News

Memento Intl., the well-established Paris-based international sales company behind “Call Me by Your Name,” is rebranding as Paradise City Sales and is bringing “My Notes on Mars,” starring Greta Lee and Andrew Scott, to the EFM.

Emilie Georges, who founded Memento Intl. 20 years ago, launched the production vehicle Paradise City a few years ago with London-based Naima Abed. The pair have had great success with the pics they delivered, notably 2025 Sundance hit ”Atropia,” starring Alia Shawkat and Channing Tatum, and Anthony Chen’s 2023 drama ”Drift,” with Cynthia Erivo. “My Notes of Mars,” Hungarian director Lili Horvát’s English-language debut feature, is the latest co-production on Paradise City’s slate.

The rebranding comes at a pivotal time as Georges and Abed seek to build a closer bond between production and sales. As such, the sales outlet will now operate under the same Paradise City banner, which has offices in Paris and London,...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Squid Game season 2.

Many of the children's games in Squid Game season 1 return in season 2, which also sees the addition of brand-new deadly games. After three years of waiting, Squid Game season 2 premiered on Netflix on December 26, 2024. Lee Jung-jae returns as Squid Game winner Seong Gi-hun, now seeking to stop the competition from within. However, that means he has to go through the games again.

The end of Squid Game season 1 confirmed that Gi-hun was now on a mission against the games' organizers. While season 2 had a lot of action and saw Gi-hun working with mercenaries and hired guns to bring down the games, Squid Game didn't lose track of what made the first season so interesting. The games were deadly as ever, with season 2 including both games seen in Squid Game season 1 and new challenges.

Ddakji Episode 1

Ddjaki is the game that The Salesman (Gong Yoo...

Will the Oscars reflect who won the presidency?

As the country recovers from the emotional rollercoaster of the 2024 presidential election, Hollywood will be coping with this charged political atmosphere at events throughout awards season. And that could determine the movies that Oscar voters choose to elevate. After all, the Academy Awards have a long history of reflecting or commenting on the nation’s political zeitgeist, sometimes defiant, other times conciliatory.

In 2016, the Academy’s selection of “Moonlight” over the presumed frontrunner, “La La Land,” was widely seen as a symbolic rejection of the divisive rhetoric that defined Donald Trump’s win. “Moonlight,” a poignant exploration of a young Black man’s sexuality, stood in stark contrast to Trump’s controversial policies. His Muslim ban would be rebutted by two other honors bestowed in that year’s ceremony: Mahershala Ali’s historic win as the first Muslim to take home a supporting actor Oscar,...

Qatar’s Doha Film Institute (Dfi) is planning to launch the inauguralDoha Film Festival in November 2025, revealed Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of the Dfi, at the opening ceremony of the Dfi’s Ajyal Film Festival on November 16.

Full details will be announced at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025.

Alremaihi, also the festival director of Ajyal, said the new event will “echo the dreams and aspirations of filmmakers and creative storytellers from near and far, as we mark the next chapter of our cinematic journey”.

This year is the 12th edition of Ajyal, following the decision to pause the event...

The final months of 2024 will be massive for Gong Yoo and his fans thanks to two upcoming Netflix K-dramas. One of the most popular and acclaimed Korean lead actors, Gong Yoo has starred in a few K-drama classics as well as in some of the most successful Korean series and movies of all time. Gong Yoos career includes more traditional K-dramas such as Goblin and Coffee Prince as well as modern hits such as Squid Game. Its been a few years since Gong Yoos last leading TV role, but the next two months will make up for it.

While Gong Yoo has been acting for over two decades now, his career achieved new heights in 2016 with the release of Train to Busan. The film gained widespread recognition and is often listed as one of the best zombie movies of all time. Gong Yoos international impact would continue a few years later with 2021s Squid Game,...

Mark Cuban always had a knack for innovation, and business came naturally to him. In the midst of these successes and ideas, he also got on board Shark Tank as one of the “Sharks” and gained a huge popularity and fan base. Throughout his stint on the show, Cuban was seen investing in several ventures, and some of these brought in huge returns for him as well.

Mark Cuban via Build Series | Credits: YouTube

However, one his biggest business deals happened outside the show, adding another feather to his business genius.

