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Prime Video’s latest teen drama “The Runarounds” follows the formation of a high school jam band in North Carolina just before the five friends leave their hometown.

William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendé Murdock and Jesse Golliher star as the core five bandmates, who make up The Runarounds. The rag-tag group of high school seniors decided to give music one last chance before some of them head to college and the others start the rest of their adult lives.

The series includes 185 songs with 18 originals from The Runarounds, written specifically for the show. The teen drama features rock hits from The Rolling Stones, Green Day, Led Zepplin and Metallica.

Exclusive: Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired international rights for Egghead Republic, the latest feature from Swedish directorial duo Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja who made waves with sci-fi epic Aniara.

The English-speaking picture is currently in post-production and positioning for a fall launch, with NonStop Entertainment handling its Scandinavia release. Best Friend Forever will unveil an exclusive promo-reel in Cannes.

It is set in an alternative reality in which the Cold War didn’t end, and an atomic bomb has struck Soviet Kazakhstan. Sonja, a 22-year-old Swedish club-kid, working at one of the hippest magazines in the world, is mysteriously invited to report from inside the radio-active zone, to find or debunk the rumors of mutated centaurs living there.

“Never have we been this proud, this elated. With Egghead Republic we want to bring the viewer on a feverish descent into a contaminated zone — questioning what it means...

Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has released the trailer (below) for Swiss director Maxime Rappaz’s debut feature “Let Me Go,” which will open the Cannes Acid sidebar on Wednesday.

Set in a remote town in the Swiss mountains, the film features French actress Jeanne Balibar in the lead role. She plays the character of Claudine, a mother who has devoted her life to taking care of her son, sacrificing her own needs and desires. An unexpected love affair causes Claudine’s carefully controlled world to unravel, “reviving in her an intense thirst for freedom and, at the same time, a painful questioning about her future,” Rappaz says.

M-Appeal, who are celebrating their 15th birthday this year, are representing a Cannes Acid title for the second year in a row, following the success of “99 Moons” last year.

Maren Kroymann, managing director of M-Appeal, says: “Both films, although very different, center on female desire,...

Following on their collaboration on Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” Charades has boarded international sales on upcoming Mubi-backed production “Bring Them Down.”

Starring Barry Keoghan, Academy Award nominated for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” and Christopher Abbott (“Sanctuary”), a Golden Globe nominee for “Catch 22,” “Bring Them Down” marks the first feature from writer-director Chris Andrews, behind award-winning short films “Fire” (2015) and “Stalker” (2019).

On “Aftersun,” Charades took on international sales duties, with Mubi boarding to take distribution rights to multiple territories – such as U.K.-Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – just as the films bowed in 2022 Cannes Critics’ Week.

For “Bring Them Down,” Charades will sell international rights outside North America, U.K., Ireland, Latin America and Italy where Mubi retains all rights.

Colm Meaney (“Gangs of London”), Nora-Jane Noone (“Wildfire”), Paul Ready (“Motherland”), and Susan Lynch (Happy Valley”) also star.

“Bring Them Down” turns on Michael (Abbott), the last son of a shepherding family,...

Giacomo Abbruzzese’s debut feature stars Franz Rogowski.

Paris-based sales company Charades has inked a slew of deals for Giacomo Abbruzzese’s debut feature following the film’s February world premiere in Berlin’s Competition and ahead of the film’s Wednesday (May 3) release in France via Kmbo.

Disco Boy has been sold to Madman in Australia and New Zealand, New Cinema in Israel, Adso in Spain, First Hand Films in Switzerland, Filmladen in Austria, Non Stop Entertainment in Scandinavia, Film Europe for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Mars in Turkey, Av Jet in Taiwan, Edko in Hong Kong, Pandora...

It is the fiction debut of Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï.

Athens-based Heretic has acquired world sales rights to Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s fiction debut It’s Raining In The House (Il Pleut Dans La Maison) which world premieres in Cannes’ Critics’ Week.

Heretic has previously collaborated with Sermon-Daï, handling sales for her documentary Petit Samedi which world premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2020.

French distributor Condor has picked up French rights to It’s Raining In The House, after previously collaborating with the film’s co-producer Kidam on 2021 Critics Week’ title Zero Fucks Given. Recent titles distributed by Condor in France include Aftersun and Joyland.

Paris-based sales company will also bring Directors’ Fortnight opener The Goldman Case to the market.

Paris-based Charades has boarded a slew of starry Cannes titles including Mona Achache’s just-announced Special Screening film Little Girl Blue starring Marion Cotillard and Directors’ Fortnight opener The Goldman Case.

