News

Ed Guiney, co-ceo of Ireland’s Element Pictures, and Anita Juka, founder of Croatia’s 4Film, have been elected to the board of the European Producers Club (Epc).

Meanwhile, Mariela Besuievsky of Spain’s Tornasol Media and Pandora da Cunha Telles of Portugal’s Ukbar Films have both been re-elected to the Epc board.

Each will serve a two-year mandate. Guiney and Juka both replace outgoing board members Reinier Selen of the Netherlands’ Rinkel Film and and Ulrik Bolt Jorgensen of Denmark’s Arena Film.

The board election results were announced during the Epc’s General Assembly in Cannes. Founded...

Maura Delpero’s Italian WW2 drama Vermiglio won best film at the 70th David Di Donatello awards, Italy’s version of the Oscars, held at Rome’s historic Cinecittà film studio on Wednesday night. Delpero also took best directing honors en route to a 7-trophy sweep.

The film, which had its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival last year, beat out the two award frontrunners, Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope, a sumptuous, occasionally surreal tribute to his hometown of Naples, and Andrea Segre’s The Great Ambition, a political biopic about Italian Communist Party leader Enrico Berlinguer, which lead the pack going into the David awards with 15 nominations each. Parthenope went away empty-handed, but The Great Ambition took two awards: Best actor for Elio Germano, who play Berlinguer, and best editing for Jacopo Quadri.

Tecla Insolia won best actress for her starring role in Nicolangelo Gelormini’s Sicilian...

Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope, the director’s sumptuous, occasionally surreal tribute to his hometown of Naples, and Andrea Segre’s The Great Ambition, a political biopic about Italian Communist Party leader Enrico Berlinguer, are the frontrunners for this year’s David Di Donatello awards, Italy’s version of the Oscars.

Parthenope and The Great Ambition picked up 15 nominations each, including for best film and best director. In the best film category, they will face up against Maura Delpero’s Italian WW2 drama Vermiglio and Valeria Golino and Nicolangelo Gelormini’s L’arte della gioia (The Art of Joy), which received 14 nominations each, and the Francesca Comencini-directed drama The Time It Takes, which received four nominations. Other multiple nominees include Margherita Vicario’s debut feature Gloria!, about women musicians at a Church-run establishment in early-1800s Italy, which scored nine nominations, and Francesco Costabile’s crime thriller Familia, with eight.

In the best international film category,...

Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope and Andrea Segre’s The Great Ambition have taken the lead at the nomination stage for Italy’s upcoming 70th David di Donatello awards.

The titles have secured 15 nominations each including for best film and director.

Maura Delpero’s Vermiglio and Valeria Golino and Nicolangelo Gelormini’s The Art Of Joy received 14 nominations each, followed by Gloria! and Familia with nine and eight nominations respectively.

Sorrentino’s Parthenope, following a woman from her birth in 1950 to the current day against the backdrop of Naples, world premiered in Cannes.

Biopic The Great Ambition stars Elio Germano as 1970s and 1980s left-wing political leader Enrico Berlinguer, who nearly led the Communist party into power.

Vermiglio world premiered in Venice where it won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize and went on to be Italy’s 2025 Oscars submission. Set in a remote mountain village in 1944, the drama revolves around...

French-Moroccan multi-hyphenate Roschdy Zem (“Days of Glory,” “The Innocent”) and Italy’s Barbara Ronchi (“Kidnapped”) are set to star in psychological drama “Elisa — Io la volevo uccidere” by Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo.

Zem, who is one of France’s most bankable actors, will play a compassionate criminologist named Alaoui, whose life intersects with a young woman named Elisa, played by Ronchi. Elisa comes from a middle class family and has been in prison for 10 years for brutally killing her sister.

Rounding off the cast is Diego Ribon (“Doc”), who plays Elisa’s father.

Shooting is set to start March 1 on “Elisa — Io la volevo uccidere,” which is the film’s Italian working title and translates as “Elisa — I Wanted to Kill Her.”

Carlo Cresto-Dina and Manuela Melissano are producing “Elisa” via Cresto-Dina’s Tempesta shingle with backing from Italy’s Rai Cinema. The film is being co-produced with Michela Pini...

The Roundhouse in London played host this evening to the 2024 BIFAs – The British Independent Film Awards. Kneecap went into the awards ceremony leading the 2024 nominations with 14, Love Lies Bleeding had 12, The Outrun received 9 nominations, 7 nominations each for Bird, on becoming a guinea fowl and unicorns, 6 for Hoard and Civil War. The winners of tonight’s awards are below.

Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the UK’s brightest new talent alongside BIFA heroes such as Andrea Arnold, Rose Glass, Rungano Nyoni, Saoirse Ronan, Jack O’Connell, Barry Keoghan and Hayley Squires.

