‘This Is Spinal Tap’ creators set up licensing body to exclusively manage film’s rights

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentGregoire Melin’s Kinology, the Paris-based company handling Leos Carax’s and Mia Hansen-Love’s next films, has added a string of ambitious new films from a mix of emerging and seasoned directors.Kinology has launched sales on “A Girl’s Room,” a stylish psychological thriller directed by Finnish up-and-coming helmer Aino Suni; “The Divide,” a stars-packed film by French director Catherine Corsini (“Three Worlds”); “Third Grade” by veteran director Jacques

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon Bonaparte biopic with Joaquin Phoenix has been given the green light by Apple Studios.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentOther Angle has sealed a raft of deals on Christopher Thompson’s Paris-set romantic comedy “The Butcher’s Daughter.” The film is having its market premiere as part of the UniFrance’s Rendez-Vous With French Cinema event, which kicked off Wednesday.The sales company has closed deals on the film with major distributors in Germany (Telepool), Spain (A Contracorriente), Belgium (Vertigo), Switzerland (JMH Distributions) and Canada (TVA Films).The movie

Emilio Mayorga A naturalistic, social tale, “Miss Chazelles” competes in the nine-title short film lineup at the MyFrenchFilmFestival, an entirely-online – even before COVID-19 – festival devoted to French productions launched by promotion board UniFrance, running Jan. 15 to Feb.

Ben Croll Franco-American critic and broadcaster Iris Brey has teamed with Paris-based sales/production outfit Totem Films to adapt her 2020 book “The Female Gaze: A Screen Revolution” as a nonfiction feature.A member of France’s 50/50 Collective and a lecturer at the University of California’s Paris campus, Brey will write and direct the upcoming film, weaving the central concern of her book – a long essay interrogating representations of female bodies and perspectives throughout film history

Ben Croll Strand Releasing has picked up U.S.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAnne-Dominique Toussaint, a Belgian-born revered yet discreet film producer based in Paris, has uncovered and championed many promising filmmakers through her company Les Films des Tournelles.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s TorinoFilmLab, the international film and TV series incubator linked to the Torino Film Festival, is forging a French connection with an Alpine twist.The Torino lab, based in the Northern Italian city at the foothill of the Alps — and known in the indie community for supporting global talent and projects through a multitude of training and co-production programs — is teaming with the nearby Annecy Cinéma Italien fest to launch Alpi Film Lab, a

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBruce LaBruce’s queer comedy fantasy “Saint-Narcisse” has been sold by the Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever to the U.S., along with a string of other key territories.Film Movement has acquired U.S.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentFrédéric Corvez’s Urban Distribution International, which is taking part in this week’s 23rd Rendez-vous With French Cinema international film market, is launching world sales on action drama “La Civil.” The film has been produced with the assistance of a heavyweight team of arthouse filmmakers, including Palme d’Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Cristian Mungiu, also a Palme d’Or winner, and Michel Franco, winner of the Grand Jury Prize

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFalcon Entertainment, one of Indonesia’s leading film and entertainment groups, has licensed some 300 movies from French sources, and is now launching them on its video-on-demand service Klik Film.The collection ranges from classics to current year contenders.

Al Roker was reunited with his children over the holidays but on Friday he shared the sad news that his daughter, Leila, was leaving the country.  The Today show weatherman and co-anchor had a lot of "sniffles" as he waved her off, back to France, where she currently lives. MORE: Al Roker's home is a better take on the Hamptons - see inside Taking to Instagram, Al posted a selfie with his wife, Deborah, son, Nick, and Leila too. "Where did the last 3 weeks go?" he captioned the snapshot.

Clayton Davis The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced its 2020 AWFJ EDA winners, where the most-nominated film “Nomadland” walked away with six categories including best film, actress (Frances McDormand) and cinematography (Joshua James Richards).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentParis-based sales outfit Charades has boarded Louis-Julien Petit’s “The Kitchen Brigade” and Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud’s “The Test.” Charades will begin sales on the pair of French films at the virtual UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, which kicks off Jan. 16.“The Kitchen Brigade” marks Petit’s follow up to “Invisibles,” a comedy-drama that tells the true story of homeless women reintegrating into society.

The Talk star Sharon Osbourne is recovering from a Coronavirus infection that left her hospitalised, and has been keeping a fairly low profile on social media as she focuses on a return to full health.But on Tuesday she took to Instagram for a very sad reason - to pay tribute to French designer Pierre Cardin following sad news of his death. WATCH: Sharon talks about her granddaughter contracting CoronavirusMORE: Jack Osbourne breaks silence on daughter Minnie's coronavirus battleMORE: Sharon

Clayton Davis The road for Alex Thompson’s “Saint Frances” began on March 11, 2019, at the South by Southwest Film Festival where it won the audience award and a special jury prize for breakthrough voice. Written by and starring Kelly O’Sullivan, the film was picked up by Oscilloscope Laboratories and released in theaters on Feb.

Naman Ramachandran Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest co-production market, has revealed 21 eclectic projects from several countries and in a welter of languages, for its 2021 online edition.The selected filmmakers will pitch their projects virtually to a curated audience of Indian and international producers, distributors, festival programmers, financiers and sales agents at an open pitch session.

ban on freight movement was imposed by France because of the new strain of coronavirus first detected in south-east England. The failure by the UK Government to strike a deal on Brexit has caused even more alarm with extra tariffs and checks coming.