Mark Cuban’s Landmark Theatres Find New Home With Cohen Media Group

In the year 2018, Mark Cuban made a strategic decision to sell Landmark Theatres to Cohen Media Group, a prominent name in the indie film scene. Landmark, known for its focus on showcasing independent and specialty films, operated 56 theaters across 27 major markets, including popular locations in Los Angeles and New York City.

Entries for the 2025 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 97th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 3, 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between November 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 2, 2024.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is scheduled to...

Germany has picked The Seed of the Sacred Fig from Iranian dissident director Mohammad Rasoulof to represent the country at the 2025 Oscars in the best international feature category.

This is the first time an Iranian film has been put forward by Germany for the international Oscar race. Rasoulof qualified for the selection because the film is an Iranian-French-German co-production and because he is now a German resident, having fled Iran earlier this year to escape an eight-year prison sentence.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which won a special jury prize at Cannes, has been banned in Iran. Given Rasoulof’s outspoken attacks on the Tehran regime, the film would never have been submitted by the government for the Oscars.

Neon has North American rights for the film.

Both German and Iranian directors have a good record at the Academy Awards. Germany has won the best international feature trophy four times,...

Hulu’s hit series Only Murders in the Building returns for its fourth season this month as the crime-solving trio takes a trip from New York City to Los Angeles to solve yet another murder. But just because they’re moving coasts, doesn’t mean that Oliver (Martin Short), Mabel (Selena Gomez), and Charles (Steve Martin) can escape the deaths that keep plaguing their apartment building.

We also get to see what happens to the Solar Opposites in the aftermath of the series-changing finale when the full fifth season of the series drops this August.

Here’s everything that’s coming to (and leaving) Hulu in August.

Hulu New Releases – August 2024

August 1

Billion Dollar Wreck: Complete Season 1

Buddy Valastro’s Cake Dynasty: Complete Season 1

Interrogation Cam: Complete Season 1

Naruto Shippuden (Dubbed) Eps#450 – 461

The Banger Sisters (2002)

The Beach (2000)

Because I Said So (2007)

Brothers Mcmullen (1995)

Casino (1995)

Drumline (2002)

Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987)

Eragon...

Shows and Films Coming to Hulu in August 2024. (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Hulu has planned to churn out some amazing content in August. From the premiere of highly awaited original shows to the streaming release of blockbuster films, the streaming platform has a lot to offer.

For starters, we are getting the fourth season of the hit mystery comedy-drama, Only Murders in the Building. But that’s not all! Here are all the shows and films being added on Hulu in August 2024:

August 1 Billion Dollar Wreck: Season 1 Buddy Valastro’s Cake Dynasty: Season 1 Interrogation Cam: Season 1 Naruto Shippuden (Dubbed) Episodes 450 to 461 The Banger Sisters The Beach Because I Said So Brothers Mcmullen Casino Drumline Eddie Murphy: Raw Eragon Flubber Fool’s Gold The Full Monty Garfield Garfield: A Tail Of Two Kitties The Guardian Horrible Bosses Horrible Bosses 2 I Feel Pretty In Time John Carter Kingdom of Heaven Knocked...

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of August yelling “Summer is over!” to your nearest and dearest — and they don’t take kindly to that. Summer TV is in its twilight, while fall premieres loom on the horizon after the Emmy Awards on September 15.

But summer is not over, and there’s plenty of new titles to stream in the Disney bundle. Disney+ will premiere new Star Wars and “Winnie the Pooh” titles for kids, as well as the original series “Are You Sure?!” following BTS’s Jimin and Jung Kook. Hulu will become home to “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Woman King,” “Smile,” and more movie titles, as well as the home for FX series — this month: “The New York Times Presents: Lie to Fly: Documentary Premiere.” Hulu originals “Solar Opposites” returns on August 12, and “Reasonable Doubt” for its second season starting August...

Divergent PR has announced that veteran publicist Ryan Langrehr, former U.S. Head of Awards at Dda, will join the independent outlet and that Christine Richardson has been promoted to Vice President.

Richardson, a veteran film publicist at Divergent, has successfully managed Oscar-winning campaigns for Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” Her previous roles included working on documentary titles on Netflix, such as Yance Ford’s Oscar-nominated “Strong Island” and Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.” Before joining Divergent, she was the VP of National Publicity at Lionsgate, contributing to the campaign for Damien Chazelle’s best directing winner “La La Land.”

