Ventana Sur: Industry Heavyweights Share Thoughts on Talent (EXCLUSIVE)

Kate Hudson and Colton Underwood were just two of the celebrity guests at the Favorite Daughter Store Opening on Monday night (December 13) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

. "I was in shock...

Music Climate Pact, has been launched by the UK’s Association of Independent Music (AIM) in collaboration with the record labels association, the BPI.The Pact sets out “a series of high-level commitments that will serve as a declaration of intent for the global music sector”, including a commitment to either sign up to the Science Based Targets Initiative or join the UN’s Race to Zero programme by February 2022.Both schemes require their participants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs Saudi Arabia diversifies from an oil-based economy, the kingdom is pinning a significant portion of its hopes of becoming a major media industry hub on NEOM, a futuristic megacity in-the-making.It is where the $100 million seventh century actioner “Desert Warrior,” featuring an all-star international cast led by “Captain America” star Anthony Mackie, is currently shooting.Situated along the kingdom’s Red Sea coast in Tabuk, in the northwest of the

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Thai government is considering increasing the value of its production rebate scheme in order to improve the country’s competitive position in the race for international film and TV shoots.The current scheme was introduced in 2017 and offers a 15% rebate against location spending for those projects spending a minimum of THB50 million ($1.49 million) on services in the country.

The English Channel was once again the centre of another heartbreaking tragedy two weeks ago.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAs new COVID protocols bedeviled travel to the U.K. and other parts of Europe, 3,000 lucky souls, including several hundred execs from Europe, were able to enjoy summer sun and post-lockdown reunions at Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur.

Jamie Lang Ventana Sur’s genre-dedicated sidebar Blood Window hosted a special panel this year, The Phenomenon of Fantasy Genre in an Ibero-American Environment: New Content, Formats and Trends.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentArgentina’s “Ayelén and the Forest Shadow,” Uruguay’s “The Eagle Heist,” Mexico’s “Journey to the Land of the Tarahumara,” Brazil’s “Berg’s Books”and Spain’s “Upiro” proved top winners at a Ventana Sur prize ceremony which in its very form stressed just how much the biggest film-TV market in Latin America has expanded.Prior to the pandemic, prize winners were allowed acceptance speeches.This year, with more awards than ever to doll out, recipients

Emilio Mayorga “Ray and Manny,” “Witch’s Business” and “Worldoscope” feature among the five animation projects chosen for the 2nd Women Animation Directors Mentoring Program, run by Ventana Sur’s Animation!Launched with the aim to boost gender parity and build a more equitable and diverse animation industry, the initiative has been launched in alliance with the Annecy Festival’s MIFA market, Argentina’s Institut Français and, for the first time, the Quirino Ibero-American Animation Awards.Five

Emiliano Granada Peruvian, Colombian and French co-production “Diogenes” has played at Ventana Sur’s Primer Corte selection, for films in post-production.It marks Leonardo Barbuy’s debut after he garnered attention with his first short film “Alana” (2017), winning Peru’s National Short Film Award.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentGrowing up is never easy. Especially if you’re a parent.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFinland’s leading indie company Rabbit Films, which has been thriving with non-scripted content for two decades, including local adaptations of “Saturday Night Live” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” has bowed its scripted division with a bang.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBrazilian Gregorio Graziosi’s “Tinnitus” is co-written by Andrés Julian Vera and Marco Dutra, a Locarno best director winner for “Good Manners”; its DP is Rui Poças, whose credits include Lucrecia Martel’s “Zama” and upcoming “Tabu.”Its score is from David Boulter, who played keyboard on Claire Denis’ “Bastards,” collaborated on the score of her “High Life.”Such credentials will make, almost inevitably, for one of the most polished of entries at

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“Now, we’re producing over 100 projects, we’ve calculated we’ll be working on nearly 130 projects next year to supply both our platform networks,” The Walt Disney Company LatAm’s Leonardo Aranguibel commented at a Ventana Sur panel on Tuesday.How can Disney try to ensure quality at such a massive production levels? “We look for the best talents, not only in front of the cameras but also behind,” Aranguibel answered.Most streaming platform execs

Meikincine has acquired the international rights to “Sublime,” the first feature film from Argentine director Mariano Biasin,A coming-of-age drama, the title screened at Buenos Aires’ Cinemark Puerto Madero cinema to sales agents, fest heads and buyers on Tuesday.

Jamie Lang M-Appeal has closed deals for two of its Ventana Sur titles: Marcela Lordy’s “The Book of Delights” to Pigeon Co. in Taiwan and “The Night of the Beast” from Mauricio Leiva Cock to HBO in Eastern Europe.“The Book of Delights” is an Argentina-Brazil co-production between Cinematográfica Marcela and bigBonsai which had already sold in the U.S.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn Dec. 2018, two years after he had picked up “Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon” at the first edition of Ventana Sur’s Animation!, Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group (CMG) announced he had pre-sold it to over half the planet.