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Prime Video has unveiled has unveiled its latest slate of Italian original shows and films at a Presents event in Rome, including a remake of No Activity.

The streamer’s glitzy event revealed three new original scripted shows, two unscripted series and six movies, along with a number of returning shows. Among the scripted series is Antonia, the comedy-drama from Groenlandia and Fidelio we told you about earlier this morning in Europe.

Joining Antonia is another Groenlandia series, Niente da Segnalare, which is based on the Australian drama format No Activity.

The six-episode series follows two criminals waiting for an important shipment, two cops on stakeout ready to trigger a raid and two dispatch operators ready to send reinforcements. When the shipment doesn’t arrive, everyone is forced into an exhausting wait.

Valerio Vestoso is the director and Laura Grimaldi,...

John David Washington shot “Beckett” before last summer’s “Tenet” put the actor on a short list of potential action figures. But when it comes to this considerably more modest, Greece-set manhunt movie — which kicks off the Locarno Film Festival before releasing via Netflix on Aug. 13 — it helps to look at Washington (son of Oscar winner Denzel) as a different kind of character: not your conventional Hollywood hero so much as an average guy caught up in a deadly conspiracy.

Washington plays the eponymous American tourist, who’s roughly the kind of out-of-his-league everyman that Alfred Hitchcock gravitated toward in classics such as “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and “North by Northwest.” But director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino isn’t operating by that playbook as much as audiences might think, which might disappoint those who find the movie on Netflix and expect a straightforward thriller. The suspense is much subtler,...

Italian director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino first made a splash in Locarno in 2010 when his atmospheric short “Diarchia,” starring Louis Garrel, Riccardo Scamarcio and Alba Rohrwacher, scooped the Leopard of Tomorrow prize and went on to earn an honorable mention at Sundance. His feature debut, “Antonia,” was an intimate portrait of Italian poet Antonia Pozzi who, like the director, grew up in upper crust Milanese society. He’s back with “Beckett,” the English-language thriller that will open the Swiss fest toplining John David Washington as an “American tourist hunted by unknown people” amid political turbulence in Greece. It’s a Netflix Original that will drop globally on the platform on Aug. 13. Cito Filomarino spoke to Variety about his transition into directing genre fare for a global audience

It doesn’t happen often that an Italian director goes from making an art movie about a poet to a manhunt thriller with a Hollywood star.

The Locarno Film Festival, long known as a safe haven for indie cinema, is taking a turn into genre territory while remaining true to

its origins.

“People know what the mission is for Locarno,” says the fest’s new artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, referring to the prestige of the event — the 74th edition runs Aug. 4-14 — that is known worldwide as a festival of discovery.

But Nazzaro, an Italian film critic and former chief of the Venice Critics’ Week, now intends “to broaden the moral imagination of this mission,” as he puts it, by digging deeper into genre cinema, and “also into the [festival’s] relationship with the U.S. studios and what people would consider as [pure] entertainment.”

Significantly, this year’s Locarno opener is Netflix Original “Beckett,” a thriller toplining John David Washington as an American tourist who becomes the target of a political assassination while vacationing in Greece, and...

Exclusive: With their action thriller Beckett set to land on Netflix on August 13, Deadline sat down with star John David Washington and director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino to chat about putting together the story of an American on the run amidst political unrest in Greece.

Washington has had a remarkable 12 months, finding himself at the center of the streaming versus theatrical debate that exploded during the pandemic. Last summer, he was the lead in Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s time-bending action pic that was dubbed as cinema’s savior when it was released as theaters tentatively emerged from the first wave of lockdown closures. Later in the year, he starred opposite Zendaya in Malcolm & Marie, the entirely lockdown-shot feature that released on Netflix in January.

Below, we discuss how those experiences contrasted, and we also dig into his wider career, which saw him play pro football before transitioning into acting. His...

Netflix has released the trailer for Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s upcoming political thriller “Beckett,” starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander. The movie is set to open the Locarno Film Festival’s 74th edition in Switzerland on August 4, before premiering on Netflix August 13. Watch the trailer below.

Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of Netflix: “While vacationing in Greece, American tourist Beckett (John David Washington) becomes the target of a manhunt after a devastating accident. Forced to run for his life and desperate to get across the country to the American embassy to clear his name, tensions escalate as the authorities close in, political unrest mounts, and Beckett falls even deeper into a dangerous web of conspiracy.”

