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Wild Bunch TV, the television sales and acquisition division of the pan-European banner, has boarded two new shows, “The Clan Olimpia” and “Single Bells,” in the run-up to Canneseries

“The Clan Olimpia” is a six-part Spanish crime drama starring Zaira Romero, the Goya-nominated rising star of “Carmen y Lola.” Set in Spain in 2003, the prestige series sees Romero playing Olimpia, a quiet housewife whose life is turned upside down when her husband is diagnosed with cancer. Now in charge of providing for her family, Olimpia turns to a lucrative but dangerous activity: drug trafficking.

The cast is completed by other Spanish up-and-coming talent, including Fran Berenguer (“Mia Culpa”). Producers are the Oscar-winning Tornasol Media (“The Secret in Their Eyes”), Loreto y Olimpia Aie, Par Producciones and Pablo Bossi’s Gloriamundi Producciones.

Also joining Wild Bunch TV’s international sales roster is “Single Bells,” a romantic Christmas comedy produced by De Mensen,...

Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in TrainwreckPhoto: Universal Pictures With Sundance just wrapping up and Berlin starting up in a few days, we are now immersed in the year-long barrage of film festivals. One such festival in South By Southwest. A few weeks back they announced the first seven films of their program, including the opening night film Brand: A Second Coming. Today, they have revealed the rest of the features to be shown in March (except for the midnight program), and some of it has me very excited. The bigger titles announced do not do much for me. Paul Feig's Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, and the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart starrer Get Hard leave a lot to be desired in terms of anticipation, as does a work in progress cut of Judd Apatow's latest film Trainwreck. I'm guessing an Apatow work in progress is probably around three and a half hours.

Charismatic nightclub owner and subversive film director

In the years after the second world war, St-Germain-des-Prés, on the left bank of Paris, was a melting pot of intellectual and artistic life. One of the favourite hangouts for the existential and beatnik crowds was the basement nightclub La Rose Rouge in the Rue de Rennes. It was there that Juliette Gréco made her cabaret debut, and Les Frères Jacques performed their mixture of song, humour, dance and mime. Among the audiences were André Breton, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Prévert, Boris Vian and Miles Davis. Presiding over them all was the club's charismatic owner, Nikos Papatakis, who has died aged 92. He was also renowned for his distinctive contribution to the world of film.

Known as Nico to his friends, Papatakis, a self-styled subversive, was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Greek parents. Aged 17, he joined Haile Selassie's army to fight against the...