Langrehr is joining Divergent as director of publicity from Dda, where he was responsible for leading the U.S. awards team and managing the launches of films from both domestic and international film festivals. He has represented filmmakers globally and overseen...

Iranian authorities have rejected as “baseless” allegations that director Asghar Farhadi stole the idea for his acclaimed 2021 feature A Hero.

A former student of the two-time Oscar winner, director of A Separation and The Salesman, sued Farhadi for allegedly pilfering her premise for A Hero. Farhadi had always denied the allegations.

On Wednesday, a group of three professors at Tehran University specializing in copyright law, along with four official art experts, rejected the claims as invalid and baseless, clearing Farhadi of all blame.

The student, Azadeh Masihzadeh, claimed Farhadi plagiarized the story for A Hero from a documentary (titled All Winners, All Losers) she made for his class. Both the documentary and Farhadi’s fiction film share the same basic story of an inmate in debtors’ prison who, while on leave, finds a bag of gold coins and struggles with the decision to keep the money or return it. Masihzadeh...

Streamers narrowly avoided getting shut out at the 2024 Oscars: Netflix came away with just one trophy and Apple left empty-handed, after they garnered a total of 32 nominations.

Netflix collected its one win for Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” an adaptation of a Roald Dahl story, in the live action short film category. The 40-minute film, with a cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, is the first Oscar for Anderson (who wasn’t in attendance to receive the award).

Read More: See all the 2024 Oscar winners here.

Heading into Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards, Netflix led all studios and platforms with 19 nominations across 11 films, including seven for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” — which was shut out. Apple had picked up 13 nods, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which also drew a goose egg.

Since 2017, Netflix has now won 23 Oscars in all.

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best International Feature Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’

Weekly Commentary: The United Kingdom is poised to win its first Academy Award with Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and what a deserved win it will be.

But while I have the floor: it’s time for the...

Exclusive: After a five-year run at the company and the recent acquisition of Oscar nominee Io Capitano, Robert Aaronson has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Cohen Media Group (Cmg).

Aaronson has been overseeing Cmg’s LA office since 2019, primarily responsible for theatrical acquisitions, digital and ancillary distribution, licensing of the company’s classic movie archive, and programming its SVOD platform. He will continue to report directly to company CEO and founder Charles S. Cohen.

Among recent acquisitions for Cmg is Matteo Garrone’s Best International Feature Film nominee Io Capitano. Cmg is also coming out of the Berlin Film Festival where they picked up Black Tea by Abderrahmane Sissako, and Martin Scorsese-narrated doc Made In England: The Films Of Powell and Pressburger.

Prior to joining Cmg, Aaronson held domestic and worldwide acquisitions, co-productions and distribution positions at Universal Pictures Content Group, Netflix, Fox and New Line Cinema,...

Sandra Hüller rose to fame in the acclaimed Toni Erdmann, showcasing her versatility in comedy-drama acting. Her recent Best Picture-nominated roles highlight her range, from legal drama to historical tragedy. While the tone may differ, Hüller's authenticity shines through, captivating audiences worldwide.

Sandra Hüller is finally earning some much-deserved international recognition for her starring roles in the Best Picture-nominated Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, but her breakout role came way back in 2016. In Anatomy of a Fall, Hüller plays Sandra Voyter, a famous writer who’s put on trial for murder following her husband’s mysterious death. In The Zone of Interest, she plays Hedwig Höss, the wife of Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss, who tries to build an idyllic life for her family next door to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Hüller is one of the few actors to appear in two Best Picture nominees in the same year.

A cross-country journey in search of a mysterious treasure puts the nature of faith to the test in “The Great Yawn of History,” the feature debut of Iranian director Aliyar Rasti, which premieres Feb. 22 in the competitive Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival.

The film tells the story of a man of wavering religious conviction who dreams of a box of gold hidden in a cave. Convinced he’s forbidden by Islamic law to claim the treasure himself, he turns to a non-believer to assist him, setting into motion an arduous journey of both physical and spiritual dimensions as the two men grapple with notions of faith in their pursuit of a miracle.