“Beckett” is produced by Cito Filomarino’s colleague Luca Guadagnino. The pair worked previously together on the Oscar-winning “Call Me by Your Name,” directed by Guadagnino. Cito Filomarino previously directed the feature “Antonia...

Each of the five nominees for Best International Feature Film tackles heavy-hitting real-world issues — alcoholism, bullying, asylum-seeking emigration, government corruption, genocide — but showcases them in exceptional and entertaining ways. This diverse group hailing from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Hong Kong, Romania, and Tunisia challenges the status quo with these captivating stories that are sure to leave a lasting impact.

The crowd-pleasing frontrunner of the set is “Another Round,” which leads in critics guild wins and marks Denmark’s 13th Academy Award nominee. Its premise, a group of middle aged teachers tests the theory that maintaining a 0.05% Bac enhances one’s life, seems the least harrowing among its competition of heavier real-world issues. “The Hunt,” Thomas Vinterberg’s previous film nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 2013, is another thrilling Mads Mikkelsen showcase with some of the same supporting cast. Vinterberg’s directing nomination is not only a big indicator for the film’s widespread love,...

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to the thriller “Born to Be Murdered,” starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, and will release the film in 2021.

“Born to Be Murdered” is set in Athens and the Epirus region of Greece where a vacationing couple, played by Washington and Vikander, fall trap to a violent conspiracy with tragic consequences. Boyd Holbrook and Vicky Krieps also star in the film.

Ferdinando Cito Filomarino directed the film from a script he co-wrote with Kevin Rice. Producers include Luca Guadagnino and Marco Morabito for their Frenesy Films along with Francesco Melzi d’Eril and Gabriele Moratti for MeMo with Raicinema.

Cito Filomarino was second unit director on Guadagnino’s “Suspiria,” “Call Me My Your Name” and “A Bigger Splash.” He made his feature debut on 2015 biopic “Antonia,” centered on Italian poet Antonia Pozzi, which played at film festivals including Karlovy Vary, Torino, Seattle and Gothenburg.

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to “Born to Be Murdered,” a thriller starring John David Washington and produced by Luca Guadagnino.

The film also stars Alicia Vikander, Boyd Holbrook and Vicky Krieps in supporting roles. “Born to Be Murdered” is the English-language debut of director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, who worked as a second unit director on Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name,” “A Bigger Splash” and “Suspiria.”

“Born to Be Murdered” is set in Athens and shot on location in Greece and follows a vacationing couple played by Washington and Vikander who fall trap to a violent conspiracy with tragic consequences. Kevin Rice wrote the screenplay, and Cito Filomarino also wrote the story.

Netflix is planning a release for the film in 2021.

Guadagnino is a producer along with and Morabito for their Frenesy Films, as well as Francesco Melzi d’Eril and Gabriele Moratti for MeMo with Raicinema. Rodrigo Teixeira...

It’s still very early, but it’s impossible not to take notice of what Chloe Zhao’s film Nomadland is doing right now. The fall film festival season has launched other movies, like Regina King’s One Night in Miami…, but none like Nomadland. Today, the flick added a pretty big feather in its cap, taking the prestigious Audience Award from the Toronto International Film Festival (with the aforementioned One Night in Miami… as runner up). Taking this prize from TIFF is a huge deal, even in an unusual awards season like this one. What does it mean for its Oscar aspirations? Read on to find out… So, what exactly does this mean for Nomadland? Looking specifically at the Audience Award and thinking in terms of its history, this is a somewhat reliable indicator of prestige, especially with the Academy. Nomadland now joins a group that has seen a...

As the Venice International Film Festival is winding down, the Toronto International Film festival kicks off Sept. 10 and continues through Sept. 19 in a Covid-19 hybrid version with physical screenings and drive-in, digital screenings and virtual red carpets. Whereas Venice is the oldest film festival having begun in 1932, Toronto is relatively new. In fact, it wasn’t even called the Toronto International Film Festival until 1994.

The festival was the brainchild of founders Bill Marshall, Dusty Cohl and Henk Van Der Kolk who launched the inaugural Festival of Festivals in 1976. The mandate was to feature the best pics from other film festivals and to attract major Hollywood productions by being one of the most hospitable movie celebrations.

The first edition of the festival didn’t set the world on fire. Guests Jack Nicholson and Julie Christie never made it. The festival had hoped to open with Hal Ashby’s biopic on Woody Guthrie,...

