News

Tom Hardy To Narrate Sky And Netflix Nature Doc ‘Predators’

Mad Max: Fury Road and Venom star Tom Hardy will narrate the upcoming Sky Nature and Netflix doc series Predators. The show, unveiled earlier this year, is the first co-pro between Sky and Netflix and comes from Sky-owned True to Nature and Sky Studios, in association with the streamer. It follows five apex predators as they face the ultimate test of survival in drastically changing environments across the globe. “To bring Predators to life with one of the UK’s most gifted and reputable talents, who has a passion for environmental causes, is a great pleasure,” said Sky’s Director of Documentaries and Factual, Poppy Dixon. In the UK, Germany and Italy, the show is set to launch on Sky Nature and streaming service Now in December. Sky’s Comcast stablemate NBCUniversal Global Distribution is selling the show internationally.

European...

It boasts one of the fastest-growing TV industries on the planet, but that hasn’t cleared up misconceptions when it comes to Central and Eastern Europe. “I would like to kill some stereotypes about the region,” said Kamila Zlatušková, founder of the Serial Killer TV Festival in Brno, Czech Republic, during a showcase of regional series at the Berlinale Series Market on Tuesday.

Zlatušková said that her travels around TV festivals and markets in recent years had led her to believe that she was living in “an invisible region. There were no panels, no topics from Central and Eastern European drama.”

After years of working in the industry, including at a regional pubcaster, Zlatušková launched the Serial Killer TV Festival to change that. The week-long event, which this year takes place from Sept. 22-27, offers a platform for rising talents and hot new series to get exposure to industry players from across the globe.

A Gift From Bob, the sequel to popular 2016 UK pic A Street Cat Named Bob, has started shooting. Luke Treadaway returns as James Bowen for the film, which follows a homeless man who spends Christmas with a cat, Bob, he adopted while living in sheltered housing. The real-life story is adapted from Bowen’s own memoir and the original film was a success, grossing $16m worldwide including $5.4m in the UK via Sony Pictures Releasing. Charles Martin Smith is directing the sequel, which was written by Garry Jenkins. Producers are Adam Rolston and Parkhouse Pictures with Align and Twickenham Studios.

WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks has unveiled its new Southewast Asia leadership team. The organization, which was announced in August and unites Turner Asia Pacific and HBO Asia, spanning 42 countries in 14 languages, is headed up by Clement Schwebig, Managing Director of Southeast Asia, Pacific and China. Reporting into him are: Yasmin Zahid,...

An increased cash rebate and co-production boom has resulted in a strong Estonian line-up for this year’s Tallinn Black Nights.

The Estonian film industry is picking up momentum, seeing an increase in domestic film admissions as well as a selection of awards around the festival circuit.

In Berlin earlier this year, the Estonian Film Institute (Efi) announced a cash rebate for foreign productions including full length features, documentaries and television series, which has in turn prompted a spike in the number of co-productions.

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is reaping the benefits with a strong line-up of Estonian films across several of their programme sections

Estonian Film Competition

Seven films are in contention for the Estonian Film Award, which grants a winning feature €3,200 in prize money to be shared between the director and the producer:

Triin Ruumet’s The Days That Confused (above), a coming-of-age story set in late 1990s Estonia, is already...