ZDF Joins NiKo Films as Co-Producer on Sundance Winner Sophia Mocorrea’s Debut Feature ‘Marriage by Abduction’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Holly Jones A remote and dilapidated lighthouse proves an increasingly sinister backdrop for newly widowed father, Pablo (Hugo Silva) and his adolescent daughter Lidia (Zoe Arnao) in the first international teaser trailer for the upcoming Ángeles Hernández thriller “Restless Waters, Shivering Lights” (“El Faro”). Distribution in Spain is handled by Alfa Pictures with an expected release date of Jan.

Marta Balaga European TV powerhouses ZDF Studios and France TV Distribution are partnering as producers on Berlin-based Boogie Entertainment’s new crime drama “Blood Red Thread.” Set in the “glamorous and cutthroat” world of fashion, the six-part series – also described as “stylish, witty and outrageous” – will expose various challenges the industry is facing, all the while following businessmen who rule the boardroom and clash with “divas of design,” both battling for power. Filming will take place in the U.K., France and Germany, with delivery scheduled for August 2025.

EXCLUSIVE: Production has wrapped in Paris on Audrey Diwan‘s (Happening) anticipated erotic drama Emmanuelle, which stars Noémie Merlant (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire) in the title role.

Tomorrow X Together, STAYC and more have been added to the line-up of ‘Music Bank in Antwerp’.Over the weekend, popular South Korean music chart show Music Bank announced the line-up of artists that will appear at its upcoming ‘Music Bank in Antwerp’ event.The concert will feature performances by K-pop groups Tomorrow X Together, STAYC, ONEUS, RIIZE and ZEROBASEONE, along with one more as-yet-unannounced act.‘Music Bank in Antwerp’ will take place on April 20, 2024 at the Sportpaleis, located in Antwerp, Belgium. Tickets to the event will go on sale this Wednesday (December 20) via the official Sportpaleis website.A post shared by VERYSHOW (@veryshow_prod)The upcoming ‘Music Bank in Antwerp’ concert will be the first Interational Music Bank show of 2024.

TikTok’s ‘Add To Music App’ is set to roll out to users in 19 more countries worldwide following its launch last month.Last month, TikTok announced a new feature that allows users to directly save sounds from the app to their streaming platform of choice.Users in the US and UK can already utilise the feature now, which allows fans to save music they’ve discovered to Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.The social media platform has now announced plans for it to be available in the following countries: Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Sweden, Thailand, Malaysia, UAE, Argentina, Colombia, The Netherlands, Turkey, South Africa, Vietnam and the Philippines.“Add To Music App has been designed to help music fans capture songs that they love on TikTok in the moment of discovery, and to easily save the song to their preferred music streaming service to enjoy whenever they like,” read a statement from the video sharing platform.The feature can be used by tapping on a sound which is listed below a user’s name, then hitting ‘Add to music app’, where you can choose your preferred streaming platform.

The shortlist of 15 films to vie for a Best International Feature Film Oscar nomination is set to be announced on December 21. In all, movies from 88 countries are eligible this year, and as we regularly see, they offer up a rich treasure trove. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Discovery-owned Eurosport has acquired streaming rights in 54 countries to Olympic refugee documentary “We Dare to Dream” by Waad Al-Kateab, the Oscar-nominated Syrian director of “For Sama.” “We Dare to Dream” is the story of the refugee Olympic team that competed at the 2020 games in Tokyo, which featured stateless athletes from Iran, Syria, South Sudan and Cameroon who swim, run and fight their way to safety in host nations across the world. It’s told through the personal prism of Al-Kateab while she is coming to terms with the reality that she can never return to Aleppo, where she shot “For Sama.” The doc premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and had an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run at New York City’s IFC Center in October.