Italian movies are taking a sharper turn towards genre storytelling, though classic auteur titles remain a strong component of the country’s cinematic output. Below is a compendium of standout cinema Italiano projects in various stages.

“Non Mi Uccidere” (“Don’t Kill Me”) Young director Andrea De Sica, who helmed the bulk of teen series “Baby” for Netflix, is set to shoot a horror film geared towards the same youth demographic as the show. It’s based on a bestselling Gothic novel about a 19-year-old named Mirta who, with her older lover, Robin, dies of a drug overdose. She then reanimates alone to find out that in order to continue living, and cherishing the memory of Robin’s love, she must eat living humans. Shooting is expected to start soon. Cast is being contractualized. Pic is the director’s sophomore feature after “Children of the Night,” a coming-of-age story set...

While the nominations for the 2020 Oscars are still two months away, the race for Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Film) is quietly heating up. And in a year with a record number of female-directed submissions, the Netherlands’ “Instinct,” directed by Halina Reijn (“Valkyrie”), is contributing some provocative flair. After keeping winter at bay as Melisandre in HBO’s TV hit “Game of Thrones,” Carice van Houten stars in Reijn’s directorial debut as Nicoline, a highly experienced psychotherapist who starts a new job at a penal institution. At the center of the storyline is her complicated relationship with one of her patients, Idris (Marwan Kenzari), a serial sex offender who is on the verge of completing his rehabilitative treatment.

SEEOscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie

In the midst of the #MeToo movement, “Instinct” provides a much-needed exploration of the grey areas in wider...

Despite its critical acclaim, Robin Campillo’s “Bpm (Beats per Minute),” was left out of the Best Foreign Language Film line-up at this year’s Golden Globes. While that snub was shocking, a Golden Globes bid is not essential for an Oscar win. Indeed, since the Golden Globes introduced this category in 1965, 19 of the 51 Academy Awards winners for Best Foreign Language Film were snubbed for this precursor prize:

1965: “The Shop on Main Street” (Czechoslovakia)

1971: “The Garden of the Finzi Continis (Italy)

1975: “Dersu Uzala” (Soviet Union)

1976: “Black and White in Color” (Ivory Coast)

1979: “The Tin Drum” (West Germany)

1980: “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears” (Soviet Union)

1981: “Mephisto” (Hungary)

1982: “To Begin Again” (Spain)

1987: “Babette’s Feast” (Denmark)

1990: “Journey of Hope” (Switzerland)

1991: “Mediterraneo” (Italy)

1993: “Belle Époque” (Spain)

1994: “Burnt by the Sun” (Russia)

1995: “Antonia’s Line” (The Netherlands)

1997: “Character” (The Netherlands...

The ’burbs can be one spooky place to live. Megan Freels Johnston's The Ice Cream Truck release details, trailer, and poster leads today's Horror Highlights! Also: Camp Cold Brook casting details, Blu-ray / DVD release details for The Lift, the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride announcement, Red Christmas theatrical info, and the new Wtf! trailer.

The Ice Cream Truck Trailer and Release Details: Press Release: "Writer-director Megan Freels Johnston’s suburban nightmare The Ice Cream Truck will hit theaters August 18 and be released day-and-date on VOD via Uncork’d Entertainment. A new trailer and poster have been released to coincide with the release.

The provocative psychological thriller stars Deanna Russo (Being Human, Gossip Girl) as Mary, who moves back to her suburban hometown after her husband gets relocated for work. As her family ties up loose ends back home, she moves into their new house alone. And although the move makes Mary nostalgic for her youth,...

Bille August’s 1987 award winner is yet another full cinema meal, a deeply satisfying drama about working conditions among Scandinavian immigrants back when being poor was a life sentence. Max von Sydow’s performance is stunning, as an aging stock tender forced to begin again as a veritable serf. He and his good son Pelle are surrounded by little dramas dealing with injustices among the workers and servants, as well as between the landholders in the big farmhouse.

Pelle the Conqueror

Blu-ray

Film Movement Classics

1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 150 min. / Pelle erobreren / Street Date May 30, 2017 / 39.95

Starring: Pelle Hvenegaard, Max von Sydow, Erik Paaske, Bjorn Granath, Astrid Villaume, Axel Strobye, Troels Asmussen, Kristina Tornqvist, Karen Wegener, Sofie Grabol, Lars Simonsen, Buster Larsen, John Wittig, Troels Munk, Nis Bank-Mikkelsen.

