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Barcelona-based Film Factory Entertainment has acquired international sales rights to horror-thriller “El Cuco” (“The Cuckoo’s Curse”), the latest film by “The Photographer of Mauthausen” and “Two” producer-director Mar Targarona, set up at top Spanish genre auteur house Rodar y Rodar.

Vicente Canales’ Film Factory, one of the biggest sales forces in the Spanish-speaking world, is presenting “The Cuckoo’s Curse” to international buyers with a first promo at this week’s Cannes Film Market.

Just finished shooting in Barcelona and Germany’s The Black Forest, “The Cuckoo’s Curse” is a Spain-Germany co-production that teams Rodar y Rodar with Barry Films, a Berlin, L.A. and Zurich-based company led by producers Benito and Wolfgang Mueller.

“The Cuckoo’s Curse” toplines Belén Cuesta, Rainer Reiners, Jorge Suquet and Hildegard Schroedter (“Babylon Berlin”).

Written by Alfred Pérez-Fargas and Robert Danès narrates a thriller story with supernatural horror touches.

The film follows Sebas and Anna,...

The Berlin International Film Festival has set its full slate for the upcoming 2021 edition. Berlinale usually follows Sundance with a February festival, but the pandemic has forced organizers to develop a new festival format for 2021. The 71st Berlin International Film Festival is set to take place with the “Industry Event” from March 1 to 5, which will include the European Film Market (EFM), the Berlinale Co-Production Market, the Berlinale Talents, and the World Cinema Fund in online forms. From June 9 to 20, 2021 the Berlinale will launch a “Summer Special” with numerous film presentations in Berlin, both at indoor and outdoor cinemas.

Included in the March event is the traditional film festival slate, which includes the main Berlinale Competition lineup as well as sidebar sections such as Berlinale Special & Berlinale Series, Encounters, Berlinale Shorts, Panorama, Forum & Forum Expanded, Generation, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, and Retrospective. With the exception of the Retrospective, the films will be shown at the March event.

Generation, the Berlin Film Festival’s section for youth-centric movies, has unveiled its lineup, with a majority of its films directed by women.

Sixty per cent of the films are directed by women, and many of them feature “strong willed” female protagonists, the festival said, such as “Ninjababy,” in which Rakel is six months pregnant, but doesn’t want to become a mother. Other such films include “Short Vacation,” “Mission Ulja Funk” and “Nelly Rapp – Monster Agent.”

Many of the films immerse themselves in the worlds of young people, such as “The White Fortress,” “Stop-Zemlia,” “The Fam” and “Fighter.”

Generation features eight world premieres across its two competition programs, Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus, with the films coming from 17 countries. With four contributions each, productions from the Asian and Scandinavian countries are particularly well represented.

“The 15 films in this year’s Generation selection are an open invitation to go beyond the obvious,...

The 71st Berlin International Film Festival unveils its program this week, with the Generation and Retrospective sections kicking off proceedings today.

A total of 15 films are selected across the two youth-focused Generation competitions – Kplus and 14plus. Of the titles chosen, 60% are directed by female directors. Scroll down for the full list.

The movies come from the likes of Canada, China, and Korea. There are eight world premieres and six debuts. Films arriving from other festivals include the animation Cryptozoo, which was at Sundance and features Lake Bell and Michael Cera in its voice cast.

The 2021 Retrospective program will focus on the comedic work of three actresses – Mae West, Rosalind Russell, and Carole Lombard during the era when the Motion Picture Production Code (“Hays Code”) was coming into effect. There are 27 films in total, released between 1932 and 1943. They are also listed below.

Buyers will get the chance to view these movies during the virtual EFM,...

Opening in the Us early next month, Fox’s upcoming adaptation of the best-selling novel, The Book Thief, will be facing some very tough competition at the box office, opening opposite Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World.

The studio debuted the first trailer over the summer, giving a first look at the upcoming historical drama. And now the studio’s UK arm has released the domestic trailer for our shores, giving an even better look at what’s coming our way shortly – though, on our own shores, we’ve a few more months before it hits cinemas.

Based on the beloved international bestselling book, The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel, an extraordinary and courageous young girl sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany. She learns to read with encouragement from her new family and Max, a Jewish refugee who they are hiding under the stairs.

The first trailer for Fox’s adaptation of The Book Thief debuted online last month, and the studio has quickly followed it up with the first poster, which reveals the young Sophie Nélisse front and centre as Liesel.

The WWII-set drama is set to arrive in Us cinemas this autumn/fall, ahead of its release in the UK early next year.

Based on the beloved international bestselling book, The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel, an extraordinary and courageous young girl sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany. She learns to read with encouragement from her new family and Max, a Jewish refugee who they are hiding under the stairs. For Liesel and Max, the power of words and imagination become the only escape from the tumultuous events happening around them. The Book Thief is a life-affirming story of survival and of the resilience of the human spirit.