Thessaloniki Film Festival’s Industry Arm Announces Award Winners

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn a now firmly established Ventana Sur tradition, Film Factory Ent., one of the Spanish world’s premiere sales agents, has announced a new sales rights pick-up on the market’s final day: Italian-Argentine psychological horror movie “El Nido” (“Nest”).With “Nest” now in post-production, Film Factory will present a first promo at 2021’s Cannes Film Market.The feature debut of Italy’s Mattia Temponi, and produced by Rome-based Alba Produzioni and

Anna Marie de la Fuente Spain’s Luis López Carrasco picked up the Best International Film prize for his documentary “The Year of the Discovery” (“El año del descubrimiento”) on Sunday at Argentina’s Mar del Plata, the only Latin American film fest granted a Category A status by producers assn.

straight to your inboxJoleon Lescott is considering a return to competitive football after a Spanish third division side announced his participation in an upcoming Copa del Rey match. Former Manchester City defender Lescott, who currently manages young players at the club out on loan as well as doing other work including punditry, had agreed to help out Racing Murcia for what he thought was an exhibition game.

Dave McNary Film ReporterHanWay Films has closed multiple international sales for Phillip Noyce’s “Peggy Jo,” with Lily James attached to star as Peggy Jo Tallas, who robbed Texas banks in the early 1990s while posing as a man.A deal with Universal Pictures Content Group includes Benelux, German speaking Europe, Italy, Portugal, Scandinavia, and the UK.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFew figures in the Spanish film industry dress as formerly, or as well, as Malaga Intl. Film Festival director Juan Antonio Vigar.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorTenemos los ganadores in Spanish-language programming for this year’s Daytime, Sports and News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLaunched in 1998 to promote Spanish cinema, the Malaga Festival once promised a fantastic shot of Spring sunshine, a competition whose winners were maybe unlucky not to get to Cannes, an annual state of the business pronouncement from Spain’s producer association Fapae, and screaming fans around the red carpet, proving Spain had a new, TV-based star system.That in itself was an achievement.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterThe 10th edition of U.S. In Progress Wroclaw, the industry wing of the American Film Festival in Poland which was held online this year, wrapped over the weekend and presented a variety of awards to the participating American film projects.The awards range from post-production services to travel bursaries and cash.

Christopher Vourlias “Identifying Features,” Fernanda Valadez’s searing abduction drama set along the U.S.-Mexico border, was awarded the Golden Alexander for best feature film at the 61st Thessaloniki Film Festival.The awards were announced Monday at the conclusion of the Greek fest’s digital edition, which ran Nov. 5-15.

The unknown story of a brilliant illustrator who survived the Spanish Civil War only to be interned in a French concentration camp, where he was beaten, tortured and starved to death for several years until he escaped and eventually made it over to Mexico, where he became the lover of Frida Kahlo, after which he moved to New York and frequented painters like Rothko and De Kooning, is definitely one worth telling.

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, Amazon commits €1 million ($1.18 million) in Italian COVID-19 aid, Fremantle’s Naked hires Natalie Rose, Jay Blades launches Hungry Jay Media and Amazon Prime Video drops a trailer for its first Spanish scripted Original “El Cid.”Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios have announced a €1 million ($1.18 million) commitment to support the Italian entertainment industry through the COVID-19 pandemic.The donation is being made to the emergency COVID-19 fund, Sc

Ann-Marie Corvin Spanish sales agent Agencia Freak has picked up the international rights to Malaga Film Festival featured documentary “Drowning Letters” (“Cartas Mojadas”), director Paula Palacios’ debut feature on Europe’s half decade-long refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea.Produced by Madrid-based Morada Films, and one of 20 titles making their market bow at the Malaga Spanish Screenings, the 81-minute feature aims to set all the news coverage about the crisis into context, using a

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“Ane Is Missing,” the feature debut of Spain’s David Pérez Sanudo, begins with a fixed shot of a woman security guard sitting in a hut on a construction site. For a full 45 seconds absolutely nothing happens until a firebomb suddenly flares outside the hut.

Christopher Vourlias As the industry arm of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the leading cinematic showcase for the Baltic nations, the five-day Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event has grown into a lynchpin for conversations about the current and future state of production in the region, bringing together leading entertainment, tech and VC professionals.This year will be no different, even as the coronavirus pandemic has forced organizers to shift to a virtual-only edition—something the