The Film Arcade Acquires Ukrainian Drama From Troy Ruptash

French director Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winning film Anatomy Of A Fall swept the awards at 36th European Film Awards in Berlin this evening, winning Best European Film, Director, Screenplay (with Arthur Harari) and actress for Sandra Hüller.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The 36th European Film Awards are underway at the Arena in the German capital of Berlin. The awards have been voted on by the 4,600 members of the European Film Academy.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy has revealed the list of eligible films for consideration in best animated, documentary and international feature of the year, encompassing a broad range of blockbusters and critically acclaimed titles. GKids’ “The Boy and the Heron,” Pixar’s “Elemental,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” are among the 33 animated films in the running.

The Last Dinner Party have been announced as the winners of the prestigious BRITs Rising Star award supported by BBC Radio 1.The band – comprised of Abigail Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Emily Roberts, Georgia Davies and Aurora Nishevci – were revealed as the winner of the award by Clara Amfo on her BBC Radio 1 Future Sounds show.The Rising Star prize recognises British artists who had not achieved a top 20 album, or more than one top 20 single by October 31 of this year. It is voted by an industry-wide panel.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Former French President François Hollande is part of the voice cast for “Silex & the City – The Movie,” a big-screen spinoff of the popular short-format animated series set in the Stone Age. “Silex & the City” is adapted from the comic book series by the same name created by French cartoonist Jul, which has sold over a million copies.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic The urge to dazzle can be its own straitjacket, and it’s one that weighs heavily on Meshal Aljaser’s feature debut “Naga.” He aims for a hurtling virtuosity, à la “Run Lola Run,” in depicting a disobedient young Saudi woman’s extreme travails in trying to get home before her strict curfew. But that quarter-century-old German thriller’s simplicity of plot supported its hyperbolic style, while here the writer-director is so preoccupied with camera and editorial calisthenics, nothing else has a chance to come into focus.

Slowdive, Modeselektor and more have been announced to play Wide Awake 2024.The South London festival will return to Brockwell Park next year on May 25th. So far, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are set to headline, with Young Fathers, Squid, Alice Glass and C.O.F.F.I.N, The Babe Rainbow, The Dare, Crumb and more set to join the Australian band.Now, a fresh wave of artists have been unveiled to join the lineup.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor MAD Celebrity — the talent management subsidiary of the pan-Arab film and TV company MAD Solutions — has signed Tunisian actor and writer Majd Mastoura, French Lebanese actor Isabelle Zighondi, and Saudi actor, producer and director Amawri Ezayah to the roster of its MAD Rising Celebrity unit, and visual artist, producer and DOP Mostafa El Kashef, who will be joining MAD Crew Celebrity. Mastoura is best known for his work on Mohamed Ben Attia’s “Hedi” — for which he received a Silver Bear for best actor from the Berlin Film Festival, making him the first-ever Arab actor to receive the award — and Léonor Serraille’s “Mother and Son,” which world premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Edward Berger To Address Israel’s Sam Spiegel International Film Lab

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The third edition of the Red Sea Film Festival, taking place in Jeddah between Nov. 30 – Dec. 9, will be the culmination of a highly successful funding cycle for the Red Sea Film Foundation.

Ellise Shafer Last month, Beyoncé made a surprise visit to the L.A. premiere of Taylor Swift‘s “Eras Tour” film. Now Swift has returned the favor, appearing in London on Thursday night for the debut of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” movie.

Holly Jones A chaotic and bittersweet love affair meets a compelling journey toward radical self acceptance in Brazilian writer-director Felipe Sholl’s second feature, “Glória,” which screens as part of Ventana Sur’s Primer Corte strand on Wednesday in Buenos Aires. Produced by Daniel van Hoogstraten at Brazil’s Syndrome Films, the plot follows bereft literature professor Gabriel as he moves to Río in an attempt to escape his close minded family after the death of his grandmother. There, he meets the enigmatic Monica (Diva Menner) who owns the neighborhood bar and becomes fast friends with regulars Mateus (Alan Ribeiro), Roger (Sandro Aliprandini) and Laila (Jade Sassará), who moonlight as sex workers.