News

Thrillers set in exotic locations used to be a subgenre of their own, the likes of which have become rarer these days. Spanish director Fernando Trueba is unfortunately past his prime, or else he could have done justice to the picturesque Mediterranean settings he utilized as the backdrop for his latest romantic thriller, Haunted Heart. Despite the mix and match of these genres being the veteran director’s forte, his newest venture fails to evoke any strong sense of mystery or intimate intrigue. The simplistic style of narrative treatment adopted by the makers could have fared better had the movie been backed by better writing, the lack of which makes the build-up to the final resolution completely fall apart. For what it’s worth, Matt Dilon playing yet another antagonistic role is a delight to watch, and Aida Folch as her opposite lead shows off her acting chops as well—but once again,...

Veteran actor Matt Dillon will receive the prestigious Golden Alexander award at the upcoming Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece. Organizers will honor Dillon for his long acting career and diverse artistic contributions to cinema. The 65th annual festival runs from October 31 to November 10.

During the festival, Dillon will showcase several of his recent projects. This includes his portrayal of legendary actor Marlon Brando in the film “Being Maria.” The movie explores actress Maria Schneider’s experience filming the controversial 1972 film “Last Tango in Paris.” Dillon both acts in and directed “Being Maria,” which had its premiere earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.

Festival organizers will also honor Dillon by screening his 2002 directorial debut “City of Ghosts.” In addition, Dillon will participate in an experimental art installation called “Interfears.” The piece will use Mri scans to visualize Dillon’s brain activity while he performs a monologue. Both the installation...

Matt Dillon will be feted at the 65th edition of Greece’s Thessaloniki Film Festival, where he will present his recent film “Being Maria,” in which he plays Marlon Brando.

Dillon will receive the festival’s honorary Golden Alexander award on Nov. 4, before a screening of his 2002 film “City of Ghosts,” which was his debut as a film director and screenwriter.

Other honorees at the festival, which runs Oct. 31-Nov. 10, include Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, as previously announced.

“Being Maria,” which will screen at Thessaloniki on Nov. 3, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Jessica Palud, it revolves around the troubled life of Maria Schneider, played by Anamaria Vartolomei.

When Schneider, a young, struggling actress with promise, is offered the lead role in “Last Tango in Paris,” playing opposite Brando, her dreams seem to be coming true. But what seems like a big break turns...

Exclusive: Vantage Media, the domestic distribution arm of sales firm Vmi Worldwide, is partnering with Chad A. Verdi’s Verdi Productions (Bleed For This) on a fund to acquire and distribute independent films.

Vantage has grown its slate in recent months with titles including What Remains (pictured), the true crime-thriller starring Andrea Riseborough and Stellan Skarsgård, Fernando Trueba’s Haunted Heart starring Matt Dillon, and The Ballad of Davy Crockett, starring William Moseley.

Vantage and Verdi are planning on an annual slate of twelve cast-driven titles and the former will be attending the upcoming American Film Market in Las Vegas to meet with sales agents and filmmakers.

The deal was negotiated by Chad A. Verdi, CEO of Verdi Productions, and Andre Relis, CEO of Vantage Media and Vmi Worldwide.

“Verdi and Vmi have been long standing partners working on countless pictures for over a decade. I am looking forward to...

“Haunted Heart” is a new romantic thriller, directed by Fernando Trueba, starring Matt Dillon, Aida Folch, Jaun Pablo Urrego, Kika Georgiou, Polydoros Vogiatzis, Anthi Andreopoulou, Vassilis Halakatevakis, and Marina Argyropoulou, releasing September 27, 2024 in theaters:

“…set on a beautiful remote island in Greece, a young and spirited ‘Alex’ (Folch) joins the team of a boutique seaside restaurant as their new waitress.

“Despite her femme-fatale charm quickly winning the heart of the charismatic ‘Enrico’, she instead falls for the enigmatic restaurant manager ‘Max’ (Dillon), a reclusive American, who settled on the island decades ago.

“As the seasons pass, sexual tensions rise, and tourists come and go, Enrico begins to unearth disturbing clues about Max’s dark and mysterious past. Blinded by her feelings, Alex chooses to ignore his warnings, as the story slowly slides into a harrowing tale of survival.”