Colin Hart and Ethan Hart were on the red carpet, here are their interviews.

The 2024 BIFA Winners Best British Independent Film

“Kneecap” — Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling — Winner

“Love Lies Bleeding” — Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman

“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” — Rungano Nyoni, Tim Cole,...

“Kneecap,” the hit Irish comedy biopic about the Belfast rap group of the same name, has landed the top honor at the British Independent Film Awards and a total of seven BIFA awards overall.

Writer/director Rich Peppiatt’s debut feature — which went into Sunday’s ceremony already having won four BIFA craft awards — was named best British independent film, with Peppiatt winning best debut screenwriter and Kneecap bandmates Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (who all play themselves) winning best joint lead.

Elsewhere on the night, which was hosted by Peter Serafinowicz, Rungano Nyoni won best director for her sophomore feature “On Becoming A Guinea Fowl,” exploring buried secrets in a middle class Zambian family. The film’s lead star Susan Chardy won breakthrough performance.

Meanwhile, Sandhya Suri, writer/director of Hindi-language crime thriller “Santosh,” won best screenplay. “Santosh,” which is the U.K.

Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap was the major winner at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas), with seven wins in total including best British independent film.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Taking place tonight (December 8), the awards returned to London’s Roundhouse in Camden, with a ceremony hosted by actor and comedian Peter Serafinowicz, who joked that the night was for “homegrown lower budget films that pay its stars multi of pounds”.

Other winners included Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and documentary Grand Theft Hamlet, with two awards each.

Peppiatt’s debut...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners are being unveiled from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse.

Scroll down for winners

Screen isupdating this page live from the ceremony as the winners are announced - refresh this page for the latest winners. Scroll down for the full nominations and craft winners.

Sophie Okonedo is receiving theRichard Harris award. The actor is best known for her Oscar-nominated performance in 2004’sHotel Rwanda while her other film credits includeThe Secret Lie Of Bees,Christopher Robin,Wild Rose,Death On The Nile andCatherine Called Birdy.

Bifa winners 2024

Winners in bold, latest award top

Best...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners will be unveiled today (December 8)from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse, commencing at 20:00 GMT.

Scroll down for winners

Screen will be updating this page live from the ceremony as the winners are announced - refresh this page for the latest winners. Scroll down for the full nominations and craft winners.

Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language comedyKneecap leads the nominations with six, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh,...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners will be unveiled today (December 8)from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse, commencing at 20:00 GMT.

Scroll down for winners

Screenwillbeupdatingthispagelivefromtheceremonyasthewinnersareannounced, so refresh thispageforthelatestwinners. Scrolldown for the fullnominationsandcraftwinners.

Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language comedyKneecapleads the nominations with six, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Rose Glass’Love Lies Bleeding andNora Fingscheidt’sThe Outrunare on four nominations each. Glass’ second feature stars...

The British Independent Film Awards this year honor two Sundance breakout films, with both “Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” atop the 2024 nominations list.

Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” (repping Ireland for the 2024 Best International Feature Oscar) leads this year’s nominees with 14 nods, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best British Independent Film. “Kneecap” is based on the eponymous rap group, which star here alongside Michael Fassbender in a fictionalized band origin story.

Following “Kneecap” with 12 nominations is Rose Glass’s “Love Lies Bleeding.” Co-leads Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for Best Joint Lead Performance, and the film has also been recognized in the Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay categories.

Additional features that received multiple nominations include “The Outrun,” “Bird,” and “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.”

In 2023, “All of Us Strangers” swept the top categories with awards, in addition to “Rye Lane” and future...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” led Tuesday’s nominations for the British Independent Film Awards.

Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, “Kneecap,” Ireland’s Oscar entry, scored 14 bids, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Joint Lead Performance for Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh. It was shortlisted in a whopping eight crafts categories.

Rose Glass‘ “Love Lies Bleeding” was next in like with 12 nominations, including the same above-the-line categories as “Kneecap.” Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for joint lead performance. It also earned eight crafts nominations.

Nora Fingsheidt‘s “The Outrun” received nine bids, including Best Lead Performance for Saoirse Ronan, who previously won the BIFA for Best Actress for 2015’s “Brooklyn.” The film is up for the top prize, while Fingsheidt is nominated for her direction and her script with Amy Liptrot.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni...

This morning, the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) announced their list of nominations for 2024.

‘Kneecap’ leads 2024 nominations with 14, ‘Love Lies Bleeding has 12, ‘The Outrun receives 9 nominations, 7 nominations each for ‘Bird,’ on becoming a guinea fowl and unicorns, 6 for ‘Hoard’ and ‘Civil War.’

Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the UK’s brightest new talent alongside BIFA heroes such as Andrea Arnold, Rose Glass, Rungano Nyoni, Saoirse Ronan, Jack O’Connell, Barry Keoghan and Hayley Squires.