Written and directed by Rasti, “The Great Yawn of History” stars Mohammad Aghebati and Amirhossein Hosseini and is produced by Tehran-based Para-Doxa. Heretic is handling world sales.

A visual artist with no formal film schooling, Rasti...

Squid Game hits the ground running after Season 1's finale in a new teaser featuring Lee Jung-jae's Seong Gi-hun.

Netflix has confirmed its 2024 lineup with a teaser trailer of upcoming movies and series. The platform then capped its sizzle reel with a brief glimpse of Squid Game Season 2, now confirmed for a 2024 release window. Details about the release are sparse aside from the recent reveal of new cast members, whose characters will likely replace the main ensemble of the first season. The sneak peek for Squid Game Season 2 does confirm a direct continuation of the events of Season 1's final episode, which saw its protagonist Seong Gi-hun hellbent on rejoining the next round of Squid Game to take down the mysterious organization behind it. That cliffhanger scene also promised fans the story is far from over as long as a new season is confirmed.

Related Everything We Know About Squid Game,...

Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi first co-directed the short Solar Eclipse, and they have teamed up again for In the Land of Brothers, a feature debut for each. The film tells the story of three members of an Afghan family who flee to Iran as refugees and struggle to find acceptance and security. In The Land of Brothers‘ editor is Hayedeh Safiyari, who has edited many of contemporary Iran’s best-known filmmakers. Below, she discusses the novel challenges of editing a film with sharply delineated chapters and the importance of an editor connecting emotionally to the script. See […]

The post “The Turning Points of the Story are Painful and Challenging Moments”: Editor Hayedeh Safiyari on In The Land of Brothers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi first co-directed the short Solar Eclipse, and they have teamed up again for In the Land of Brothers, a feature debut for each. The film tells the story of three members of an Afghan family who flee to Iran as refugees and struggle to find acceptance and security. In The Land of Brothers‘ editor is Hayedeh Safiyari, who has edited many of contemporary Iran’s best-known filmmakers. Below, she discusses the novel challenges of editing a film with sharply delineated chapters and the importance of an editor connecting emotionally to the script. See […]

The post “The Turning Points of the Story are Painful and Challenging Moments”: Editor Hayedeh Safiyari on In The Land of Brothers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Exclusive: Silver Lining Entertainment has signed Niousha Noor, the star of Maryam Keshavarz’s multiple prize-winning Sundance dramedy The Persian Version, for representation.

Currently in theaters via Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films, The Persian Version centers on Leila (Layla Mohammadi), an aspiring Iranian American filmmaker who reunites with her family in New York City amidst her father’s heart transplant, coming into conflict with her mother when a personal secret is revealed. Drawing strong reviews out of Sundance 2023, where it laid claim to the fest’s Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, the film has Noor portraying Leila’s conservative mother, Shireen.

Noor can also currently be seen starring alongside Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell, Paz Vega, Jai Courtney and more in Kaleidoscope, Netflix’s heist show from creator Eric Garcia, which premiered in January. She was seen prior to that in IFC Midnight’s horror thriller The Night,...

Exclusive: Top comic Nate Bargatze has announced the launch of The Nateland Company, a new family-friendly content company for audiences of all ages, through which he’ll produce stand-up comedy specials, showcases, sketches, scripted episodic content for film and television, podcasts, music and more.

Up first for release by the company, based out of Bargatze’s hometown of Nashville, is the series Nateland Presents: The Showcase, which debuts on YouTube today. The comic directed all six episodes, to roll out weekly, which place the spotlight on an expansive roster of up-and-coming comics. Among them are Mandal, Donnie Sengstack, Mr. Derick, Jim Flannigan, Renard Hirsch, Alex Velluto, Mal Hall, Jen Fulwiler, Jonnie W., Justin Smith, Mary Santora, Rahn Hortman, Caleb Elliot, Luca Ferro, Matt Taylor, Mike James, Karen Mills and Andrew Stanley.

Hosted by Dusty Slay, Aaron Weber and Brian Bates, The Showcase was taped at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville...

Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...

Dissident Iranian film professionals are calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to consider an alternative film to represent Iran in 2024 Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category rather than the one submitted this week as the country’s official entry.

Iran’s government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation said Tuesday that it had selected Reza Mirkarimi’s The Night Guardian as the country’s submission to the 96th Academy Awards.

