News

Paradise City, the production company run by Emilie Georges and Naima Abed, is set to make an animated documentary about the life of Fredy Hirsch, the German Jewish and gay prisoner who led children’s programming in Terezin and Auschwitz. BIFA-nominee Tom C J Brown (“Christopher at Sea”) will direct the feature.

Paradise City, which is based in London and Paris, will produce “The Fredy Hirsch Story” (working title), alongside “Nomadland”‘s Oscar-winning producer Peter Spears through his company Cor Cordium, and Emmy-nominee Maor Azran (“Buried”).

The project marks Paradise City’s first foray into the animation space, and a reunion for producers Spears, Georges, Abed who previously collaborated on Luca Guadagnino’s Oscar-nominated “Call Me By Your Name” and most recently on Anthony Chen’s “Drift,” starring Cynthia Erivo.

The doc will feature original research conducted by Jody Becker, a New York Times editor who first uncovered Hirsch’s...

Paris-based sales outfit Memento International has rebranded as Paradise City Sales and will operate under Emilie Georges and Naima Abed’s Paris and London-based Paradise City banner moving forward.

The sales arm aims to board projects from early stages produced by Paradise City like Anthony Chen’s 2023 Sundance title Drift starring Cynthia Erivo, and Hailey Gates’ Sundance Jury Grand Prize-winning Atropia, on which Paradise City is a producer. It will continue to acquire some 10 films per year from independent producers and balance emerging talent with established filmmakers.

Paradise City Sales is at EFM with Hungarian filmmaker Lili Horvát’s English-language...

Memento Intl., the well-established Paris-based international sales company behind “Call Me by Your Name,” is rebranding as Paradise City Sales and is bringing “My Notes on Mars,” starring Greta Lee and Andrew Scott, to the EFM.

Emilie Georges, who founded Memento Intl. 20 years ago, launched the production vehicle Paradise City a few years ago with London-based Naima Abed. The pair have had great success with the pics they delivered, notably 2025 Sundance hit ”Atropia,” starring Alia Shawkat and Channing Tatum, and Anthony Chen’s 2023 drama ”Drift,” with Cynthia Erivo. “My Notes of Mars,” Hungarian director Lili Horvát’s English-language debut feature, is the latest co-production on Paradise City’s slate.

The rebranding comes at a pivotal time as Georges and Abed seek to build a closer bond between production and sales. As such, the sales outlet will now operate under the same Paradise City banner, which has offices in Paris and London,...

It's Jan. 31, and the 2025 Sundance Film Festival awards have been presented at a ceremony for the winning films at The Ray Theatre in Park City, where independent storytelling thrived yet again in Utah. The 2025 Festival, taking place now through February 2, has featured premieres, screenings, talks, events, and more in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. All feature award-winning films are available online nationwide now through February 2. Select award-winning films will screen in person for ticketholders and passholders. Tickets can be purchased here. The awards were compiled in a press release:

Grand Jury Prizes went to Atropia (U.S. Dramatic Competition), Seeds (U.S. Documentary Competition), Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), and Cutting Through Rocks (World Cinema Documentary Competition). The Next Innovator Award presented by Adobe was given to Zodiac Killer Project.

Audience awards for films in competition were presented by Acura to Twinless (U.S. Dramatic...

A still from Atropia by Hailey Gates, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute)

Atropia starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner earned the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic Competition award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and Seeds was named the U.S. Documentary Competition winner. The 2025 winners were announced today during a ceremony held at The Ray Theatre in Park City.

Additional Grand Jury Prize winners include Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) and Cutting Through Rocks. Audience Awards went to Twinless (U.S. Dramatic Competition), André is an Idiot (U.S. Documentary Competition), DJ Ahmet (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), Prime Minister (World Cinema Documentary Competition), and East of Wall (Next).

“We congratulate all of our filmmakers and award winners on a successful 2025 Sundance Film Festival and thank them for the stories they shared with our audiences,” stated Amanda Kelso, Acting CEO, Sundance Institute.

Park City, Utah, January 31, 2025 — Today the 2025 Sundance Film Festival awards were presented at a ceremony for the jury and audience award–winning films at The Ray Theatre in Park City, where independent storytelling was celebrated ahead of the Festival’s conclusion. The 2025 Festival, taking place now through February 2, has featured premieres, screenings, talks, events, and more in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. All feature award-winning films are available online nationwide now through February 2. Select award-winning films will screen in person for ticketholders and passholders. Tickets can be purchased at festival.sundance.org/tickets.

Grand Jury Prizes went to Atropia (U.S. Dramatic Competition), Seeds (U.S. Documentary Competition), Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), and Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) (World Cinema Documentary Competition). The Next Innovator Award presented by Adobe was given to Zodiac Killer Project.

Audience awards for films in competition were presented by Acura to Twinless (U.

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival — and perhaps its second-to-last in Park City — has wound down with the annual awards ceremony.

On January 31, jurors presented prizes in the competitive sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the Next lineup. Jurors across the sections looked at nearly 90 films representing more than 30 countries and territories.

Hailey Gates’ Iraq war satire, starring Alia Shawkat and produced by (among others) Luca Guadagnino, won the festival’s top award: the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic competition. The politically charged comedy, which follows an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility, is still looking for U.S. distribution amid mixed reviews out of Sundance. Meanwhile in that section, Eva Victor’s staggering feature debut “Sorry, Baby,” a startlingly wise and unsentimental depiction of trauma set in American academia, won a Screenwriting prize...