Cinematography: Jörgen Persson

Film Editor: Janus Billeskov Jansen

Original Music: Stefan Nilsson

Written by Bille August, Per Olov Enquist, Max Lundgren, Bjarne Reuter

from...

A portion of this review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad

Jessica Chastain stars as Antonina Zabinski, The Zookeeper's Wife, a true story based on the international bestseller of the same title. The Zabinski family run a lovingly crafted zoo in Warsaw but political unrest unnerves Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh) enough to attempt to send his wife and child away. Antonia, naive and endearingly devoted to her animals, won't have it. Then German bombs hit their attraction, killing many animals. Poland surrenders to Germany quickly. Much to the Zabinski’s horror they learn that their surviving animals will all be killed for meat to feed soldiers unless they can strike a deal with fellow zookeeper and now Nazi officer (Daniel Brühl, Hollywood’s go-to Germanic villain who isn’t named Christoph Waltz).

While working on this deal with the devil, Antonina and her husband begin a dangerous game,...

It's an incredible true story, how a Polish couple sheltered Jews during WWII in their abandoned zoo in Warsaw. What a shame then, that in adapting the book by Diane Ackerman, screenwriter Angela Workman lets the dialogue run to the blandest of bromides. It's fortunate that the stellar director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) rarely lets the action go slack, using striking visuals that express so much more than the clunky verbiage. And in Jessica Chastain, Caro finds an actress ready to use everything she's got to bring the title role to life.

I know what you’re thinking. A movie where Jessica Chastain snuggles adorable animals and manages a zoo. The Zookeeper’s Wife is a surefire feel-good critter drama – Oh My God, A Saving Private Ryan Scene Recreated With Animals. Bring me back to Chastain nuzzling a lion cub, please. It couldn’t possibly get – oh, nope. Ok. Cue Holocaust depression brought on by Warsaw’s Jewish ghetto, and a heavy German presence in WWII Poland. Granted, those of you who’ve read Diane Ackerman’s bestselling novel already know the story of Antonina Zabinski and her family’s Jewish refugee smuggling. Don’t expect director Niki Caro to take it easy on her audience. The Warsaw Zoo initiative helped save almost 3,000 lives from extermination, but not without sacrifice. This is how.

Jessica Chastain plays the titular zookeeper’s wife, Antonia. Before Germany’s invasion, she and husband Jan (Johan Heldenbergh...

Marleen Gorris' sightly absurdist, slightly magic realist movie about a strong woman who takes charge in a rural Dutch community is a fable about a kind of matriarchal utopia -- where decisions are made with patience and understanding, the weak are protected and women aren't abused. It's an Oscar winner for Best Foreign film -- the first directed by a woman, Antonia's Line Blu-ray Film Movement 1995 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 103 min. / Antonia / Street Date April 19, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Willeke van Ammelrooy, Els Dottermans, Dora van der Groen, Veerle van Overloop, Esther Vriesendorp, Carolien Spoor, Thyrza Ravesteijn, Mil Seghers, Jan Decleir, Elsie de Brauw, Reinout Bussemaker, Marina de Graaf, Jan Steen, Catherine ten Bruggencate, Paul Kooij, Fran Waller Zeper, Leo Hogenboom, Flip Filz, Wimie Wilhelm. Cinematography Willy Stassen Film Editors Wim Louwrier, Michiel Reichwein Original Music Ilona Sekacz Produced by Gerard Cornelisse, Hans de Weers, Hans de Wolf Written and Directed by Marleen Gorris...

Susanne Bier Oscar winner 'In a Better World' director Susanne Bier Susanne Bier, whose In a Better World won the 2011 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, is seen above on the 83rd Academy Awards' Red Carpet, just outside the Kodak Theatre. The other 2011 Oscar nominees in the Best Foreign Language Film category were: Rachid Bouchareb's Outside the Law / Hors-la-loi (Algeria). Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful (Mexico). Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth (Greece). Denis Villeneuve's Incendies (Canada). As in previous years, several international favorites were left out of the 2011 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar competition. Among these were the following: Xavier Beauvois' French Academy César winner Of Gods and Men / Des hommes et des dieux (France). Semih Kaplanoglu's 2010 Berlin Film Festival winner Bal / Honey (Turkey). Apichatpong Weerasethakul's 2010 Cannes Film Festival winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives / Loong Boonmee raleuk chat (Thailand). Prior to In a Better World,...

