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Russian production and distribution powerhouse Central Partnership will launch two new animated features at this year’s European Film Market, along with a live-action film that will have its world premiere in competition at SXSW next month.

“The Swiss Adventure” (pictured) is the first big-screen animated film from Smf Animation Studio, the venerable Russian animation house formerly known as Soyuzmultfilm. It tells the story of a 16-year-old servant who falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy merchant, who’s determined to marry her off to a rival of high social standing and low moral values. After being forcibly separated from her, the boy is sent to join General Alexander Suvorov’s army on its legendary Swiss expedition, where he earns the respect and loyalty of his fellow soldiers while thwarting a treacherous enemy plot.

Proving that anyone can be a hero if they are driven by love, “The...

Yuri Bykov’s 2014 Russian-language film “The Fool” has been acquired by MGM’s Orion Television to be adapted into an English-language series.

The film follows Dima Nikitin (Artyom Bystrov), an ordinary honest plumber who suddenly decides to face the corrupt system of local politics in order to save the lives of 800 inhabitants of an old dormitory, which is about to collapse.

“The Fool” had a stellar festival run and won multiple awards at the Locarno International Film Festival and Les Arcs European Film Festival, besides many other accolades worldwide and at home in Russia. It was produced by Rock Films, Alexey Uchitel and Kira Saksaganskaya.

Bykov’s 2013 Cannes title “The Major,” also produced by Rock Films, was previously adapted by Netflix into the Emmy winning series “Seven Seconds,” winning Regina King the Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie and a Golden Globe nomination in the same category.

Netflix Makes Deal With ‘Shoplifters’ Director

Netflix has struck a deal with top Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda to develop two projects, a film and a series. Kore-eda, who won the Palme d’Or in 2018 with Shoplifters, said he would serve as a showrunner and will direct several episodes of the series in a video address during day two of Netflix’s Japanese content showcase. On day one, the streamer unveiled a host of content across anime and live-action. “Netflix and I are teaming up to create a drama series and a big-budget movie that is different from my previous works. You still need to wait for a bit before they’re finished and delivered to you. I incorporate different elements from those in theater movies and try to create exciting works. Please look forward to them,” commented Kore-eda in the video. “Probably, the scale of the new movie will be...

You may have heard his name uttered by Kanye West or Migos in songs but Martin Margiela isn’t necessarily a household name when it comes to fashion — but it should be. One of the most elusive designers in the fashion industry, there are barely any photos of him on the internet, but his work speaks for itself. In the Oscilloscope documentary, Martin Margiela: In His Own Words, filmmaker Reiner Holzemer takes us behind the scenes of the career of the titular avant-garde.

With the docu, Margiela breaks his no-interview policy and aversion to being in the public eye as Holzemer puts the spotlight on the “Banksy of fashion”. He worked as Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant and was the creative director at Hermès before he started his own fashion house. For the first time, Margiela reveals his drawings, notes, and personal items in this intimate profile of his vision...

IFC Films has released a new trailer for Sputnik. This is the feature directorial debut of Egor Abramenko. The Russian-language genre flick made the festival rounds earlier this year, playing at the Tribeca Film Festival and Sitges. From what we can see in this initial footage, Abramenko has opted to channel the likes of great filmmakers such as Ridley Scott and John Carpenter for his debut in what looks to be a tense and terrifying sci-fi journey.

The trailer kicks off with news of an incident in space. Whatever went down is top secret, and the first half of the footage is very much draped in mystery, layering in intrigue with various shots that raise questions, answering little. Things then take a sci-fi turn and there are some serious Alien vibes. For what it's worth, IFC promises that this will deliver "something fresh to the interplanetary monster-movie canon" with "massive scale and brutal carnage.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is sticking with a November date for its 48th International Emmy Awards, the organization announced Tuesday. But in one change due to the Covid-19 pandemic, semifinal judging will now take place online.

Nominations will be announced in late September, while the awards gala is currently scheduled to take place on November 23. The International Academy said it “is exploring and working on various configurations for its November gala celebrations with an in-person component, should circumstances permit.”

The International Emmy judging panels are usually hosted by members at in-person events throughout the world. Normally, hosts recommend and invite jurors to participate in these closed-door panels, which determine category nominees. Now, all online semi-final judging will be administered by the Frame.io video platform.

“We’re proud to say that the International Emmy Awards competition is on course for its November celebrations thanks, more than ever,...

Russian film promotion body Roskino has organized a virtual content market showcasing the latest Russian productions to international buyers. Unspooling from June 8-15, the Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition features a program of live presentations, pitches, panel discussions, and matchmaking sessions, along with a dedicated co-development and co-production section and a screening room with more than 150 hours of Russian film, TV, digital and animated content. Here are some of the key projects from up-and-coming Russian producers to look out for:

“Psycho”

Producers: Alexey Kiselev, Sergei Bondarchuk, Anastasia Koretskaya, Vyacheslav Murugov, Maxim Rybakov (Rent A Video Studio)

Director: Fedor Bondarchuk

Genre: TV series/psychological drama

The series revolves around the lonely and confused inhabitants of a major city, who live to feed the ambitions of their egos. They have been led away from happiness, peace of mind, and even themselves by values that have been dreamed up and imposed on them.

