Trailer Unveiled for Sébastien Lifshitz’s Venice-Bound ‘Casa Susanna’ (EXCLUSIVE)

A shocking exit. Ime Udoka, the head coach of the Boston Celtics, has been suspended from the NBA after news broke that he had an alleged affair with another member of the organization.

Emily is facing the decision of her life.

Naman Ramachandran Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales on European genre titles, Scandinavian thriller “Good Boy” and found footage film “Stéphane,” ahead of their world premieres at Beyond Fest. “Good Boy,” which delves into the perils of the modern dating world, follows Sigrid who thinks she’s met the perfect match in Christian until she comes to find out that he lives with a man who acts like his pet dog. French thriller “Stéphane,” a new take on the found footage genre, follows Timothée, as he documents his time with the larger-than-life, and almost unbelievable character that he meets whilst shooting a short film. As time goes on their jovial and eccentric talks become something far more sinister.

EXCLUSIVE: Lana Condor (To All the Boys films), Desmin Borges (The Time Traveler’s Wife) and Callan Mulvey (The Gray Man) have signed on to star alongside Chase Stokes in Monarch Media’s thriller Valiant One, which goes into production in Vancouver later this month.

Liza Foreman He died alone and abandoned, and today few people know his name, but in the second half of the 18th century Josef Mysliveček (1737-1781), the son of a Czech miller, broke family ties, and left Prague for Venice to become one of the go-to composers of opera of his time. The award-winning Czech director Petr Václav (“The Way Out”) has created a sumptuous period piece, rich in costume and the sounds of live music recorded for the film by the Czech ensemble Collegium 1704. Not to mention performances by real-life opera stars. Soloists from the music world include French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, Hungarian soprano Emöke Baráth, Italian soprano Raffaella Milanesi, Slovak soprano Simona Šaturová, and opera singers Juan Sancho, Krystian Adam, and Sophie Harmsen.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Neon has acquired the North American rights to the thriller “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” out of the Toronto International Film Festival, where it world premiered in the auteur-driven Platform section. Based on Andreas Malm’s manifesto tackling the climate crisis, the film is directed by Daniel Goldhaber (“CAM”); produced, co-written and stars Ariela Barer (“Runaways”, “Atypical”); co-written by Jordan Sjol and edited by Daniel Garber (“CAM,” “Some Kind of Heaven”). “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a group of young environmental activists who set out to sabotage an oil pipeline in a timely thriller that’s described as “part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Loco Films has boarded international sales rights to actor-turned-helmer Dinara Droukarova’s feature debut “Woman at Sea” which will world premiere in the New Directors section at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Produced by Marianne Slot and Carine LeBlanc at Paris-based Slot Machine (“Melancholia”), “Woman at Sea” stars Droukarova as Lili, who has left everything behind to travel to the end of the earth to fulfil her dream of fishing in the northern seas, in Iceland. She convinces Ian, a fishing boat skipper, to give her a chance and embarks on the Rebel. She is the only woman in the crew but she will win everybody’s respect thanks to her determination and courage. “We are proud of this first film, shot on the harsh northern seas about a young woman seeking the fresh air of freedom. A beautiful and free film and the birth of a new director,” said Laurent Danielou, founder and president of Loco Films.

Tributes to Jean-Luc Godard, a pioneering leader of French cinema, began to flood in immediately after it was reported that the director died today, aged 91, with figures from the world of cinema, politics, and beyond remembering the director for his powerful, singular work.

Naman Ramachandran After several acclaimed shorts, Katrine Brocks’ feature film debut “The Great Silence” (“Den Store Stilhed”) is set to premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival in competition at the New Directors strand. The film follows Alma who is about to take her vows as a nun in a Catholic convent, when her estranged brother Erik arrives. His presence unearths a tragedy from their past and with the ceremony approaching, Alma is increasingly haunted by resurfacing trauma. The cast includes Kristine Kujath Thorp (“Ninjababy”), Elliott Crosset Hove (“Godland”) and Karen-Lise Mynster (“C4”).