The company is also selling Kamal Lazraq’s Hounds premiering in Un Certain Regard, Katell Quillévéré’s Along Came Love set for a Cannes Premiere screening and Chicken For Linda! selected for parallel section Acid, plus will unveil first images from new acquisition Sébastien Vanicek’s Vermin.

Little Girl Blue is inspired by the life of Achache’s mother.

Don’t expect Warner Bros. Discovery’s French original programming team to follow Netflix and Amazon Prime Video’s trail and chase teen audiences.

Vera Peltekian, VP and head of streaming original production for the banner, says the standalone service’s bow in France “is on the roadmap” with a raft of “bold and director-driven Max originals targeting adult audiences in line with what the HBO brand is known for.”

Peltekian, who previously worked 15 years at Canal + and played a major role in the pay TV group’s critically acclaimed series such as “The Returned,” “Spiral” and “Savages,” revealed that Warner Bros. Discovery’s first French original will be “The Mythomaniac of the Bataclan,” a four-part series inspired by the true story of a woman who conned her way into a victims’ association and quickly became one of its pillars.

Now shooting on location in Paris, “The Mythomaniac of...

Deal is first time French studio has opened the financing of its films to private investors

French studio Pathé has partnered with financier and producer Logical Pictures for a three-year co-production and co-financing deal via new fund Logical Content Ventures.

The fund will raise finance from private investors and contribute to the budgets of all films produced and acquired by Pathé between 2022 and 2024 with the aim to join forces for 20 upcoming titles.

It is the first time Pathé has opened the financing of its films to private investors and comes as the studio continues to invest in bigger-budget films for wide theatrical release.

French studio Pathé and film and TV financier and producer Logical Pictures have announced a three-year co-production and co-financing deal.

The operation involving Logical Content Ventures, a new fund operated by Logical Pictures, will see Pathé open up the financing of its films to private investors for the first time in its history.

Under the deal with Pathé, Logical Content Ventures will contribute to the financing of all films produced and acquired by Pathé between 2022 and 2024.

The aim is to co-finance and co-produce more than 20 pictures together with the first projects being released as soon as Spring 2023.

The first films included in the agreement are Dany Boon’s Life for Real (Pathé – 26Db Productions), Just Philippot’s environmental thriller Acid (Pathé – Bonne Pioche), starring Canet and Laetitia Dosch, and Kirill Serebrennikov’s English feature debut Limonov: the Ballad of Eddie (Pathé – Chapter 2 – Wildside – Fremantle) starring Ben Whishaw.

The move comes...

Pathé has signed a three-year co-production and co-financing deal with Logical Pictures to strengthen its ambitious film production strategy.

The family-owned company operates France’s leading multiplex chain and runs one of the country’s most successful film studios. 2023 looks to be Pathé’s biggest year in a while with three major French releases: Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom” and Martin Bourboulon’s two-part epic saga “The Three Musketeers.” Both based on cult franchises, “Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom” and “The Three Musketeers” are budgeted in the 70 million range (about seven times more than the high bracket of a medium-size film in France). This is just the beginning of a new era for Pathé, which will need financial munitions to limit risks and continue delivering these splashy films on a regular basis for years to come.

Through the partnership, Pathé will be able to tap...

Showcasing rarely seen queer cinema from East and Southeast Asia and amplifying the voices of Asian communities in the UK

Queer East Film Festival has announced the full programme for its third edition, which runs from 18th to 29th May in London.

Following the first two successful editions, this year’s festival will bring films, audiences and filmmakers together in the cinema, while continuing to offer a chance to experience rarely-seen queer cinema from East and Southeast Asia to viewers across the UK.

At its heart, Queer East aims to amplify the voices of queer Asian communities, to challenge normative definitions of gender and sexual expression, and to introduce UK audiences to LGBTQ+ cinema that they might not otherwise get a chance to see. This year’s programme includes feature films, shorts, programmes of boundary-challenging artists’ moving image work, a Virtual Reality experience, and a TV miniseries, alongside filmmakers’ Q&As.

Launching his feature filmmaking career with one of the buzz titles of the canceled 2020 Cannes edition (the Cannes Critics’ Week did highlight five features with a “2020 Semaine de la Critique” label), Just Philippot is quickly moving from The Swarm (which launched globally thanks to a Netflix deal) and is setting up shop on his sophomore feature now titled Eau-forte. Based on his award-winning Sundance selected short Acide, we now find out that Guillaume Canet and Laetitia Dosch will topline the film. Cineuropa reported that this disaster sci-fi film received some coin from Belgium – Bonne Pioche in producing out of France with partner Umedia in Belgium.…...