UK veteran producer Simon Perry has been appointed head of production at Swedish regional film centre Film i Väst in Trollhättan, aka Sweden’s Trollywood.

Perry - former head of British Screen Finance and, more recently, the Irish Film Board from 2006-11 – has signed a two-year contract with the centre and started in his new job this week.

He replaces Swedish producer Jessica Ask, who left to join independent production company Anagram Film & TV.

“We are happy to welcoming Perry to Film i Väst, and look forward to a collaboration with one of the world’s most experienced co-producers on the international scene,” said CEO Tomas Eskildsson.

Film i Vast operates on an annual budget of $11.5m (Sek 93m).

Perry, a film journalist, independent filmmaker and producer with his own Umbrella Films, was head of state-financed development and production company British Screen Finance (later known as the UK Film Coucil) from 1991.

Since 2000 he has concentrated on teaching...

Nadine Labaki, Where Do We Go Now? Today it was announced that Patty Jenkins, whose Monster earned Charlize Theron a Best Actress Oscar in early 2004, will be directing Thor 2. Officially, Perkins is the first woman director at the helm of a big-budget, Hollywood superhero movie. Below you'll find ten movies directed by female filmmakers that are among the 63 contenders for nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film category. Seven of those hail from Europe; one is from the Americas, one from East Asia, and one from West Asia (or the Middle East). They are: the Dominican Republic's Leticia Tonos for Love Child, France's Valérie Donzelli for the semi-autobiographical Declaration of War, Greece's Athina Rachel Tsangari for Attenberg, Hong Kong's Ann Hui for A Simple Life, and Ireland's Juanita Wilson for As If I Am Not There. Also: Lebanon's Nadine Labaki for Toronto Film Festival Audience Award winner Where Do We Go Now?...

Nadine Labaki, Where Do We Go Now? Lebanese actress-filmmaker Nadine Labaki's second feature, the musical Et maintenant, on va où? / Where Do We Go Now?, was the surprise winner of the Toronto Film Festival's Cadillac People's Choice Award. Toronto doesn't have a jury like Cannes, Berlin, or Venice; festivalgoers pick the winner each year. Apparently inspired by Aristophanes' Lysistrata — which presents women as peace lovers and men as (sex-starved) war lovers — Where Do We Go Now? tells the story of female Lebanese villagers who take some unusual steps to prevent Muslim-Christian strife in their area. Those include hiring Ukrainian casino showgirls and serving hash-laced cookies. Labaki's feature-film debut, the charming romantic comedy-drama Caramel, had its North American premiere at the Toronto festival in 2007. That movie didn't win any awards in Toronto; Labaki wasn't expecting any for Where Do We Go Now?, either, what with the English-language media insisting...

One of Britain's most distinguished actors, known for her roles on stage and screen

Margaret Tyzack, who has died aged 79, was one of Britain's greatest and most popular actors, working on stage, television and film for more than half a century. Sometimes described as being in the mould of Edith Evans and Flora Robson, she will be remembered particularly for performances in the golden age of BBC TV drama – Winifred in The Forsyte Saga (1967), Antonia in I, Claudius (1976) – as well as for stage performances such as Martha in the National Theatre's revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1981), for which she won an Olivier award for best actress, and Lottie with Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage (1987 and 1990), which earned her both Tony and Variety Club stage actress of the year awards. In 2008, well into her 70s, she scored perhaps one of her finest triumphs on stage as the wily,...

You likely have your own views on The Kids Are All Right, whether you've seen it or not. We've had several viewpoints shared by contributors of different opinions, but people in some parts of the country still haven't been able to see the film. Today, The Kids Are All Right is released on DVD, which means anyone with access to the internet can purchase a copy and watch it for themselves.

Out writer/director Lisa Cholodenko is behind the film that got people talking about lesbian partnerships, gay parenthood and sexual fluidity. The release of The Kids Are All Right also coincided with a new study about children of gay parents being well-adjusted, prompting many reports on the film to signal it as proof that there's a new "normal" when it comes to the nuclear family, and it's not always about having one mom and one dad.

But with power comes great responsibility.

Jacques Jouffret was recognized for his work on Into the Wild on Saturday when he won the Society of Camera Operators' award for Camera Operator of the Year in feature film at the SOC Lifetime Achievement and Camera Operator of the Year Awards presentation.