Also in news – John Krasinski to return for ‘Jack Ryan’ movie

The nominations are;

The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film

Tba – This year’s award recipient will be announced in the coming weeks.

Best British Independent Film

Kneecap Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling

Love Lies Bleeding Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman

On Becoming A Guinea Fowl Rungano Nyoni,...

This year’s BIFA nominations have been unveiled and it’s a delightfully diverse group of great films. More on those below.

There’s less than two months of 2024 left, which means that the awards season is also upon us. It’s time to celebrate this year’s excellent films with fancy statuettes, and first in line is the British Independent Film Awards, aka BIFAs. Nominations were announced today (5th November).

Rich Peppiatt’s joyously anarchic Kneecap leads the pack with a whopping 14 nominations to its name. Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding follows with 12 nominations and Nora Fingscheidt also triumphed with nine.

Women are particularly well represented this year. Out of the five Best British Independent Film nominees, four are directed by women. It’s the same for the Best Director category, where Andrea Arnold, Nora Fingscheidt, Rose Glass and Rungano Nyoni are nominated along with Rich Peppiatt.

Amy Winehouse...

The subversive Irish flick Kneecap leads this year’s British Independent Film Award nominations with 14 nods, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Directed by Rich Peppiatt, the film’s impressive noms haul also includes nods for Best Debut Screenwriter, Best British Independent Film, and eight craft categories, including Best Casting and Best Cinematography.

Kneecap debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and has been picked to represent Ireland in the International Feature Film category of the 97th annual Academy Awards.

Trailing Kneecap is Rose Glass’ punk rock flick Love Lies Bleeding, which landed 12 nominations. The film’s noms include Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The film’s two leads, Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart, also landed nods for Best Joint Lead Performance.

Elsewhere, Saoirse Ronan’s indie flick The Outrun landed nine noms, and Andrea Arnold’s fifth feature Bird picked up seven nods.

Winners...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” lead the nominees for this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

“How to Have Sex” breakout Mia McKenna-Bruce and “Rye Lane” star Vivian Oparah announced the nominations in London on Tuesday morning. “Kneecap” received the most nods with 14, including best screenplay, director for Rich Peppiatt and joint lead performance for Kneecap members Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Rose Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding” follows with 12, including best British independent film, director, screenplay and joint lead performance for Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. “The Outrun,” starring Saoirse Ronan, received nine nods for best British independent film, director for Nora Fingsheidt, screenplay for Fingsheidt and Amy Liptrot and lead performance for Ronan.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” and James Krishna Floyd’s “Unicorns” each garnered seven nominations.

The winners will be revealed, in addition to...

The 2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) nominations were unveiled Tuesday morning by Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex) and Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane) at One Hundred Shoreditch in London, with Kneecap, the Irish rap comedy featuring Michael Fassbender, and Love Lies Bleeding with Kristen Stewart leading the charge, followed by The Outrun with Saoirse Ronan, as well as Andrea Arnold’s Bird with Barry Keoghan, queer romance Unicorns, and Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.

In the performance categories, big-name nominees include the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Barry Keoghan, Kristen Stewart, Alicia Vikander, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Elliot Page, and Jack O’Connell.

In the best international feature category, Sean Baker’s Anora will compete with the likes of Mohammad Rasoulof‘s The Seed of the Sacred Fig.

“Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the U.K.’s brightest...

Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding and Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun headed the nominations for the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Comedy Kneecap about the eponymous west Belfast hip-hop trio scored the most nominations with 14, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Scroll down for the full list of Bifa 2024 nominations

Glass – a Bifa best debut director winner in 2020 for Saint Maud – has scored...

The Italian government will this week announce major changes to its film and TV tax credit system aimed at boosting local productions and producers and ensuring more Italian stories get told on screen. The changes come after a year of uncertainty that has left many productions in limbo.

Under the new rules, international co-productions will face an €18 million ($19.7 million) cap on tax credit payouts for projects where at least 30 percent of the production is made in Italy. Local productions will be capped at €9 million ($10 million). The overall fund for film and audiovisual investments in 2024 remains unchanged at approximately €700 million ($782 million).

The change is designed to boost Italian TV and movies and encourage visiting international productions to focus more on Italian stories, like Michael Mann’s Ferrari, about the life of the legendary car designer, starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival, or...

Matteo Garrone’s refugee drama Io Capitano, an Oscar nominee this year for Italy in the best international feature category, was the big winner of this year’s 2024 David Di Donatello Awards, Italy’s equivalent to the Oscars, winning best film and director for Garrone.

Io Capitano also picked up prizes for best cinematography, editing, sound, and visual effects.

