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First Cut Lab director Matthieu Darras is teaming up with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (Fdcp) and the Indonesian Agency for Creative Economy (Bekraf).

First Cut Lab director Matthieu Darras is teaming up with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (Fdcp) and the Indonesian Agency for Creative Economy (Bekraf) to launch two new film labs for project development and editing consultancy.

The two labs, which are aimed at local directors, scriptwriters and producers, will each last around one week, starting with an editing consultancy programme and followed by a project development workshop. They will also feature masterclasses open to larger audiences.

Madrid — New York’s Visit Films announced at Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur market, that the company has secured distribution in Mexico and Spain on Maria Alché’s directorial debut, “A Family Submerged.”

In Mexico, the film was snagged by top indie production and distribution company Interior 13 Cine, distributors for Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s Colombian Oscar-hopeful “Birds of Passage.” Spanish distribution went to Surtsey Films, experts in theatrical placing of festival hits like Panos Cosmatos’ Sitges best director winner “Mandy” and Árpád Bogdán’s “Genesis,” a winner at Spain’s Valladolid Film Festival.

The film is held up as a case of a successful independent Argentine film which has not only charmed critics and won festival prizes but snagged a prestige sales agent and now broken out to commercial sales in key, major territories for a Spanish-language movie.

“A Family Submerged” turns on Marcella, played by Argentine film and theater actress Mercedes Morán,...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the first teasers for Syllas Tzoumerkas’ female revenge story “The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea” – being sold at Afm by Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales.

Set in a small eel-farming town in the west of Greece it’s a story of two women, who live solitary lives while dreaming of getting away. One of them is Elisabeth, a once-ambitious policewoman forced to relocate from Athens 10 years ago and now living a joyless, hung over life; the other is Rita, a quiet, mysterious sister of a local music star. When a sudden suicide case upsets the town and turns the local community upside-down, the two women who have been ignoring each other’s existence so far begin drifting toward each other. As the secrets hidden in the swamps begin to surface, they will have a chance to become each other’s saviors.

Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outfit New Europe Film Sales has announced multiple sales for Paweł Maślona’s black comedy “Panic Attack,” which had its international premiere this week in Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s main competition.

The film, which was a box-office hit in Poland this year, has been sold to Greece (Neo), Lithuania (Kino Pavasaris), Iceland (Bio Paradis), and Central and Eastern Europe (HBO Central Europe). Further deals, including U.K., are under negotiation. The film is also attracting interest from producers looking to remake it for their local markets, according to the sales agency.

“Panic Attack” comprises six stories about ordinary people put in extreme situations, which cause them to experience a panic attack. “We experience a roller coaster of events: a woman meets her two exes during one night, a couple picks the worst seat on an airplane, a young girl risks having her girlfriends expose her as a porn star,...

Danish box office hit Giant Pear opens Berlinale’s Generation Kplus section.

Digital and theatrical distributor Condor Entertainment has acquired Danish animation The Incredible Story Of The Giant Pear, the opening film of the Berlinale’s Generation Kplus competition, from LevelK.

Condor has also picked up Lukas Feigelfeld’s gothic horror tale Hagazussa from Raven Banner, ahead of its appearance in Berlin Critics’ Week.

The Paris-based company, which was launched in 2010, runs two separate slates, one aimed at films for theatrical release, the other focused on direct-to-digital titles, and handles 25 to 30 titles a year.

It is planning to release The Incredible Story Of The Giant Pear on 200 screens on April 25 in France to coincide with the spring school holiday. Hagazussa will be released by its Condor’s digital arm, also in the spring.

“The same team buys across both slates...

Titles both score Benelux deals.

New Europe Film Sales has closed early deals on two of its titles playing this week at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr).

Source: Iffr

Loveling / Pity

Brazil-Uruguay drama Loveling, which premiered as the opening film of Sundance’s World Cinema Competition and had its European premiere in Iffr’s Voices strand, has been picked up for France (Condor/Version Original) and Benelux (September Film Distribution).

The film follows a mother, played by Karine Teles, who struggles to let go of her 17-year-old son after he signs up for a sporting contract in Germany. Gustavo Pizzi directed, Tatiana Leite produced and executive producers were Leo Ribeiro and Rodrigo Leite.

Screen’s review called it a “charming drama” and an “audience-pleaser” that is “destined for healthy festival exposure”.

New Europe has also struck a Benelux deal (Filmfreak) alongside an agreement for Turkey (Bir) on its title Pity. The film also premiered...

One of the more notable aspects of this year’s Sundance Film Festival is the presence of two features from Brazil, Gustavo Pizzi’s “Loveling” and Aly Muritiba‘s “Rust.” It’s great to see more talent coming out of Brazil and making its way through the festival circuit, but unfortunately, this one fails to impress.

Premiering as a part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition category, Muritiba’s “Rust” is a cautionary tale of teen trauma in the social media age.

Continue reading ‘Rust’: Frustrating & Familiar Cyberbullying Drama Fails To Connect [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

There are of a bounty of riches coming to the Sundance Film Festival, and while there are plenty of high profile movies to get excited about, we’re always just as thrilled to seek out the less starry corners of the schedule. One film that could make waves on opening day in Park City is the World Drama entry “Loveling.”

Co-written and directed by Gustavo Pizzi, and starring Karine Teles, Otávio Müller, Adriana Esteves, Konstantinos Sarris, and César Troncoso, the story follows a woman whose lively family is upended when her teenage son is drafted to play professional handball in Germany.

Continue reading ‘Loveling’ Clip & Poster: Bonds Of Family Are The Hardest To Break [Sundance Exclusive] at The Playlist.