multi-year producing deal with Sony Pictures Television through his Madrid-based production company 300 Pistolas, which he founded alongside Blanca Clemente. The accord sees 300 Pistolas, a theater company, making the transition into producing scripted TV, with Morte developing English-language scripted series exclusively with SPT, which he and Clemente will serve on as producers via 300 Pistolas.  Morte and Clemente will have access to SPT’s development teams. SPT will serve as exclusive production and distribution partner to any projects produced under the deal, SPT confirmed Wednesday.

EXCLUSIVE: After an old-style all night auction, Netflix is finalizing an $11M deal for North American rights to May December, the Todd Haynes-directed drama that stars Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. It is far and away the big deal of Cannes so far, and a deal of this size ought to send a jolt of optimism that the North American marketplace for Cannes films is still alive and well, after a slow start here.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Lionsgate has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the the Biblical epic series “The Chosen.” Three seasons of “The Chosen” have been produced to date. Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video, while Season 1 is also on Netflix. It is also availabile in France on Canal+, the Netherlands on NPO, Spain on MovieStar and Poland on TVP. A fourth season, from creator, director, and producer Dallas Jenkins and starring Jonathan Roumie, is currently in production. It has also pulled in $35 million at the box office in special event theatrical releases The Come and See Foundation will retain and manage licensing rights for all activities within the non-profit sector.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Colombian-Mexican filmmaker Rodrigo García has wrapped his first Spanish-language feature, “Familia,” which was shot in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico for Netflix. García, who has directed such acclaimed films as “Mother and Child” and “Albert Nobbs,” and whose TV credits include “Six Feet Under,” “Big Love” and “In Treatment,” said: “Shooting ‘Familia’ has been a great experience.” He added: “Great producers, collaborators, several of my favorite Mexican actors and actresses and Netflix’s full support have made this project an unforgettable trip back home.” This is the first time García, who is the son of Colombian Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Marquez, has directed a film in Mexico. He’s an executive producer in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of his father’s literary classic “100 Years of Solitude,” which will be shooting in Colombia.

EXCLUSIVE: Egyptian-U.S. company Ambient Light has acquired North American sales rights for Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title Goodbye Julia.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor London- and Paris-based production, finance and sales company Film Constellation is launching sales on the remake rights of Spanish thriller “Fatum.” Directed by Juan Gualinanes and produced by Vaca Films, the outfit behind box office successes “Sky High” and “Cell 211,” “Fatum” was released in Spain by Universal Studios on April 28. Film Constellation has already reported sales to 50 territories on the original Spanish version. A compulsive gambler and an elite sniper’s destinies meet on a fateful day when the local betting house gets robbed. When a single gunshot is fired, the next 24 hours will set them on a race against time that will define their lives forever.

Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company, has picked up North American rights to the post-apocalyptic thriller Stronghold, directed by Julia Camara. In addition to US & Canada; Gravitas wants to add Latin American territories in addition to Mexico including the Caribbean and sub territories.”

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has boarded recently wrapped holiday film Christmas Actually, starring Malin Akerman (Billions), Ryan Hansen (Party Down) and Amy Smart (Stargirl).

EXCLUSIVE: Filmax has acquired international rights to Spanish-Argentinian animated feature Robotia and will present the pic to buyers at the Cannes market.

NEON announced today that they have taken the North American rights to Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger’s first animated feature film “Robot Dreams,” based on the award-winning graphic novel of the same name by Sara Varon. The movie will be screened for the first time in Cannes this coming Saturday, May 20 in the Special Screenings section of the festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Los Angeles-based Lion Heart Distribution has acquired North American rights to Allan Piper’s horror-comedy eVil Sublet co-starring All In The Family star Sally Struthers and Jennifer Leigh Houston.

TelevisaUnivision has sealed a deal with CBS and the NFL to carry Spanish-language broadcasts of Super Bowl LVIII next February.