The announcement comes just days after the first anniversary of the beginning of the Woman Life Freedom protests, provoked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, after her police detention for not wearing her veil correctly.

More than 500 protestors have been killed by Iranian security forces over the past year and thousands have been injured. A number of directors including Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof and most recently Saeed Roustayi have wound up in jail in a related...

Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...

Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...

Iran has submitted Reza Mirkarimi’s The Night Guardian for Best International Film category at the 96th Academy Awards, in a move that will likely prompt pushback from the country’s dissident film community.

A press release announcing the selection said the film had been selected by the government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation from three short-listed titles which also included Omid Shams’s Conjugal Visit and Ali Hazrati’s The Town.

The drama stars Touraj Alvand as the story of a rural worker forced to move to the city where he ekes out a living on the streets.

The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Woman Life Freedom protests provoked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022 after being held in police custody for not wearing her veil correctly.

The country’s hardline Islamist regime ratcheted up a crackdown on the country’s creative community as well...

With the writers and actors strike looming above the film industry like a dark cloud, now more than ever may be an appropriate time to reflect on the last ten years and re-examine how streaming services have affected cinema as a whole. A lot has changed since Netflix and Amazon first began releasing originally produced content. The years following have resulted in monumental shifts and industry-wide transformations, for better or for worse.

When Netflix introduced its streaming service in the late 2000s, it was initially anticipated to be a quick fad or whimsical trend. Netflix quickly became a stronghold in the industry and threatened the profitability of traditional ancillary markets like physical sales, VOD, and video rental. By 2013, Netflix had gone from an online DVD rental service to a fully functioning production company with their award-winning hit House of Cards.

The overwhelming success of Netflix and Amazon persisted beyond initial predictions,...

Iranian director Saeed Roustaee has been sentenced to six months to prison for showing his latest film, “Leila’s Brothers,” at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, according to an Iranian report.

The Islamic Revolutionary Court convicted both Roustaee and Javad Noruzbegi for “contributing to the propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system,” according to the Iranian daily Etemad.

The nearly three-hour saga, which marked Roustaee’s debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, stars “The Salesman” actor Taraneh Alidoosti as one of five siblings fighting to find a way out of poverty in Tehran. The socially-minded movie was banned in Iran last year for “breaking the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorisation,” according to the Afp, which quoted Iranian authorities.

Roustaee and Noruzbegi will serve about nine days in prison, while the remainder of the sentence will be suspended over five years, during which...

Locarno can’t get enough of Ted Hope. Five years after receiving the festival’s Raimondo Rezzonico Award, the producer of modern indie classics such as “The Wedding Banquet” and “The Ice Storm” shook things up yesterday at Locarno’s StepIN think tank with an Out of the Box keynote, a sweeping blast on the state of the industry.

It resonated hugely with senior European industry executives who are often now battling the very same issues which Hope zeroed in on.

“It was an exercise in overload,” the former Amazon exec told Variety the day after he gave the 40-minute talk. He used 150 bullet points distilled from his Substack, and talked entertainingly at one and the same time. “It’s hard to engage people in this conversation, if you don’t do something like that. It gives me a lot of ammunition for my Gatling gun.”

On Friday, Hope delivered a masterclass.

Christopher Nolan may be known for his aversion to CGI. But when it comes to bowing to the sensitivities of some countries, it would seem this is of little relevance.

In his historical epic Oppenheimer, a scene featuring a topless Florence Pugh fell foul of the censors in the Middle East and India, with the actress — who plays Jean Tatlock (who has an affair with Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer) — being covered up in a CGI black dress.

Some countries are censoring #Oppeneheimer by putting a CGI black dress on Florence Pugh...

Exclusive: Mammoth Pictures has inked a deal out of Cannes with the Bulgarian production company Bazuka to exclusively develop and produce a narrative feature take on the cultural tradition spotlighted in Kukeri, their documentary short produced for The New Yorker which was just unveiled at the beginning of the month. (View it above.)

Set to direct the as-yet-untitled new film, described as a folkloric horror thriller, is Mammoth’s Kourosh Ahari (Parallel).