Jennie Punter Tucked in a corner of the Catskills, Casa Susanna was a modest private resort where cross-dressing heterosexual men and transgender women gathered on summer weekends through the 1950s and ‘60s to live as their true selves, dressed in the ladies’ fashion of the day and engaging in bourgeois social activities such as taking snapshots.   Over the past 15 years, a handful of articles, academic research, and photography exhibitions (and let’s not forget the 2014 Tony-nominated play by Harvey Fierstein) have gradually opened the door to this secret subculture of Cold War America. Now “Casa Susanna,” a new documentary by French filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz (“Wild Side,” “Little Girl”), flings it open.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Barcelona-based Film Factory Entertainment has picked up world sales rights to “El Otro Hijo,” the feature debut of Colombia’s Juan Sebastián Quebrada. The Evidencia Films production adds to the growing list of Colombian pickups by Film Factory, including last year’s sweeping Premios Platino winner, “Memories of My Father” (“El Olvido que Seremos”) by Fernando Trueba. and Laura Mora’s “Kings of the World,”which competes at the upcoming San Sebastian Film Festival and is part of Toronto’s Industry Select section. “Film Factory is excited to be on board; Colombian cinema is very strong and we are eager to discover new talents from the country. We believe we found one in Juan Sebastián Quebrada,” Film Factory’s Vicente Canales told Variety.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Myriad Pictures has acquired the international rights to “Zátopek,” Czech Republic’s 94th Academy Award Best International Feature Film submission. Gravitas Ventures has North American rights to the feature. The deal was negotiated between John McGrath of UTA, on behalf of the producers, and Scott Bedno, senior vice president of sales and acquisitions at Myriad Pictures. “Zátopek” is about the greatest Czech athlete of all time, four-time Olympic champion Emil Zátopek. It is the seventh film by prolific Czech director David Ondříček. His film “In the Shadow” was the Czech Oscar submission in 2012.

Kim Kardashian compares herself to women imprisoned for violent crimes they've committed for husbands and boyfriends, implying she could have been one of them. For Interview magazine's "American Dream" issue, the reality star, who is studying to be a lawyer, touched on judicial reform, working to commute sentences for non-violent criminals.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Nicolas Cage and Joel Kinnaman will star in “Sympathy for the Devil,” a new psychological thriller from director Yuval Adler. Production on the film is underway in Las Vegas. Capstone Global is handling worldwide sales on the film, and will introduce it to buyers during the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.   Written by Luke Paradise (“Lost on a Mountain in Maine”), “Sympathy for the Devil” follows “The Driver” (Kinnaman) as he finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after being forced to drive a mysterious man known as “The Passenger” (Cage). That sets things up for a white-knuckle ride. 

Eddie Redmayne To Be Honored With Zurich’s Golden Eye

EXCLUSIVE: Léa Seydoux who played Dr. Madeleine Swann in the two most recent 007 films, Spectre and No Time to Die, posed a mischievous question about whether audiences will see the mother of James Bond’s daughter in the next instalment of the long-running film franchise.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Cairo-based film marketing and distribution outfit MAD Solutions has acquired rights for Arab territories to Venice competition entry “Les Miens” (“Our Ties”), directed by French actor and filmmaker of Moroccan descent Roschdy Zem. “Our Ties” is co-written by Zem with actor/director Maïwenn (“Polisse,” “Mon Roi”), who co-stars. Zem is a French cinema fixture, having starred in pics including “Other People’s Children” and directed several films including 2019’s “Persona Non Grata.” “Ties” is a drama about family dynamics centered around a man played by Sami Bouajila whose personality changes radically after he suffers a head injury. Zem plays his TV presenter brother.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has debuted the trailer (below) for the Israeli-Ukrainian drama “Valeria Is Getting Married,” which will have its world premiere in Venice’s Horizons Extra Friday. The film will have its North American premiere at Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 14, where it is part of the Contemporary World Cinema lineup. The film, directed by Israeli female filmmaker Michal Vinik, is shot from the perspective of two Ukrainian sisters, and follows the tense emotional journey that unfolds over the course of one day. Valeria (Dasha Tvoronovich) arrives in Israel to meet the man she is supposed to marry, thanks to a deal made online. She is following in the footsteps of her older sister Christina (Lena Fraifeld), who is happy with her new life in Israel, but Valeria struggles with the decision.