The Open Reel has acquired international sales rights to Jessé Miceli’s debut feature “Coalesce,” a film portraying contemporary youth in Cambodia. The movie was part of the Acid section of Cannes 2020.

“Coalesce” follows the journeys of three teenagers in today’s Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Songsa is an introverted teenager who travels to the big city with his family to sell clothes in a tuk-tuk; Phearum goes into debt to buy a taxi and confronts the unexpected; and Thy dives into the nightlife and dreams of joining a biker crew. All three characters give a different perspective on the fast-changing Cambodian society.

“Coalesce” stars Songsa Sek, Phearum Eang, Rithy Rom and Lek Vann. Miceli, who is passionate about Cambodia, previously produced the film “Khmer” in 2019 with Cambodian actors and a local crew. He’s also been involved in distributing heritage films around the world.

“Jessé Miceli’s...

Netflix has acquired world rights to French director Just Philippot’s Cannes Critics’ Week 2020 Label horror thriller “The Swarm.”

Written by Jérôme Genevray (“Vieux con”) and Franck Victor (“Philosophie”), the film is set in rural France. It stars French actress Suliane Brahim (“The Specials”) as a single mother who is struggling to get her grasshopper farm off the ground until she discovers her livestock thrive on human blood. She develops a connection with her demanding swarm, which distances her from her two children and puts her at odds with local farmers.

Netflix’s deal for the film was overseen by Wild Bunch Intl., and includes all territories excluding France, Spain and China.

“The Swarm” will stream on Netflix from Dec. 4. Producers Capricci Films and The Jokers Films will release it theatrically in France Nov. 4, while Capricci’s Spanish arm will launch it in Spain on Nov. 20.

“The Swarm” was among...

Distributor plans 2021 release.

Gkids has acquired North American rights from Asmik Ace to Masaaki Yuasa’s musical animation Inu-Oh, recently presented as a work in progress at Annecy.

The film tells the story of the friendship between the legendary 14th century Noh performer Inu-Oh, and the blind Biwa player Tomona, who rise from hardship to stardom through their creative partnership.

The film features character creation from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously collaborated with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto’s series Ping Pong The Animation.

Eunyoung Choi of Science Saru and Fumie Takeuchi of Asmik Ace served as producers.

“Acid Test” is an 8 min short film by Saarthak Juneja, released via Pocket Films.

This is a film where most of the exposition happens via friendly banter between its two protagonists “Babban” and “Acid”. They are car thieves seating inside a luxury car trying to steal it. While Acid is trying to bypass the ignition lock, Babban is using the time to goof around by trying on sunglasses in the car. That initiates their banter which touches many topics, before they encounter the name of the car owner. That takes the discussion to some serious exchange of thoughts before the shock in the climax happen.

The film gives a view of the deprived section of the society which feels it is right to do the immoral, illegal activities due to the injustice happened to them by being born poor. As Acid/Aslam comes to know that the...

Durban–“Les Misérables,” French director Ladj Ly’s riveting portrayal of racial division and unrest in the banlieues of Paris, won best picture at the 40th Durban Intl. Film Festival Tuesday night.

The jury described the film, which shared the jury prize in Cannes this year, as “a searing portrait of modern France which takes on issues of police brutality, racial tension, and of generations who keep repeating the same mistakes,” heralding its “raw power and complex ideas” while calling it “a piece of bravura filmmaking.” “Les Misérables” also won the award for best screenplay.

Ly’s incendiary film set the tone for a closing ceremony that, as it commemorated Diff’s 40th edition, offered a reminder that a festival born in a spirit of protest against the injustices of apartheid still had a vital role to play in the shaping of the South African and African conscience.

“Diff has...

The Black Spot actress will be flanked by Sofiane Khammes among the cast of Just Philippot’s feature debut, a Capricci and The Jokers production that is being sold by Wild Bunch. 19 August will mark the start of the shoot for the feature debut by Just Philippot, La Nuée (lit. “The Swarm”). Having turned heads with his short films, such as Acid (in the national competition at Clermont-Ferrand in 2018 and in the international competition at this year’s Sundance) and Ses souffles (shortlisted for a nomination for the César Award for Best Short Film in 2016), the director belongs to the first batch of auteurs selected with their feature-length projects to benefit from the Cnc’s support scheme in favour of genre films. Standing out among the cast are Suliane Brahim (a Comédie Française pensionnaire who played the role of major Laurène Weiss in the series Black Spot, initially aired on.

Being at my 34th year in Cannes, I feel a weight today as I look at the world I know best, the world community of film. What I am writing here is my reflection (backed by facts) of the shortfall of my idealistic motivation for entering this world. When I was asked by the then-President of 20th Century Fox International why I was interested in a job in international film distribution, I responded, “Because films can change the world.” And I got the job. While I still believe this, as do the idealistic newcomers whom I cherish, the world has changed in ways I did not foresee back in 1975 when I said that.