Helmed by Killian Lassablière, the Bazuka doc spotlights an enigmatic Bulgarian tradition known as “Surva” that has united small villages across the country once a year for centuries — a festival that has residents known as “Kukeri” dress up in otherworldly costumes in the hopes of driving away evil spirits. The animalistic costumes, covering most of the body, are often made from the fur and skins of goats or sheep, and can also include toothed wooden masks — sometimes, peppered with horns,...

Peter Simonischek, the Austrian actor who rose to international prominence late in life through Oscar-nominated feature Toni Erdmann, has died. He was 76.

He passed away surrounded by family in Vienna, according to a statement released by Austria’s national theater, the Burgtheater. No cause of death was given.

Simonischek was a well-known actor in the German-speaking world and performed at the Salzburg Festival. He played the title role in Austrian play Jedermann several times, appeared in TV movies such as Years of Love and features such as Franz Seitz Jr.’s Success.

He joined the Burgtheater in 1999, according to the institution, and was made an honorary member in 2019.

However, it was in 2016 when he played ageing prankster Winifred Conradi in the Austrian film Toni Erdmann that he gained international popularity. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Oscars,...

Production underway in Guadalajara.

Mira Sorvino and Joseph Sikora are attached to join Ruben Islas’ Atypical Pirate Movie, which is currently filming in Mexico and Grandave International has introduced to Cannes buyers.

The feature centres on a savant who gets caught up in the theft of a valuable thumb drive and is on the run from its owners in Guadalajara where he hooks up with the leader of a gang of thieves.

The cast includes previously announced Julio Macias, Danube Hermosillo, Emiliano Zurita, Herńan Mendoza, Gigi Guerrero, Casper Smart, and Mario Escalante.

Sorvino recently starred opposite Courteney Cox in Starz...

The injustices of Jordanian’s patriarchal power system are laid bare through this story of a widow, Nawal (Mouna Hawa), and her young daughter Nora (Seleena Rababah). Although this is the first film from Jordan to feature in Cannes, it is the latest of many films from the region - including the likes of The Perfect Candidate, The Salesman and Beauty And The Dogs - to highlight gender inequalities through social drama.

Nawal and her husband Ahmad (Mohammad Al Jizawi) are trying for a second child when disaster strikes and one morning he simply doesn’t wake up. Although everyone initially seems to be sympathetic, it’s not long before cracks begin to show in the concerned facade of Ahmad’s brother Rifqi (Haitham Omari), as he starts to badger Nawal for instalments he was owed by Ahmad for his pickup truck.

This is the thin end of the wedge of Nawal’s problems,...

Grandave Intl. has acquired worldwide sales rights for the drama mystery feature “Wild Berries,” starring Shahab Hosseini, best actor award winner at Cannes for “The Salesman,” and Sepideh Moafi, whose credits include “The Killing of Two Lovers” and “The L Word: Generation Q.”

In addition to his Cannes award, Hosseini received the Berlinale acting prize for his role in “A Separation.” Moafi stars in the Golden Globe nominated Apple TV+ series “Black Bird,” and the FX series “Class of 09.”

Grandave Intl. will be introducing “Wild Berries” to buyers at the Cannes Film Market, May 16-27.

The past, present, and future collide in this story of an immigrant Iranian couple’s annual road trip on their wedding anniversary, while a mysterious stranger is following them.

The screenplay, written and directed by Soudabeh Moradian, is adapted from “Language of Wild Berries,” written by the playwright Naghmeh Samini. The movie is being produced by Julie R. Snyder.

ABC’s A Million Little Things concludes its five-season run with episode 13, “one big thing,” which is the perfect title for the series finale. Season five episode 13 will air on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.

The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.

“one big thing” Plot: A tight-knit circle of friends is reminded that friendship is a million little things.

Romany Malco and David Giuntoli in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 13 (ABC/Darko Sikman)

The Season 5 Plot:

As Rome Howard says, “Life isn’t just about the moments, it’s about who you share them with.” And as the...

Two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, Iran’s best-known director, was at the Zurich Film Festival last September when protests following the death of Mahsa Amini erupted in his home country.

Since then, the auteur of “A Separation,” “The Salesman” and “A Hero” has not returned to Iran. He’s been working on a new film in Los Angeles and Europe. Interestingly, he says he plans to go back to his country before he shoots this film, even though he is not 100% sure they will let him out again. It’s clearly a risk that the enigmatic Farhadi is willing to take.