Paola Cortellesi’s There’s Still Tomorrow, a black-and-white feminist dramedy that became the top-grossing film in Italy last year, won Cortellesi the Donatello honors for best actress, directorial debut, and original script for the screenplay she co-wrote with Furio Andreotti and Giulia Calenda.

“I want to thank those who gave me the opportunity to write this role as I wanted it,” she said, accepting her actress honor.

Cortellesi’s film, a dramedy about an abused woman in post-wwii Rome that manages to combine serious social drama with situational comedy, sight gags and even a musical number,...

Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated drama Io Capitano triumphed in Italy’s David di Donatello film awards on Friday evening, winning best film and best director.

The film about the trials and tribulations of two Senegalese teenagers as they try to make it to Europe via the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea, also won best producer for companies Archimede, Rai cinema, Pathé and Tarantula as well as best sound, special effects, cinematography and editing.

Io Capitano premiered at the Venice Film Festival last September, where it won best director for Garrone and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor for Seydou Sarr.

The movie went on to enjoy a buzzy awards season, securing a Golden Globe nomination for best non-English language film and an Academy Award nomination for best international film.

“This film tells the stories of those who are not listened to,” said Garrone, on receiving the best director award.

Italian actress and screenwriter Paola Cortellesi’s directorial feature debut, There’s Still Tomorrow (C’è Ancora Domani), and Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano lead nominations at this year’s David Di Donatello Awards.

There’s Still Tomorrow nabbed 19 noms, including best film while Io Capitano landed 15, including best director for Garrone. Trailing the leading two is Alice Rohrwacher’s latest film, La Chimera, starring Josh O’Connor. Other leading films are Rapito (11), Comandante (10), Il Sol Dell’avvenire (7), and Adagio (5).

The 69th David di Donatello Awards take place May 3. The live show will be broadcast on Rai 1 in Italy. This year’s hosts include Carlo Conti and Alessia Marcuzzi. The ceremony will take place at the legendary Cinecittà studios.

Check out the full list of nominees below:

Best Film

C’È Ancora DOMANIprodotto da Mario Gianani e Lorenzo Gangarossa per Wildside società del gruppo Fremantle; Vision Distribution società del gruppo Sky; in collaborazione...

Italian singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario’s directorial debut “Gloria!” has scored a slew international sales ahead of its world premiere in the Berlin Film Festival competition.

Rai Cinema International Distribution has sealed deals to nine territories on Vicario’s vibrant musical comedy set in a late 18th century Venetian female orphanage where a young rebel named Teresa leads a group of performers to challenge classical canons and invent a precursor to pop music.

“Gloria!” has been snapped up for France (Nour Films); Germany and Austria (Neue Vision); Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands (Arti Film); Greece (StraDa Films); Korea (Green Narea Media) and Bulgaria (Beta Films) with several other distribution deals in advanced negotiations.

French-Italian actor Galatéa Bellugi stars as young underprivileged woman with visionary talent who works with a quartet of fellow female musicians challenging preconceptions and defying abuses perpetrated against them by the evil priest who runs the institution.

“In my work as a singer-songwriter,...

Italy’s Coccinelle Film has scored multiple sales on German director Veit Helmer’s gay love story “Gondola,” which world premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

“Gondola” is the dialogue-free tale of two female cable car attendants who fall in love as they face each other going up and down the remote mountains of Georgia. It has been sold by the Rome-based distributor to France (Destiny Distribution); Australia and New Zealand (Bonsai Films); Japan (Moviola); Spain (Reverso Films); and South Korea (Entermode Corp.)

“Gondola” – which will have its domestic theatrical release in Germany through Jip Film & Verleih in March – is having its market premiere at the upcoming European Film Market.

Helmer is well known on the international festival circuit for funny, fable-like films with little or no dialogue such as “Tuvalu”; the Azerbaijan-set “Absurdistan,” which went to Sundance in 2008; and “The Bra,” which launched from Tokyo in 2018.

“There are...

Guests to attend include Harris Dickinson, Emilia Jones, Anton Corbijn.

New BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson, Elysian CEO Danny Perkins and producers Tristan Goligher and Mary Burke are among the recent additions to the industry programme at next month’s Sundance Film Festival: London (July 6-9).

All four will be speaking at the event, as will filmmakers Gurinder Chadha, Alice Lowe, Marianna Palka and Zeina Durra; composer Nainita Desai; and Screen Star of Tomorrow 2021 casting director Heather Basten.

Further new speakers include A24 executives Harpa Manku and Tom Lazenby; and Luane Gauer, SVP, international production and acquisitions at Black Bear International.

Guests to attend include Harris Dickinson, Emilia Jones, Anton Corbijn.

New BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson, Elysian CEO Danny Perkins and producers Tristan Goligher and Mary Burke are among the recent additions to the industry programme at next month’s Sundance Film Festival: London (July 6-9).