The Marché (Market) is the primary reason that has brought me to Cannes for the past 34 years. Though I no longer am a buyer, I still adore being able to see as many of the films that I can see.

The Ukrainian director was talking at the goEast Festival in Germany.

Prolific Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa has revealed details of his new documentary film State Funeral, about the “grandiose, terrifying and grotesque” spectacle of the funeral of Joseph Stalin.

It will be the latest of Loznitsa’s montage films based on archive footage following Blockade, Revue, The Event and The Trial. He is readying it for completion later this year.

“I have been working with footage which was shot between March 5-8, 1953 for a film called The Great Farewell by directors including Sergei Gerasimov and Ilya Kopalin,” Loznitsa explained. “But...

Photo courtesy of Pablo Ocqueteau and Berlinale 2019Below you will find our favorite films of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, as well as an index of our coverage.AwardsFAVORITE Filmsdaniel KASMANHeimat Is a Space in Time (Thomas Heise)Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream (Frank Beauvais)Fourteen (Dan Sallitt)I Was at Home, But... (Angela Schanelec)Synonyms (Nadav Lapid)The Plagiarists (Peter Parlow)Delphine and Carole (Callisto McNulty)Holy Beasts Years of Construction (Heinz Emigholz)Bait (Mark Jenkins)Giovanni Marchini CAMIASynonyms (Nadav Lapid)I Was at Home, But... (Angela Schanelec)The Plagiarists (Peter Parlow)Just Don't Think I'll Scream (Frank Beauvais)The Blue Flower of Novalis (Gustavo Vinagre & Rodrigo Carneiro)The Portuguese Woman (Rita Azevedo Gomes)The Last to See Them (Sara Summa)Earth (Nikolaus Geyrhalter)Heimat Is a Space in Time (Thomas Heise)Ms Slavic 7 (Sofia Bohdanowicz & Deragh Campbell)Jordan Cronki Was at Home, But... (Angela Schanelec...

Exclusive: A24 and Iac Films are forming a joint venture to generate non-fiction limited series and feature films. To run it, they’ve just hired away top flight Netflix executive Ben Cotner, who oversaw the docu series Wild Wild Country, Ugly Delicious, and Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.

This is going to be a major new venture, and one that extends the burgeoning relationship between A24 and Iac Films, latter of which is the division run by Barry Diller, Scott Rudin and Eli Bush. This is all happening in real time, and they’ve not yet found a name for it. This is going to a major focus for Rudin and Bush as the A24 relationship continues to grow.

A24 and Iac have so far teamed on such acclaimed films as the Greta Gerwig-directed Lady Bird, the Alex Garland-directed Ex Machina, the Bo Burnham-directed Eighth Grade and the Jonah Hill-directed Mid90s.

Berlin — Wide has closed deals in major territories for two Berlinale players, Alexander Gorchilin’s dark Russian drama “Acid,” which screened in Panorama, and Tamer Jandali’s “Easy Love,” which opened the Perspektive Deutsches Kino program.

“Acid” (pictured) is the gritty directorial debut of Gorchilin, a 26-year-old Russian theater actor and protégé of celebrated filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov. The film follows an aimless class of young Russians who, fueled by sex, drugs and techno, struggle to find hope and meaning in a brutal world. Wide has sold the film to Germany (Salzberger), Japan (The Klockworx), Poland (Spectator) and Greece (One From the Heart).

The film is produced by Studio Slon and Truemen Pictures. It stars Filipp Avdeev, Alexander Kuznetsov, Arina Shevtsova, and Savva Saveliev.

“Easy Love” is Jandali’s docu-fiction portrait of seven young men and women in Cologne, whom he followed with his camera for four months using their attitudes...

22 films in the Panorama programme so far, with nine directorial debuts.

The first 22 titles from the 2019 Berlin Film Festival (Feb 7-17) Panorama programme have been revealed.

Scroll down for the full line-up

The European premiere of UK director Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir, starring Tilda Swinton, her daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne and Tom Burke, and the world premiere of Seamus Murphy’s Pj Harvey documentary A Dog Called Money are among the titles confirmed today.

The line-up also includes the directing debuts of actors Jonah Hill (Mid90s) and Alexander Gorchilin (Acid), and Rob Garver’s documentary What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael,...

Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, “mid90s,” about a 13-year-old skateboarder’s coming of age, and a documentary on influential film critic Pauline Kael are among the works that will screen in the Panorama section of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.

Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.

“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...