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Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for New York Fashion Week and the Soho House Awards.

Chanel’s Lucky Chance Diner

Chanel hosted a party on Wednesday to debut the Lucky Chance Diner, a unique fragrance experience in Williamsburg. Guests included Ava Phillippe, Chase Sui Wonders, Lil Nas X, Meadow Walker, Molly Gordon, Rainey Qualley and Lori Harvey.

Lil Nas X Molly Gordon

Breitling Bash

Breitling brand ambassadors Charlize Theron and Misty Copeland co-hosted a launch party in NYC on Wednesday to celebrate the debut of two new lines in the Breitling Navitimer collection: 36 mm and 32 mm. They were joined by fellow Breitling ambassadors — basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim.

Breitling USA CEO Georges Kern, Charlize Theron and Breitling USA president Thierry Prissert Giannis Antetokounmpo and Charlize Theron

Nylon Nights

Bdg,...

Top European industry players including senior executives from Pathé Films, Mikros, Wild Bunch Distribution and Warner Bros. have joined forces to launch a one-stop-shop production banner called N9ne Studio. The outfit plans to invest over €30 million (31 million) over the next five years to fully finance content development.

The pan-European hub is being launched in association with Ikav Group, a thriving asset management company chaired by Constantin von Wasserschleben and headquartered in Germany with offices in Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the U.K., the U.S. and France. Advised by Cinecapital, Schubert Collin, Rbb and Taylor Wessing, N9ne Studio will focus on the development and co-production of films and TV series.

The company is being created by Gilles Gaillard, the co-founder of Mikros Animation who collaborated on

“Sponge Bob” and ”Asterix;” the financiers Stéphane Marchi and Terry Keeley, producers Vincent

Roget, the former bosses of Pathé Films Romain Le Grand...

UAE filmmaker Abdullah Hassan Ahmed’s Sunrise scooped the $100,000 Iwc Filmmaker Award at Diff last night.

The script follows a father who receives tragic news about his son, fighting in a distant war, and is unsure how to break the news to his pregnant wife.

Khalid Al Mahmood will produce the project through UAE-based Faradees Production. The script has already received support from the UAE’s Ministry of Interior, which awarded it with the $100,000 Best Societal Screenplay prize at last year’s Diff.

Ahmed was presented with the Iwc Filmmaker Award at a ceremony at the One & Only Mirage in Dubai last night. Palestinian actor Ali Suliman headed the jury, which also included Iwc CEO Georges Kern, Diff artistic director Masoud Amralla Al Ali and Diff chairman Abdulhamid Juma.

Prize supports upcoming Swiss film projects.

Swiss directors Germinal Roaux and Sophie Huber won the second Filmmaker Awards at this year’s Zurich Film Festival.

The prize, offered by the Association for the Promotion of Film in Switzerland, offers support to Swiss film projects in the production and post-production stages.

Roaux received $77,500 (CHF75,000) for his feature Fortuna, while Huber received $26,000 (CHF25,000) for her documentary The Blue Note Project.

The presentation took place at the Iwc gala dinner For The Love Of Cinema, with Uma Thurman presenting the prizes.

Produced by Ruth Waldburger of Vega Film, Fortuna depicts the plight of a 14-year-old teenage girl from Eritrea as she arrives in Switzerland.

Produced by Hercil Bundi and Susanne Guggenberger of Mira Film, Huber’s documentary tells the story of the legendary American jazz record label.

This year’s jury was made up of director Marc Forster, Zff artistic director Karl Spoerri and Iwc CEO Georges Kern.

A jury featuring John Hurt will decide which film-maker benefits from the $65,000 (£50,000) prize.

A shortlist of four emerging British film-makers has been drawn up for the inaugural $65,000 (£50,000) Iwc Filmmaker Bursary Award, which is presented in association with the BFI.

The award is designed to support a writer/director at the beginning of their career, giving them the financial stability and time to develop future projects.

All four directors have produced their debut feature this year, and each one has been selected to play at this year’s BFI London Film Festival (Lff, Oct 5-16).

The selected directors are:

Alice Lowe, whose debut feature Prevenge recently premiered as the opening film at Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week and will play in Lff’s Laugh strand. She was also the recipient of the inaugural Screen International Horror Rising Star Award in August.

Hope Dickson Leach, whose drama The Levelling premiered in Tiff’s Discovery strand and will European...

BFI CEO Amanda Nevill, CEO of Swiss watchmaker Iwc and industry representative to award prize.

The BFI, in partnership with Swiss watchmaker Iwc Schaffhausen, is to launch its first Filmmaker Bursary Award, a £50,000 bursary given to a UK-based writer and/or director with a first or second feature premiering in the Official Selection at the BFI London Film Festival.