All four will be speaking at the event, as will filmmakers Gurinder Chadha, Alice Lowe, Marianna Palka and Zeina Durra; composer Nainita Desai; and Screen Star of Tomorrow 2021 casting director Heather Basten.

Further new speakers include A24 executives Harpa Manku and Tom Lazenby; and Luane Gauer, SVP, international production and acquisitions at Black Bear International.

Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera,” in which “The Crown” star Josh O’Connor plays a British archeologist named Arthur who gets involved in an international network of stolen Etruscan artifacts during the 1980s, has sold worldwide after premiering positively in Cannes.

The Match Factory has inked deals for the film in the U.K. and Ireland (Curzon); Australia and New Zealand (Palace Entertainement); Benelux (September Film); Germany (Piffl Medien); Hong Kong (Edko); Spain (Elastica); South Korea (M&m International); China (Jetsen); Japan (Bitters End); Taiwan (Swallow Wings); Austria (Stadtkino); Baltics (A-One); Bulgaria (Art Fest); Cis (Mauris Film); Czech Republic & Slovakia (Aerofilms); Finland (B-Plan Distribution); Denmark (Filmbazar); Former Yugoslavia (McF): Greece (Cinobo); Hungary (Cirko); Middle East and North Africa (Moving Turtle); Poland (Aurora Films); Portugal (Midas); Romania (Independenta); Singapore (Anticipate Pictures); Thailand (Documentary Club); and Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic).

As previously announced, North American rights were sold while the film was in production to Neon.

Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher’s latest pic La Chimera has inked a series of international deals for The Match Factory following its well-received debut at last month’s Cannes Film Festival.

Starring an ensemble including Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini, and Alba Rohrwacher the pic has sold in the UK and Ireland (Curzon), Australia and New Zealand (Palace Entertainment), Benelux (September Film), Germany (Piffl Medien), Hong Kong (Edko), Spain (Elastica), South Korea (M&m International), China (Jetsen), Japan (Bitters End), and Taiwan (Swallow Wings).

Palme d’Or juggernaut Neon has already taken North American rights. Ad Vitam is a co-producer and distributor in France, while Filmcoopi will be releasing the feature in Switzerland and 01 Distribution in Italy.

Further deals reported today are Austria (Stadtkino), Baltics (A-One), Bulgaria (Art Fest), Cis (Mauris Film), Czech Republic & Slovakia (Aerofilms), Finland (B-Film), Denmark (Filmbazar), Former Yugoslavia (McF), Greece (Cinobo), Hungary (Cirko), Middle East and North...

Alice Rohrwacher is in the Cannes competition for the third time with “La Chimera,” in which “The Crown” star Josh O’Connor plays a young British archeologist named Arthur who gets involved in an international network of stolen Etruscan artifacts during the 1980s.

For Rohrwacher, the film is connected to growing up in Umbria, once the center of the Etruscan civilization. But it’s also the final piece of a triptych on a territory that she started with her previous Cannes entries: “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro.” Three works that, as she has put it, pose a central question: “What to do with the past?”

Also starring in “La Chimera,” which can be loosely translated as “The Unrealizable Dream,” are Isabella Rossellini as a retired opera singer; Brazil’s Carol Duarte (“The Invisible Life”) as non-Italian woman who intersects with Arthur; Alba Rohrwacher as an international artifacts trafficker; and Vincenzo Nemolato...

First Look

U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has released a first look image of its new comedy series, “Big Mood” (working title), produced by Fremantle‘s Dancing Ledge Productions. The six-part series explores the intricacies of female friendship when confronted with the complexities of serious mental illness.

Starring in the show are Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West. Joining the ensemble cast are Niamh Cusack, Eamon Farren, Luke Fetherston, Kate Fleetwood, Rob Gilbert, Rebecca Lowman, Sally Phillips, Ukweli Roach, and Amalia Vitale. The cast also includes Olu Adaeze, Max Bennett, Skylar Betteridge, David Bedella, Tim Downie, Ron Donachie, Sarah Durham, Lara Grace Ilori, Neil Edmond, Amy Gledhill, Maddie Grace Jepson, Tom Rhys Harries, Layla-Belle Matthews, Simon Meacock, David Mumeni, David Newman, Freya Parker, Shuna Snow, Sid Sagar, Stephen Sobal, Lottie Tolhurst, Isobel Thom and Robin Weaver.

Joanna Page, best known for her roles in “Love Actually” and “Gavin and Stacey,” will make a guest appearance,...

Speakers include BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson, Film4’s Farhana Bhula and The British Blacklist’s Akua Gyamfi.

US producer Anthony Bregman, incoming BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson and leading UK execs are among the speakers confirmed for the second edition of the Sundance Film Festival: London industry programme.

The Sundance Institute will once again be partnering with Picturehouse for this year’s event, which takes place at London’s Picturehouse Central from July 6-9.