Farhadi was in Turin on Monday to give a masterclass at Italy’s National Museum of Cinema, where he also received a lifetime achievement award. In a rare interview, he took questions via e-mail from Variety.

Where are you living these days? I read that you are working on...

Just look at all the happy, smiling faces in the photos from ABC’s A Million Little Things season five episode 11. “ironic” is a celebration of love and friendship. It’s also a reminder that only three new episodes remain in the season – and the series.

Episode 11 will air on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.

The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.

“ironic” Plot: Katherine and Greta celebrate their wedding in spite of several setbacks. Regina faces tough competition while Maggie and Gary navigate parenting decisions.

Grace Park, Sam Pancake, and Cameron Esposito in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode...

Series star Christina Moses takes the director’s chair for ABC’s A Million Little Things season five episode 10. “the salesman” will air on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.

The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.

“the salesman” Plot: Delilah reminisces on the past as she closes a chapter, while Greta weighs an offer from Katherine’s mother. Sophie and Tyrell discuss the future.

Christina Moses on the set of ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 10 (ABC/Darko Sikman)

The Season 5 Plot:

As Rome Howard says, “Life isn’t just about the moments, it’s about who you share them with.

March is coming to an end and while Screambox‘s April line-up is absolutely jam-packed – stay tuned! – we’re first ending this month with a bang.

Now streaming on Screambox are several Dark Star Pictures classics, including the completely gonzo Bloody Disgusting collaboration Dementia: Part II, which delivers absurd gross-out humor and nonstop mayhem.

Here are some of the titles in addition to new Screambox arrivals Evil Little Things, Crispy’s Curse, Clownface, Clownado, and the previously released Killer Sofa and FeardotCom.

Achoura

Also called “Children’s Night,” Achoura is a religious celebration. In Morocco, children splash water on each other and gather around a bonfire.

In the film, four friends reconnect when one of them, who disappeared 25 years ago, suddenly comes back into their lives. Together, they will have to confront the terrifying events of their youth and fight a monstrous creature born of a horrible legend.

Patrick Bromley...

An award belonging to director Asghar Farhadi goes missing in Iran in this slow-paced, heart-on-sleeve comedy about the curative magic of the movies

This film from British Iranian director Hassan Nazer was the British entry in the international feature section at this year’s Academy Awards; sadly it was not nominated. It is a likable, gentle comedy about two children in which an Oscar statuette plays a part: the ultimate MacGuffin, perhaps. It’s also a rather cinephile film which ponders the enormous prestige of Iranian cinema abroad.

The premise is that the great Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, having boycotted the 2017 Oscars in protest at Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim travel ban, cannot be there in person to pick up his Oscar for The Salesman. But the producer bringing it to Iran for him manages to lose it after a chaotic mishap involving a taxi (that key trope of contemporary Iranian cinema) and,...

“Woman. Life. Freedom.”

“Zan. Zindagi. Azadi.”

These words have been chanted around the world for months in support of Iranian women who are demanding freedom of expression and an end to the country’s oppressive rules for women.

This inspiring female-led movement was sparked by the death of Jina “Mahsa” Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died while in custody of morality police for allegedly wearing a loose headscarf.

Iran is now experiencing its biggest wave of demonstrations in decades, with acts of protest by female demonstrators including publicly removing their hijab or cutting their hair. The cry for change has even won awards. Shervin Hajipour’s “Baraye” – Iran’s unofficial protest anthem – made history by becoming the first award-winner for a new Grammy Award category, “Best Song for Social Change.”

Iran’s security forces have responded with reportedly deadly force, with over 500 people killed since protests began, according...

Films Boutique has closed a flurry of deals on “Subtraction,” Mani Haghighi’s Iranian noir thriller which world premiered at Toronto in the competition Platform section.

The Berlin-based company has closed deals in France (Diaphana in association with Kinovista), Russia and Cis (A One), Canada (Films We Like), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF Megacom), Middle East (Fron Row), Poland (Mayfly), Taiwan (Proview Ent.), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Switzerland (Trigon) and Benelux (September Films).