Click the images to enlarge…...

San Sebastian — At one of the biggest industry gatherings at this year’s San Sebastián Festival, Netflix has announced new Spanish movies from “Cable Girls” showrunner Ramón Campos and “Cross the Line” director David Victori, as it unveiled new talent details on four other banner titles.

Produced by Ramón Campos at his Madrid-based label Bambú Producciones, also behind “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and “Fariña,” and directed by Carlos Sedes “The Asunta Case,” “Cable Girls”), murder mystery “La Viuda Negra” begins with a body stabbed seven times is discovered in a car park in Valencia. The prime suspect for the city’s Homicide Group is Maje, the dead man’s Maje, young and kind widow to whom the deceased had been married for less than a year.

Billed as a psychological thriller, Victori’s “Cortafuego” is produced by Anxo Rodríguez y Ferrán Tomás of ESpotlight Media and stars a topnotch cast of Joaquín Furriel,...

Fernando Trueba is known for bringing life’s deepest emotions to the big screen. With films like Belle Époque and La niña de tus ojos, he’s captured hearts around the world and earned international acclaim, including an Oscar. So when rumors swirled of an English-language project starring Matt Dillon, expectations were high.

Haunted Heart whisks viewers to a Greek island paradise, where passions ignite between strangers. Dillon plays Max, a myster man running from his past. When young Alex arrives seeking work, her curiosity about Max grows into something more. But as secrets surface, it becomes clear there’s darkness in his history.

Trueba’s mastery shines in the stages of their relationship. Summer burns with new romance’s thrill. Autumn casts longing looks at what once was. And winter’s chills mirror the frost forming between them. Through it all, his lens soaks up the Mediterranean’s beauty...

Your browser does not support the video tag. Haunted Heart is a noir thriller set in Greece, featuring a mysterious romance between Alex and Max. Trueba, known for award-winning films, directs Haunted Heart and returns to his past themes with a darker tone. Starring Matt Dillon and Aida Folch, the movie premieres on September 27 in select theaters and through On Demand platforms.

Screen Rant is pleased to present an exclusive first look at the new trailer for Haunted Heart, a noir thriller from renowned Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba. The movie takes place in Greece, on a remote island where a young and spirited woman named Alex (played by Aida Folch) takes a job at a boutique seaside restaurant. While there, she takes a liking to the mysterious and American restaurant manager Max (played by Matt Dillon), whose past is hidden behind lock and key.

Trueba has a storied history, both...

"What do I have to do to get you to notice me?"...

Exclusive: Vmi Releasing, the North American distribution arm of Vmi Worldwide, has picked up North American rights to Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba’s latest pic Haunted Heart, starring Matt Dillon.

Vmi acquired the pic from Film Constellation. Oscar-winner Trueba directs the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with Rylend Grant. Starring alongside Dillon are Goya-nominated Aida Folch (The Artist and the Model) and Juan Pablo Urrego (Memoria).

Set on a beautiful remote island in Greece, a young and spirited Alex (Folch) joins the team of a boutique seaside restaurant as their new waitress. Despite her femme-fatale charm quickly winning the heart of the charismatic Enrico, she instead falls for the enigmatic restaurant manager Max (Dillon), a reclusive American, who settled on the island decades ago. As the seasons pass, sexual tensions rise, and tourists come and go, Enrico begins to unearth disturbing clues about Max’s dark and mysterious past.

The 26th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (TiDF) is underway in the historic Greek port city, after an opening night ceremony that honored Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba.

Trueba, the Oscar-winning director of Belle Époque, received the festival’s honorary Golden Alexander, recognizing his contributions to cinema and culture. The honor was presented to him by Katerina Sakellaropoulou, president of Hellenic Republic, the first time a Greek head of state has launched the international event.

“Great documentaries profoundly move us, broaden our understanding of the world, challenge our beliefs, prejudices, or our established assumptions,” President Sakellaropoulou said from the stage at the Olympion cinema. “An artistic portrayal of reality, or a creative handling of an otherwise unseen aspect of it, a poetic depiction of a documented truth, or a subjective documentation of some of its dimensions, documentary is a film genre requiring cultural sensitivity, journalistic integrity, moral rectitude, conceptual purity, and political discernment.