Bregman will deliver the keynote talk. He premiered three features at the Sundance Film Festival in January: Flora And Son, Eileen and You Hurt My Feelings,...

The Italian director, who will be in Cannes with ‘La Chimera’ hosted a wide-ranging masterclass at Visions du Reel.

In the final days of the Geneva edit of her fourth fiction feature La Chimera, set for Cannes Competition, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher sat down at Visions du Reel for an expansive look at her career to date.

Her recent filmography includes an Oscar-nominated short film (The Pupils in 2022), a documentary and signing on for two episodes of a large-budget HBO TV show (My Brilliant Friend). They follow the loosely-connected, occasionally-autographical features which have dazzled audiences, from Corpo Celeste to The Wonders and Happy As Lazzaro.

The Italian director, who will be in Cannes with ‘La Chimera’ hosted a wide-ranging masterclass at Visions du Reel.

In the final days of the Geneva edit of her fourth fiction feature La Chimera, set for Cannes Competition, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher sat down at Visions du Reel for an expansive look at her career to date.

Her recent filmography includes an Oscar-nominated short film (The Pupils in 2022), a documentary and signing on for two episodes of a large-budget HBO TV show (My Brilliant Friend). They follow the loosely-connected, occasionally-autographical features which have dazzled audiences, from Corpo Celeste to The Wonders and Happy As Lazzaro.

Zurich-based Tellfilm, the Swiss outfit behind this year’s Golden Bear contender “Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert,” has lined up a robust co-production slate, teaming with European partners on the psychological thriller “Motherhood” and the period drama “Gloria!,” while developing their first scripted series “How to Be Sad – The Right Way” with an eye towards global streamers.

Co-produced by Austria’s Freibeuter Film (“The Great Freedom”) and with Germany’s The Match Factory handling international sales, the Johanna Moder directed “Motherhood” will tackle maternal anxieties through the lens of a tense psychological thriller. Production is slated for later this year, with actors Marie Leuenberger and Hans Löw signed as leads. “The Square” star Claes Bang is attached as well.

Lensing this May, the musical drama “Gloria!” will tell a story of artistic liberation in Baroque-era Venice. Headed by Tempesta’s Carlo Cresto-Dina – whose Alice Rohrwacher short “Le Pupille” is...

Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron wanted to explore making a series of short films honoring the different cultural traditions at the end of the year, from Christmas to Hanukkah to pagan traditions. His concept was to find a director suited to telling the story, depending on the culture. When it came to Christmas, Cuaron says, “That time of year is meaningful in most cultures. It’s the end of the darkest nights and the beginning of a new cycle. I immediately thought of Alice Rohrwacher. I’m a huge fan and have been ever since I saw ‘The Wonders’ and her short films.”

Written and directed by Rohrwacher, “Le Pupille,” (The Pupils) the 37-minute short now streaming on Disney+, was produced by Cuaron in tandem with her regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina.

Set in a Catholic orphanage during WWII, the Oscar-nominated live-action short follows Serafina (Melissa Falasconi), one of the young girls taught about heaven,...

Alfonso Cuarón could tie a record just broken by Kenneth Branagh last year at the Academy Awards nominations announcement on Jan. 24.

As one of the producers for the Disney short “Le Pupille,” he could receive a nom in the best live action short category. The mention would mark the seventh Oscar category in which the filmmaker’s been recognized. He would be the second person ever to achieve this following Branagh last year with “Belfast,” in addition to being the first Latino.

The short film, directed by Alice Rohrwacher and co-produced by Carlo Cresto-Dina, Cuarón and Gabriela Rodriguez, who became the first Latina ever nominated for best picture with “Roma” (2018), looks into the minds of girls within the confines of a strict religious boarding school at Christmas.

Cuarón is currently tied with George Clooney and Walt Disney, who have both been recognized in six different categories throughout their careers. Cuarón...

Italy’s International Audiovisual Market Mia is expecting a return to full force this year ahead of its eighth edition in Rome from October 11 to 15.

Speaking at a preview press conference on Thursday, director Gaia Tridente said the meeting had registered a 12 rise in attendance this year with accreditations still open, although she did not give precise figures.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mia welcomed 2,500 attendees in 2019, while there were 2,000 registered attendees in 2021 when travel was still restricted.

This year marks the inaugural edition for Tridente who was previously head of scripted at Mia.

Based around Rome’s historic Barberini Palace and the nearby newly refurbished Barberini Cinema, the event spans a traditional market, co-production meetings and a conference.

Expected guests include Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti, Netflix Emea TV boss Larry Tanz, Lionsgate TV Group president Sandra Stern and Fremantle COO and continental Europe CEO Andrea Scrosati as well as...