Shortlisting for the prize is currently underway with the panel of judges including Clare Stewart, director of the London Film Festival, Ben Roberts, director of the BFI Film Fund, director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), Joe Oppenheimer, commissioning executive of BBC Films, and Rose Garnett, head of creative at Film4.

These judges will select three finalists who will be announced at the BFI on 20 September 2016.

Amanda Nevill, CEO of the BFI, Georges Kern, CEO of Iwc Schaffhausen, and a key representative of the UK film industry, to be announced soon, will decide...

Major new initiative to support British filmmakers.

The BFI London Film Festival (Lff) has confirmed the dates for its 60th anniversary edition will take place at venues across the UK capital from October 5-16.

This year’s festival will also see the launch of a bursary award to support “exceptional new and emerging UK filmmakers”.

The Iwc Schaffhausen Filmmakers Bursary Award in association with the BFI is a $73,000 (£50,000) award to benefit an “outstanding” British writer, director, or writer/director whose first or second fiction feature film premieres at the Lff.

The prize will be awarded annually and the first will be annonced at a dinner on Oct 4, the evening before the Lff’s Opening Night.

The award is given with no strings and no deliverables. Instead, it is designed to provide the chosen filmmaker with the freedom to develop – both themselves and their projects.

Eligible filmmakers will need to submit a 150 word biography, a filmography...

Layla Kaylif’s The Letter Writer was awarded the $100,000 Iwc Filmmaker Award at a ceremony at the One & Only Mirage in Dubai on Thursday night.

Kaylif received the award from actor Dev Patel. Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad presided over a jury that also included Iwc Schaffhausen CEO Georges Kern, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Diff chairman Abdulhamid Juma and Diff artistic director Masoud Amralla Al Ali.

Set in 1960s Dubai, Kaylif’s project tells the story of a boy who writes letters for illiterate travellers. Alcove Entertainment’s Amina Dasmal and Robin Fox are on board as producers.

Spotlight, Truth and Concussion are also among the festival’s programme.

Lenny Abrahamson’s Oscar-contender Room will open the 12th Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) this year, which will run December 9-16.

The film, an adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel, tells the story of a young mother and her 5-year-old son who are held captive in a small room. Lead actress Brie Larson has already received nominations at the Gotham Awards and yesterday’s Independent Spirits for her performance, and is a favourite for the Academy Awards next year.

The festival will be closed by Adam McKay’s The Big Short, which has an ensemble cast featuring Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Brad Pitt, and recently premiered at Los Angeles’ AFI Fest (Nov 5-12).

Other films screening include: Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight; James Vanderbilt’s Truth; Peter Landesman’s Concussion; Nicholas Hytner’s The Lady In The Van; and Hany Abu-Assad’s The Idol...

Inaugural prize awarded as part of the Zurich Film Festival.

Swiss directors Michael Steiner and Jan Gassmann have won the first-ever Filmmaker Award, presented by Inglourious Basterds star Christoph Waltz at the Zurich Film Festival on Saturday (Sept 26).

The prize, set up by the Association for the Promotion of Film in Switzerland to support promising films, was open to Swiss filmmakers whose projects are currently in the late production or post-production phase.

Steiner’s project, Und Morgen Seid ihr Tot, received Chf 75,000 ($77,000) and Jan Gassmann’s project, Europe, She Loves, received Chf 25’000 ($26,000).

The two winners were chosen from a total of four nominated projects.

The presentation took place at Iwc gala dinner For the Love of Cinema, held as part of the 11th Zurich Film Festival, to which the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer had invited VIP guests from the worlds of film, media, politics and commerce.

Waltz, who headed the jury, said: “I am proud...

Oscar-winning actor will also hold a keynote conversation at the Zurich Summit and present a screening of Inglourious Basterds.

German-Austrian actor Christoph Waltz has been named as the president of the Swiss jury at the upcoming Zurich Film Festival (Sept 24 - Oct 4).

The two-time Academy Award winner will attend the festival on its opening day to and over the jury for the inaugural Filmmaker Award, which comes with a prize of more than $100,000 (100,000Chf) open to Swiss filmmakers whose projects are currently in the late production or post-production phase.

The star of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and upcoming James Bond movie Spectre will also take part in a keynote conversation at the Zurich Summit - the industry sidebar of the festival which runs Sept 26-27.

In addition, Waltz will walk Zurich’s green carpet before presenting a screening of Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, which proved his breakthrough performance and earned him a Best Supporting Actor at the...

Kuwaiti filmmaker Abdullah Boushahri won the $100,000 Iwc Filmmaker Award for his feature project The Water at the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) on Thursday night.

