Hundreds of people took to the water at Salford Quays this afternoon for a charity boat race with a difference.
10.05.2022 - 16:11 / variety.com
Leo Barraclough International Features EditorVariety has been given exclusive access to the first teaser for Norwegian drama “War Sailor,” which follows two Norwegian sailors whose merchant ship is attacked by German submarines at the outbreak of World War II. Beta Cinema will be selling the film at the Cannes Market. The film centers on Alfred Garnes, a working-class sailor, who has recently become the father of a third child, and his childhood friend Sigbjørn Kvalen, known as Wally.
The men are working on a merchant ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out. The two men struggle for survival in a spiral of violence and death, where at any moment German submarines may attack their vessel. Meanwhile, Alfred’s wife Cecilia struggles through the war alone in Bergen.
When British aircrafts attempt to bomb the German submarine bunker in Bergen, they instead hit the elementary school at Laksevåg and civilian homes at Nøstet, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths. The film is directed by Gunnar Vikene, who served for several years as a submarine officer. His feature film credits include “Falling Sky,” “Trigger,” “Vegas” and “Here Is Harold.” His TV credits include “Occupied,” “Pørni” and Netflix’s “Borderliner.”Vikene comments: “My ambition while making the film has been to make ‘War Sailor’ to be a universal, humanistic narrative about the human consequences of war.”He adds: “Over two decades ago, I was told the real-life story of Alfred, Cecilia and Wally.
Hundreds of people took to the water at Salford Quays this afternoon for a charity boat race with a difference.
Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Jackie Shroff (“Sooryavanshi”) will play the lead in Singapore-France-India co-production “Slow Joe,” it was revealed at the Cannes Film Market.Shroff will play the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha, known as Slow Joe, a former heroin addict and drug dealer who was born in Mumbai, was disowned by his family, heartbroken at 50 and who moved to Goa and cleaned up. On a trip to Goa in 2007, Lyon-based French musician Cédric de la Chapelle met Joe, now a frail 64-year-old who was making ends meet as a hotel room broker. Joe, also a poet and musician, sang for de la Chapelle, who was captivated by his voice and recorded some of his a cappella songs.Back in France, de la Chapelle played Joe’s songs for music producer Olivier Boccon-Gibod of Horizon Musiques, who was also entranced.
The writing’s on her side! Kristin Cavallari debuted new ink on her torso, and the art seemingly honors her love of travel.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTang Wei, the Chinese star of Korean film “Decision to Leave,” says she told director Park Chan-wook that he’d made her life complete after seeing the finished version of the film at its Cannes Film Festival gala premiere.The film played in competition this week in Cannes. She revealed her confession on Tuesday at a press event, accompanied by Park, cast member Park Hae-il and scriptwriter Chung Soo-kyung.Switching between Chinese and English, Tang Wei said: “This in not the first time I’ve worked with a Korean director.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“CODA” producer Philippe Rousselet’s next movie “Maestro” has been sold to major territories by Orange Studio which hosted a market screening at Cannes. “Maestro” is adapted from Joseph Cesar’s Oscar-nominated, Cannes-prizewinning Israeli film “Footnote.” The movie is directed by Bruno Chiche and stars Yvan Attal, Pierre Arditi, Miou-Miou and Pascale Arbillot.
Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentREinvent Intl. Sales has scored sales across its slate, including Alex Herron’s horror film “Leave” and Sanna Lenken’s “Comedy Queen.”“Comedy Queen,” which world-premiered at Berlin and won the Crystal Bear in the Generation section, has sold to Benelux (In the Air), France (Les Films Du Preau), Spain (Yoda Films), Poland (Vivarto), Hungary (ADS Service), Lithuania (Scanorama) and the former Yugoslavia (Fivia).“Comedy Queen” follows Sasha, a 13-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian.
Christopher Vourlias Riding the high of a production-servicing boom, Estonia’s domestic industry has likewise shown no signs of slowing down. Here’s a roundup of top local productions in the pipeline, from producers who are searching for international partners in Cannes:The Invisible Fight Director: Rainer Sarnet Producers: Katrin Kissa, Homeless Bob Production (Estonia), Alise Gelze, White Picture (Latvia), Amanda Livanou, Neda Film (Greece), Helen Vinogradov, Helsinki-filmi (Finland) Sarnet, whose fantasy-drama “November” played at Tribeca in 2017, returns with a ‘70s-set kung-fu comedy about a guard on the Soviet-Chinese border who, after surviving a deadly attack, decides to become a monk but must continually prove along the way that he’s capable of becoming the enlightened man he set out to be.