“20,000 Species of Bees,” (Estibaliz Urresola)

One of the big winners at Berlin, taking Leading Performance, and now racking up healthy sales, the story of a family off for a village summer holiday which builds to a moving ode to women’s freedoms. Sales: Luxbox

“21 Paraíso,” (Nestor Ruiz Medina)

Living in an idyllic Andalusia, a couple in love grapples with the realities of making a living through OnlyFans. Screened at Seville and Tallinn. Sales: Begin Again Films.

“All the Names of God,” (Daniel Calparsoro)

One of the big Spanish action-thrillers hitting this Cannes market, from a specialist (“Sky High”). Pre-sold to France (Kinovista), Germany and Italy (Koch Media) with Tripictures releasing in Spain. Sales: Latido

“Un amor,” (Isabel Coixet)

The multi-prized Coixet (“The Secret Life of Words”).

directs Goya winner Laia Costa (“Lullaby”) in a village-set study of an isolated woman’s succumbing to devouring passion. Sales: Film Constellation.

“Ashes in the Sky,...

Exclusive: Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny (Boys Don’t Cry), European Film Awards best actor winner Claes Bang (The Square), Sundance 2022 breakout Lily McInerny (Palm Trees and Power Lines) and French actress Nailia Harzoune (Gone For Good) are leading an English-language contemporary adaptation of French writer Françoise Sagan’s classic novel Bonjour Tristesse.

London and Paris-based outfit Film Constellation is launching sales in Cannes on the project written and to be directed by newcomer Durga Chew-Bose. UTA Independent Film Group is repping domestic sales alongside Film Constellation and Elevation Pictures.

The story follows Cécile (McInerny), a young woman spending the summer in a villa in the south of France with her widowed father Raymond (Bang) and his latest love interest, Elsa (Harzoune). Theirs is a lived-in compatibility—a world of ease and languor. But all that soon changes with the arrival of Anne (Sevigny), an old friend of Raymond and Cécile’s mother.

Exclusive: Principal photography has wrapped in New Jersey on Coup!, a period satire starring Peter Sarsgaard and directed by Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman.

Deadline can also share a first-look image from the pic above.

London and Paris-based production, finance, and sales company Film Constellation is handling world sales and is bringing the pic to the EFM.

Set on a seaside estate in the United States during the 1918 Spanish Flu, the pic follows a rebellious servant who spearheads an uprising against his wealthy employer.

Sarsgaard stars alongside Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon, and Skye P. Marshall (Matlock).

Coup! is produced by Brian Levy for Entertainment 360, Warner Davis and Todd Friedman at Hemlock Circle Productions, and Molly Conners, Amanda Bowers, and Jane Sinisi for Phiphen alongside Harris Gurny.

Film Constellation secures further deals on Georgia Oakley’s feature debut.

Georgia Oakley’s UK feature Blue Jean has secured major sales deals for Film Constellation, after its award-winning debut at Venice Film Festival this month.

The film has been acquired for France (UFO), Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Salzgeber), Spain (Filmin), Australia & New Zealand (Madman), Benelux (Cineart), Latin America (Synapse) and Taiwan (Filmware).

Further territories including Italy and Scandinavia are currently in negotiation; Film Constellation has previously secured deals with Magnolia Pictures for North America, and Altitude for UK-Ireland.

Blue Jean premiered in the Giornate deglie Autori sidebar at Venice,...

Production, finance and sales company Film Constellation has boarded sales on the upcoming romantic thriller “Haunted Heart” by Academy Award winning director Fernando Trueba.

The film stars Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon (“The House That Jack Built”), Goya-nominated Aida Folch (“The Artist and the Model”), and Juan Pablo Urrego (“Memoria”). The English-language film is set to start shooting in Greece in September.

The film is set on a beautiful remote island in Greece, where young and spirited Alex joins the team of a boutique seaside restaurant as their new waitress. Despite her femme-fatale charm quickly winning the heart of the charismatic Enrico, she instead falls for the enigmatic restaurant manager Max, a reclusive American, who settled on the island decades ago.

As the seasons pass, sexual tensions rise, and tourists come and go, Enrico begins to unearth disturbing clues about Max’s dark and mysterious past. Blinded by her feelings,...