Russian film promotion body Roskino has unveiled the program for its digital Key Buyers Event, a virtual content market that will present over 300 projects from more than 120 leading Russian companies to international buyers.

Presented with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Moscow city government, the digital market will run from June 8-15. The program features a host of live presentations, panel discussions, and cultural events, along with pitching sessions for dozens of film, TV and animation projects looking for international co-production partners.

Buyers and producers from more than 40 countries are slated to take part, including Rtl Group, AMC Networks, Cgv Mars, Wild Bunch, Beta Film, and Chinese streaming service iQIYI.

“Such a national virtual market is unprecedented, and it is exciting to be the pioneers,” says Roskino CEO Evgenia Markova. “During these challenging times, we are adapting to champion our filmmakers to give them every opportunity to...

IFC Midnight has secured the North American rights to Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut feature Sputnik, a sci-thriller set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, which has been postponed due to the current global health crisis. Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, and Anton Vasilev star in the film, which IFC will release on August 14.

Inspired by Abramenko’s short film The Passenger, the plot takes place at the height of the Cold War when a Soviet spacecraft crash lands after a mission gone awry, leaving the commander as its only survivor. After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to evaluate the commander’s mental state, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have come back to Earth with him.

More from DeadlineIFC Picks Up North American Rights To Contained Arctic Chiller 'Centigrade' Based On True StoryIFC Midnight Takes North American Rights To Fantasia Horror 'The Wretched'ifc Midnight...

As evidenced in Stephen King's short story "I Am the Doorway," sometimes it's not what you encounter in space that's scary, but what you bring back with you. Such is the case in Egor Abramenko’s feature-length debut Sputnik, which has been acquired for North American distribution by IFC Midnight, with a release planned for August 14th:

Press Release: New York, NY – IFC Midnight announced today that it is acquiring North American rights to Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut Sputnik from Xyz Films. Abramenko’s sci-fi thriller short film The Passenger played in the 2017 Fantastic Film Festival in Austin, and was the inspiration for his feature debut. The film stars Oksana Akinshina who debuted in Lukas Moodysson’s award-winning film Lilya 4-ever, alongside Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, and Anton Vasilev. The script was written by Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev. Producing is Vodorod Pictures, Art Pictures Studio, Hype Film,...

Art Pictures Distribution handles international sales.

IFC Midnight has acquired North American rights from Xyz Films to Russian sci-fi thriller Sputnik, which was set to receive its world premiere in Tribeca Film Festival’s Midnight section later this month.

Oksana Akinshina from Lilya-4-Ever stars alongside Fedor Bondarchuk in Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut based on his acclaimed 2017 Fantastic Film Festival short The Passenger. Art Pictures Distribution handles international sales.

The story takes place at the height of the Cold War as a Russian psychologist is assigned to treat a cosmonaut whose Soviet spaceship has crashed-landed on Earth. As the...

Streaming service, Hulu Japan is to give Russian zombie series “The Day After” coordinated releases online, offline and on free TV. The company acquired rights to all three seasons of the show, produced by Art Pictures, and previously broadcast in Russia from 2013-16 by Ctc Media.

Hulu Japan, which is owned by Nippon TV, will upload all three seasons of the show to its SVoD platform from Oct. 5. The same day, the show will be given a DVD release through Fox Home Entertainment.

Terrestrial channel, Nippon TV will carry a single episode as part of its “Hulu Episode-1 Theatre” strand on Oct. 6. The show will then be available on TVer, an advertising-supported VoD platform jointly operated by Japan’s top five terrestrial networks, for catch-up for one week. Fully a month later, on Nov. 10, Nippon TV’s Bs Nippon will begin terrestrial broadcast of the three seasons.

“Exclusivity is something we do care about,...

Moscow -- Facing a substantial decline in ad revenues, major Russian TV channels are cutting back film and TV series production, as well as purchases of foreign content and formats.

In the first half of 2009, the country's national TV channels experienced a dramatic decline in revenues from advertising. "In the second quarter of 2009, the First Channel saw a 34% decline in ad revenues, year-on-year," Konstantin Ernst, the channel's general director told The Hollywood Reporter. "And this figure doesn't take the decline in the value of the ruble into account. But we are the market leaders -- some channels saw a 50% decline in ad revenues."

Responding to declining incomes, the channels are reconsidering their strategies and programming policies, trying to save costs. Practically all of them have reduced their in-house content production and lowered prices for content from outside producers.

"We canceled several expensive shows in very early stages and suggested new parameters of production budgets,...