The movie is headlined by Taraneh Alidoosti, the Iranian star of “The Salesman” and “Leila’s Brothers” and Navid Mohammadzadeh (“Leila’s Brothers”). Both Haghighi and Alidoosti have recently been targeted by Iranian authorities. Alidoosti was temporarily arrested, while Haghighi had his passport confiscated as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival.

Set in downtown Tehran, the movie stars Farzaneh as a young driving instructor who spots her husband, Jalal, walking into a woman’s apartment.

Exclusive: Good news for the Los Angeles arthouse scene: Landmark Theatres is taking over AMC’s Sunset 5 at 8000 W Sunset Boulevard. The Cohen Media Group-owned exhibitor will take over the venue in June. Until that time, the Sunset 5 will remain open and continue to be operated by AMC.

The news comes in the wake of the Landmark having to shutter its crown jewel Pico Boulevard location last May due to the lease running out and Google taking over that real estate area.

Once Landmark occupies the Sunset 5, it will begin adding new seating and various amenities as the venue remains open for business. Landmark inked a 10-year lease on the venue which was negotiated and secured by Michael Fant, Landmark’s EVP of Real Estate, and Kimco Realty on behalf of the Sunset Theatre landlord.

The venue going back to being the Sundance Cinemas has long been a multiplex for filmmaker Q&As,...

Dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been released from Tehran’s Evin prison, his wife Tahereh Saeidi has announced in an Instagram post.

The director was released on Friday two days after announcing he was going on a hunger strike to protest still being incarcerated after Iran’s supreme court last October had overturned a six-year sentence issued against the director in 2010 for “propaganda against the system.” That sentence had become obsolete due to the country’s 10-year statute of limitations. But the directors’ wife and lawyers said that Iranian security services were forcing the judiciary to keep him behind bars.

“Although I am happy about Mr. Panahi’s release, it must be said that it should have taken place three months ago,” the director’s lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said in a statement on Friday. He noted that Panahi should have been released on bail last Oct. 18, the day his sentence was overturned.

Jafar Panahi has gone on a hunger strike to protest being still held in Tehran’s Evin prison even though Iran’s supreme court has overturned the conviction that led to the dissident director’s detention.

Panani has issued a statement from prison saying that to protest against the “illegal and inhumane” treatment by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary and security forces and their “hostage-taking” he will stop eating, drinking, and taking his medications until “maybe my lifeless body would be released from this prison.”

The statement announcing Panahi’s decision to go on a hunger strike was posted by Panahi’s wife Tahereh Saeedi and son Panah Panahi on their Instagram accounts.

Panahi, 62, is known globally for prizewinning works such as “The Circle,” “Offside,” “This is Not a Film,” “Taxi,” and most recently “No Bears,” winner of last year’s Venice’s Special Jury Prize. He was arrested last...

GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Many of the screenings at this year’s Göteborg International Film Festival have been preceded by a talk or introduction.

But none, so far, have witnessed a dignified protest. That all changed on Tuesday when audiences at the city’s Grand Theatre watched a 30-minute on-stage protest by Iranian actor and Nordic Competition jury head Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider”).

Amir Ebrahimi dedicated the protest to the Iranian people and the jailed artists of Iran. Joining her on stage were fellow jury members Sofie Gråbøl, Nahid Persson and Gizem Erdogan, as well as Swedish-Iranian filmmakers and Jonas Holmberg, artistic director of the Göteborg Film Festival.

Following a speech critical of the Iranian regime and of the crackdown that has so far led to more than 500 deaths, she then read out the names of 173 jailed artists and cultural figures whose names were displayed on a screen on the stage.

A ruling on Jafar Panahi’s release from Tehran’s Evin prison is deemed imminent now that Iran’s supreme court has overturned the conviction that led to the incarceration last year of the auteur who is considered one of Iranian cinema’s greatest living masters.

Panahi’s wife, Tahereh Saeedi, has launched an appeal on Instagram stating that his lawyers have managed to successfully overturn the six-year sentence issued against the director in 2010 for “propaganda against the system.” That sentence has become obsolete due to the country’s 10-year statute of limitations. Panahi’s case has now been sent to an Iranian court of appeals.

“Last week we were informed that Jafar will be out in a week,” Saeedi said in the appeal posted on Instagram this week. However, “a week passed by and Jafar is still not with us,” she went on to lament.

Panahi’s lawyer, Saleh Nikhbakht,...