Films presented include Baltasar Kormákur’s Whaleman (At The Ends Of The Earth) and Gerardo Herrero’s Raqqa.

Executives from Wild Bunch, A24, Netflix and Focus Features are among those who will attend the inaugural two-day Creative Investors’ conference taking place at the San Sebastian International Film Festival (Ssiff), organised in collaboration with CAA Media and running from September 19-20.

Participants will include A24 Europe’s head of film and head of TV, respectively, Rose Garnett and Piers Wenger; Netflix’s head of international original film Teresa Moneo; Focus Features’ president of production and acquisitions Kiska Higgs; Mubi’s VP...

Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, whose “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro” both won prizes in Cannes, is back at the fest with “The Pupils,” a short film that is screening during her masterclass in the “Rendez-vous With…” section.

Variety is unveiling an exclusive clip (above).

Written and directed by Rohrwacher, the 37-minute short is backed by Disney and was produced by Alfonso Cuaron in tandem with her regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina. It features a cast comprising the director’s sister and regular collaborator, Alba Rohrwacher, actor-director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi — whose latest directorial effort “Forever Young” is competing in Cannes — and also Melissa Falasconi, Carmen Pommella, Greta Zuccheri Montanari, Luciano Vergaro — aka “Catirre” — and Tatiana Lepore.

Shot in Super 16 but in 35mm format, “The Pupils” (the Italian title is “Le Pupille”) is a coming-of-age fable centered around innocence, greed and fantasy that follows rebellious little girls at a Catholic boarding school...

Neon has landed North American rights at Cannes to La Chimera, the tomb-robbing drama from writer-director Alice Rohrwacher that stars Josh O’Connor and Isabelle Rossellini.

Set during the 1980s in the clandestine world of the tombaroli, or tomb robbers, La Chimera tells the story of a young English archaeologist (O’Connor) caught up in the illegal trafficking of ancient finds. Carol Duarte, Alba Rohrwacher and Vincenzo Nemolato star in the pic, which is production in Tarquinia and southern Tuscany and will continue during the summer in central Italy and Switzerland.

Rohrwacher’s regular collaborator Carlo Cresto-Dina produced La Chimera through his company Tempesta and longtime backers Rai Cinema. It is a co-production with Neon, Amka Films of Switzerland and Ad Vitam Production of France, in partnership with Arte France Cinema, Canal+, Ciné +, Switzerland’s Rsi/Ssr Srg and French distributor Ad Vitam.

Neon’s Jeff Deutchman and Mason Speta negotiated...

Neon has acquired the North American distribution rights to Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera,” starring Josh O’Connor and Isabella Rossellini.

Written and directed by Rohrwacher, the film is set in the 1980s in the clandestine world of the tombaroli (tomb robbers) and tells the story of a young English archaeologist (O’Connor) who gets caught up in the illegal trafficking of ancient finds.

The cast also includes Carol Duarte, Alba Rohrwacher and Vincenzo Nemolato. The film has wrapped phase one of production in Tarquinia and southern Tuscany and will continue in August and September in central Italy and Switzerland.

The film is produced, as all of Rohrwacher’s previous films, by Carlo Cresto-Dina with his company Tempesta and long-time backers Rai Cinema, in co-production with Neon, Amka Films (Switzerland) and Ad Vitam Production (France), and in partnership with Arte France Cinema, Canal+, Ciné+, Rsi/Ssr Srg (Switzerland) and French distributor Ad Vitam.

Neon is continuing its acquisition spree and has acquired the North American distribution rights to “La Chimera,” the next film from Italian auteur Alice Rohrwacher that stars “The Crown” actor Josh O’Connor and Isabella Rossellini.

Written and directed by Rohrwacher, “La Chimera” is set in the 1980s in the clandestine world of the tombaroli, or tomb robbers and tells the story of a young English archaeologist (O’Connor) caught up in the illegal trafficking of ancient finds. Carol Duarte, Alba Rohrwacher and Vincenzo Nemolato also co-star.

Phase one of production on “La Chimera” has already been completed in Tarquinia and Southern Tuscany, and the film will continue shooting across central Italy and Switzerland between August and September.

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The film is produced, as all of Rohrwacher’s previous films, by Carlo Cresto-Dina with his company tempesta and long-time backers Rai Cinema,...

Isabella Rossellini also stars.

Neon has picked up North American distribution rights to Alice Rohrwacher’s tomb robber drama La Chimera, starring Josh O’Connor and Isabella Rosselini.

The Italian film has wrapped phase one of production in Tarquinia and southern Tuscany, and will continue in August-September in central Italy and Switzerland.

Neon has released a first image from the film, above.

Set in the 1980s in the clandestine world of the tombaroli (tomb robbers), the film tells the story of a young English archaeologist caught up in the illegal trafficking of ancient finds.