Leo Barraclough International Features EditorErotic love story “99 Moons,” which has its world premiere in Cannes’ ACID sidebar today, has kicked off international sales. Berlin-based M-Appeal is handling the rights to the film, which is directed by Jan Gassmann.Arthouse VOD platform Filmin has taken the rights in Spain, and arthouse distributor StraDa Films has taken the films for Greece. France and Latin America are in negotiation.
Naman Ramachandran Producer and actor Sadie Frost (“Dracula”), who made her feature directorial debut with a documentary on British fashion designer Mary Quant, is now training her lens on another British cultural icon.“Twiggy” will be a feature-length documentary on Quant’s contemporary Lesley Lawson, better-known by her nickname Twiggy. It will trace her journey from her working-class childhood in northwest London, through to her international stardom as a celebrity model, and her career as an actor, singer, fashion designer, writer and TV presenter.
As the land we now know as Britain was being invaded, the Celts were pushed to the fringe, to places such as Cornwall or Wales. This is evident when you hear the idiosyncratic and distinct Welsh or Cornish languages being spoken.
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has appointed its new team line up and structure as the festival revamps.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Jack Magic,” a biographical series about Jack Ma, the colorful co-founder of Chinese tech giant Alibaba, is in development at French production house Oble. The series is adapted from Duncan Clark’s best-selling book “Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built.”Details of the series such as start date, director and eventual distributor, broadcaster or streamer have not been revealed.
John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“The Pink Cloud,” a flagship feature from Brazil’s new generation of female filmmakers, has closed three more major territories for Paris-based MPM Premium, sealing France (Universciné), Japan (Senlis) and Germany (Lighthouse). With MPM Premium currently in discussions for the U.K., Australia and Latin America, the sales company is edging ever closer to selling out on all major territories around the world.Territories already secured include Brazil (O2), North America (Blue Fox), Taiwan (Digi Sky Entertainment), China (Beijing Hugoeast), Korea (K Entertainment) and Russia (World Vision).Senlis will stage a theatrical release in 2023 for “The Pink Cloud.” It has been dubbed and will be released in Germany and Austria on July 22. France’s Universciné (France) has launched the film as a premium VoD Release, with a specific promotion for what Universciné calls its “exclusive” titles.
Christopher Vourlias Ukrainian director Olha Zhurba and producer Darya Bassel are teaming up on a documentary about Ukraine’s refugee crisis after their last collaboration, “Outside,” premiered at Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX festival this year.The project, with a working title “Displaced,” is being produced by Bassel’s Kyiv-based Moon Man production outfit in co-production with Germany’s Koberstein Film and Denmark’s Final Cut for Real.Zhurba began filming not long after the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, capturing footage of the thousands of Kyiv residents who had flocked to the capital’s railway station for safety.
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Everything Everywhere All At Once.The martial arts legend was originally envisioned by directors and writers Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan as playing the movie’s lead role. However, when he said he was unavailable, they rewrote the part for Yeoh.“Jackie actually texted me,” she told the Guardian about his response to the film.
Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films, which is presenting six movies at the Cannes Film Festival, will be attending the market with a pair of hot new titles, French director Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” and Israeli helmer Maya Dreifuss’s “Highway 65.”“Anatomy of a Fall” stars Sandra Hüller, the critically acclaimed German actor of “Toni Erdmann,” as an enigmatic German novelist who is arrested after the mysterious death of her husband at their chalet in the French Alps. The court case examines every aspect of the relationship she had with her husband, while her visually impaired son is called to testify as a witness.The movie will re-team MK2 Films with Triet, whose latest film “Sybil” competed at Cannes.
Naman Ramachandran Emmy nominee Paapa Essiedu (“I May Destroy You”) and BAFTA winner Stephen Dillane (“Alex Rider”) have joined Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (“Little Women”) on the cast of “The Outrun.” The film is the feature adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir “The Outrun,” adapted by Nora Fingscheidt, the multiple award winning director of “System Crasher.” Fingscheidt has written the adaptation in collaboration with Liptrot.Ronan stars as Rona, who fresh out of rehab, returns to the wild Orkney Islands after more than a decade away. As she reconnects with the dramatic landscape where she grew up, memories of her childhood merge with the more recent challenging events that have set her on the path to recovery. Protagonist Pictures has sold all international territories on the film, which is currently shooting on location in the Orkney Islands.
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Kevin Spacey has been confirmed to star in historical drama 1242 – Gateway to the West, which will be on sale at Cannes Market.