Boushahri received with award from actress Emily Blunt, who sat on the jury along with Iwc Schaffhausen CEO Georges Kern, Diff chairman Abdulhamid Juma, Diff artistic director Masoud Amralla Al Ali, director Marc Forster, Iwc Schaffhausen brand director Karoline Huber and Screen International’s Mark Adams.

Set during a drought in the city of Kuwait in the early 20th century, The Water revolves around a young man with a melodious voice, who is in love with a beautiful girl from a lower-caste family. The two lovers face a multitude of social obstacles as the city’s residents turn to desperate measures to obtain water.

Boushahri previously produced the feature-length film Losing Ahmad, which made its world premiere at Diff in 2006 and won best documentary in the Gulf at the Emirates Film Competition...

Attendance up 22%; festival director Karl Spoerri talks about Zurich’s potential as a film finance hub.

The Zurich Film Festival’s ninth edition has given its Golden Eye for best international film to The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) from Mexico’s Diego Quemada-Diez. The jury gave a special mention to actor Michael B Jordan in Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station.

The International Documentary Film winner was Danish director Kaspar Astrup Schroeder’s Rent A Family Inc. (Lej En Familie A/S). A special mention went to Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq’s These Birds Walk from Pakistan.

The German-language competition awards went to Frauke Finsterwalder’s German feature Finsterworld and Anna Thommen’s Swiss documentary Neuland. A special mention went to Die Frau Die Sich Traut by Marc Rensing for feature and to Sabine Lidl’s Nan Goldin – I Remember Your Face for documentary.

Each of the awards comes with a $22,050 (CHF20,000) cash prize and...

Latin America and China are two of the hottest markets to watch for growing film investment, experts told the fourth-annual Film Finance Forum at the Zurich Film Festival, organised by Winston Baker.

French producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam of Stone Angels said that he is “Looking a lot to China, the ‘zero’ we have at the moment could become substantial investment. In three years, China could be a bigger market than the Us.”

Charles Coker, the MD of Dasym Media who is working on Chinese co-productions with John Woo and Jackie Chan, noted: “China is a mystery to everybody here. It’s seen as the emerging behemoth in the entertainment industry…Media and entertainment spend rose from $350bn in 2011 to $547bn in 2012.” He added that 2002’s 1300 cinema screens were now closer to 13,000; Chinese box office in 2012 totaled $2.7bn and is on track to hit $3.5-$3.5bn this year.”

Stuart Wilkins of new Swiss-based financial company Blue Pencil Investments...

Cate Blanchett will head the jury for the Iwc Shaffhausen International Filmmaker Award at the Dubai International Film Festival (December 9-16). The shortlist for the award includes four feature-length projects from established or up-and-coming filmmakers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. The four shortlisted film projects are "Nothing Doing in Baghdad" by Maysoon Pachachi, "The Sleeping Tree" by Mohammed Rashed Bulali, "Girls in the Know" by Abdullah Al Kaabi and "From A to B" by Ali F. Mostafa. The winner will be announced on December 9, and will receive an impressive cash prize of $100K to help finance and transfer the winning filmmaker's vision to the screen. Iwc Schaffhausen CEO Georges Kern, Diff chairman Abdulhamid Jula, Diff artistic director Masoud Amralla and Arte-France Cinema general director Olivier Pere join Blanchett on the award jury.

Actor Gerard Butler has signed on as the new brand ambassador for Swiss watchmaker Roger Dubuis.

The 300 star recently took a tour of the brand's factory in Geneva and instantly fell in love with the company's craftsmanship and its luxury, one of a kind timepieces.

He says, "(I was) blown away. Watch making is just like the cinema, it hides a precise mechanism which must then generate emotion. The world of Roger Dubuis, the arrival of its collections, like spaces of freedom, perfectly matches my principles."

And the manufacturer can't wait to have the actor on board to promote the product.

Company CEO Georges Kern says, "Gerard's fire and powerful image resonate perfectly with the firm's watches."...

hollywoodnews.com: On the occasion of the Sihh watch show in Geneva, Iwc Schaffhausen celebrated its new Portofino watch collection with a glamorous event attended by 900 guests and well-known Friends of the Brand. Cate Blanchett and Kevin Spacey enjoyed “A night in Portofino” in the same carefree style as Elle Macpherson, Jean Reno, Matthew Fox and Marc Forster. Other friends are Boris Becker, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane as well as Tim Jefferies and Ronan Keating. Further highlights of the evening included the world premiere of a photo exhibition featuring these friends and other stars shot by celebrated photographer Peter Lindbergh, a “making-of” film of the shoot and an impressive performance by Zurich Opera House, with a 60-strong orchestra and tenor Neil Shicoff.

For 900 guests from all over the world, “A night in Portofino” was an unforgettable event that captured the irresistible style of the 1950s and 60s. Stepping on...