The SOC also presented director of photography Robert Primes with the Society's President's Award for lifetime achievement in the industry and dedication to the SOC at the ceremony, held at the Goldenson Theater of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences,

Primes won Emmys in 1995 for Antonia and in 1999 for Felicity. He won an American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Award in 2002 for MDs.

The SOC board of governors award for lifetime achievement in the service of the motion picture industry was presented to industry visionary and Panavision vp Joe Dunton.

Mitch Dubin, whose credits include Munich and Jerry Maguire, was honored for lifetime achievement in camera operating.

The SOC held a memorial tribute to Scott Rathner, whose credits include "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal" and The Spiderwick Chronicles, for his lifetime achievement as a camera technician.

AMSTERDAM -- Dutch production house Eyeworks, owned by television presenter Reinout Oerlemans, announced Thursday the takeover of Amsterdam-based Egmond Film and Television, producer of Dutch Oscar-winner Antonia's Line. Egmond founder Hans van de Weers will stay in charge of the production house. In a statement Oerlemans said that his company already specializes in sports and entertainment programs, but as a result of the takeover it now also wants to play a major part in Dutch film and TV drama production. "Egmond has proven itself to be an important player in this field in the past," he said.

AMSTERDAM -- Mijke de Jong's family film Bluebird, has been picked as the official Dutch contender for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2006 Academy Awards, selection committee Holland Film announced Wednesday. The movie, awarded a Glass Bear in the children's section of this year's Berlin International Film Festival, tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who is pestered by her schoolmates. The events have a dramatic effect on her private life. Bluebird has been presented at several international festivals, including Toronto. The Dutch are traditionally one of the first territories to announce their candidate for the foreign language Oscar. Previous Dutch winners in the section are Marleen Gorris' Antonia's Line in 1996 and Mike van Diem's Karakter in 1998. Two years ago, Twin Sisters, directed by Ben Sombogaart, received a nomination.

LONDON -- Government-backed training organization Skillset said Tuesday that it has appointed Oscar-winning producer Judy Counihan (No Man's Land) as its director of film. Veteran producer Counihan, who has won two best foreign language film nods from the Academy for Land and Antonia's Line, has been appointed to provide direction and input into the current £50 million ($91.4 million), five-year training and skills strategy being formulated in the United Kingdom (HR 9/11). Her appointment aims to reassure industry observers and operators alike that the strategy is lead by the sector it is designed to help, Skillset said. The strategy, entitled "A Bigger Future -- The UK Film Skills Strategy," is backed by the U.K. Film Council and the government.

LONDON -- ContentFilm chairman Alton Irby said on Friday that the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listed film financier, sales, distribution and production company is in advanced negotiations to acquire New York- and Los Angeles-based First Look Media. The acquisition of First Look will mark ContentFilm's first major acquisition, under its new management structure run by joint chief executives John Schmidt and Ed Pressman, since its arrival on AIM in March this year here via the acquisition of Winchester Entertainment. Through the acquisition, ContentFilm would access entry into the North American theatrical, video and DVD distribution sector and also swallow up First Look's 350-strong library of movie titles, which includes Waking Ned Devine, Antonia's Line, God's Army and Titus.

LONDON -- U.K.-based production and financing company Random Harvest has signed Marleen Gorris, director of the foreign-language Oscar-winning Antonia's Line, to shoot Bronte, the company said Thursday. Random Harvest said it picked up the screenplay from DreamWorks SKG for an undisclosed sum after the studio put it in turnaround. No cast has been signed for Bronte, which follows the story of the three Bronte sisters -- Charlotte, Emily and Ann -- who between them wrote several English classics including Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey and Jane Eyre. The project, currently in development, will be produced under the company's production label Random Harvest Pictures and is set to begin shooting in the fall.

LONDON -- U.K.-based production and financing company Random Harvest has signed Marleen Gorris, director of the foreign-language Oscar-winning Antonia's Line, to shoot Bronte, the company said Thursday. Random Harvest said it picked up the screenplay from DreamWorks SKG for an undisclosed sum after the studio put it in turnaround. No cast has been signed for Bronte, which follows the story of the three Bronte sisters -- Charlotte, Emily and Ann -- who between them wrote several English classics including Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey and Jane Eyre. The project, currently in development, will be produced under the company's production label Random Harvest Pictures and is set to begin shooting in the fall.