La Chimera is produced by Carlo Cresto-Dina for tempesta with Rai Cinema,...

Alice Rohrwacher, the Italian director whose “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro” both won prizes at Cannes, is returning to the festival with “The Pupils,” a short film that will screen during her masterclass in the “Rendez-vous With…” section.

Penned and directed by Rohrwacher, the 37-minute short is backed by Disney, and was produced by Alfonso Cuaron and Carlo Cresto-Dina. It boasts a cast that includes Alba Rohrwacher, actor-director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi — whose latest movie is competing at the festival — Melissa Falasconi, Carmen Pommella, Greta Zuccheri Montanari, Luciano Vergaro — aka “Catirre” — and Tatiana Lepore.

Shot in Super 16 and in 35mm format, “The Pupils” is a facetious coming-of-age fable that follows rebellious little girls at a Catholic boarding school in the run-up to Christmas in a time of scarcity and war.

Rohrwacher said she ventured into “Pupils” after Cuaron asked her if she would like to make a short film about the Christmas holidays.

Emmy-winning “The Crown” star Josh O’Connor will be the protagonist of Italian auteur Alice Rohrwacher’s next film “La Chimera,” which is set in the world of archeological looting and is currently shooting in and around Southern Tuscany.

O’Connor, who in “The Crown” played the young Prince Charles, in “La Chimera” is playing a young British archeologist named Arthur who gets involved in an international network of stolen Etruscan artifacts during the 1980s.

Also starring in “La Chimera,” which can be loosely translated as “The Unrealizable Dream,” are Isabella Rossellini as a retired opera singer; Brazilian actor Carole Duarte (“The Invisible Life”) who plays another non-Italian woman who intersects with Arthur; Alba Rohrwacher as an international artifacts trafficker; and Vincenzo Nemolato (“Martin Eden”) who plays one of the “tombaroli,” literally grave robbers, as artifacts thieves are known in Italy.

“‘La Chimera’ is the story of a young English archaeologist...

Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, whose “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro” are both Cannes prizewinners, will direct her first TV series that, similarly to her fable-like films, will explore the world of Italian folk tales.

The series, which is scheduled to start shooting next year, is titled “Ci Sarà Una Volta,” which translates as “There Will Be a Time.” Casting and other details are still being decided.

Rohrwacher is back in Cannes this year as co-director with Pietro Marcello and Francesco Munzi of the doc “Futura,” a portrait of how Italy’s adolescents look at the future which world premieres in Directors’ Fortnight on Monday.

“There Will Be a Time” is being produced by Fremantle-owned Wildside, the shingle behind Elena Ferrante adaptation skein “My Brilliant Friend” — of which Rohrwacher helmed two episodes of season two — in tandem with the director’s regular producer Carlo Cresto-Dina’s Tempesta Film.

The...

Italy is among the first countries in the world where film and TV production restarted after the peak of the pandemic and the country is now trying to become among the first in Europe to reopen movie theaters.

Culture Minister Dario Franceschini in late February announced tentative plans to reopen Italian cinemas on March 27 in areas with lower Covid-19 infection and death rates, using new stricter social distancing norms. Though it remains to be seen whether Franceschini’s plan will pan out, what’s clear is that “Italy’s trade organizations and the government are engaged in a fruitful dialogue,” says producer Carlo Cresto-Dina, whose Tempesta Film is best-known for regularly shepherding pics by Cannes regular Alice Rohrwacher such as “The Wonders” and “Happy as Lazzaro.”

Cresto Dina points out that “right now in Italy it’s tough to find available crew, since they are all taken,” thanks to the...

Film Constellation handles world sales on the Irish drama, which debuted at Toronto.

Modern Films has secured UK and Ireland rights to Irish drama Wildfire, which recently won director Cathy Brady a top award at the BFI London Film Festival (Lff).

The UK distributor plans to release the feature theatrically in spring 2021 after striking the deal with Film Constellation, which is handling worldwide sales on the film and is in discussion with buyers at the virtual AFM this week.

Wildfire received its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival before screening at the Lff, where Brady won the £50,000 Iwc Schaffhausen...

Making its world premiere at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, “Wildfire,” which is the big-screen debut of writer/director Cathy Brady and was co-financed by the BFI, Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen, Film4, Great Point Media and the Wellcome Trust, tells a poignant and emotionally affecting small-town story of sisters who are facing some serious life obstacles, and because Brady’s uncompromising narrative, which is laced with secrets and twists, and never backs down from a challenge. Co-star Nika McGuigan passed away from cancer while the film was in the editing process, further cementing the project as a labor of love for all involved. Brady spoke with Variety about the film’s creation, what she hopes people will pull from it, and what she has coming up in the future.

How did this project get started?

This is a very personal and political film, and it very much deals with the baggage of the troubles,...