As the Sundance Film Festival heads into its final weekend, the Park City event handed out trophies this morning to this year’s best. See the full list below.

Hailey Gates’ war satire Atropia took the marquee U.S. Grand Jury Prize for dramatic features. Alia Shawkat stars as an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility who falls in love with a soldier (Callum Turner) cast as an insurgent, but their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.

The Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic went to Twinless, James Sweeney’s film about two young men (Dylan O’Brien and Sweeney) who meet in a twin bereavement support group and form an unlikely bromance.

Georgi M. Unkovski’s DJ Ahmet won the Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic and also nabbed the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision. It follows Ahmet (Arif Jakup), a 15-year-old boy from a remote Yuruk village in...

Awards for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival were handed out on Friday morning, with the Dylan O’Brien-fronted dark comedy “Twinless” taking home the audience award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category. The film, which received a warm response upon its debut at the beginning of the festival, hails from writer/director/co-star James Sweeney and follows two strangers who meet in a twin bereavement support group. O’Brien also won a special jury award for acting for his work in the film.

Writer/director Hailey Gates’ “Atropia” won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic category, scoring top honors for a film that started life as a documentary. Produced by Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Alia Shawkat as an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility who falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent. Callum Turner, Chloë Sevigny and Tim Heidecker co-star.

The U.

In writer-director Hailey Gates’ directorial debut Atropia, she dives into the Bush-era culture of toxic masculinity, nationalism and Islamophobia with an amusing and profoundly absurdist sense of satire.

Set in 2006, Atropia takes place at the titular U.S. military training ground in the California desert, where actors role-play as villagers in countries where the government plans to invade. Alia Shawkat stars as Fayruz, an ambitious actress determined to make her big break in Hollywood while working in the simulation, despite her conflicting feelings about the war in Iraq.

Although her parents accuse her of betraying her culture as they disapprove of her preparing soldiers to invade their country, the training ground is the only place casting her type (not a surprise for that era of Hollywood). The fractured relationship with her family represents an all-too-real generational divide for many children of immigrants through a heartfelt, yet cheeky portrayal by Shawkat.

“Lilies Not For Me,” Will Seefried‘s queer romance drama starring Fionn O’Shea (“Normal People”) and Robert Aramayo (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”), has been acquired by Gravitas Ventures for North American distribution.

Set in 1920s England, “Lilies Not for Me” revolves around a gay novelist and his psychiatric nurse who form an unlikely friendship over a series of doctor-prescribed dates. “Through their conversations, he tells her the story of his relationship with an old friend which spiraled out of control when they turned to a risky procedure to cure themselves of their forbidden feelings for one another,” the synopsis reads.

Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company, will release the film on digital and cable video on demand in April of this year.

“”Lilies Not For Me “is a poignant film exploring the complexities and danger of queer relationships in the 1920s. We are so...

It's a cinephile's favorite time of year! While some of the biggest and best films are released in the waning weeks of December, the Sundance Institute gets everyone excited about what's to come in the new year. The 87 feature films and six episodic projects selected for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival were recently announced, and it's a great mix of bold independent storytelling. The festival will take place from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. Single Film Tickets for in-person and online screenings go on sale Jan. 16 at 10 a.m. Mt. Members of Sundance will have access to a Single Film Ticket pre-sale, and limited quantities of passes and packages remain on sale. Visit the Sundance Film Festival site here for more info.

And for all of those who won't be able to make it to snowy Utah, beginning Jan. 30, more than half the...

Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the 87 feature films and six episodic projects selected for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, revealing a lineup full of bold independent storytelling. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with all of the competition films and more available online from January 30–February 2, 2025, for audiences across the country. The 2025 Festival will kick off on Thursday, January 23, with premieres in Park City every day through the end of Tuesday, January 28. Additional showings will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City throughout the Festival until Sunday, February 2. Over 11 days, world debuts of projects across program categories will highlight fresh voices, entertaining stories, and groundbreaking works. Beginning January 30, more than half the feature program will be available online for audiences nationwide to watch from home at festival.sundance.org. The curated online program will include all competition titles,...

Among the batch of ten 2025 U.S. Dramatic Competition offerings we find the likes of actress Hailey Gates’ feature debut Atropia – produced by Luca Guadagnino (she can be seen in this year’s Challengers), we find Katarina Zhu’s Bunnylovr – a project that was selected for this year’s U.S in Progress and Pastel’s Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins got behind Sorry, Baby – from Eva Victor. Here are the ten films competing for top honors.

Atropia / U.S.A. — When an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.…...

Our first glimpse at 2025 independent cinema has arrived with the unveiling of next month’s Sundance Film Festival, taking place January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with all of the competition films and more available online from January 30–February 2, 2025 across the country.

Curated from 15,775 submissions from 156 countries or territories, including 4,138 feature-length films, the 87 selected feature-length films include Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet; Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall; Amalia Ulman’s El Planeta follow-up Magic Farm starring Chloë Sevigny and Alex Wolff; the Josh O’Connor-led Rebuilding, from A Love Song director Max Walker-Silverman; Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You with Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, and Conan O’Brien; the Isabelle Huppert-led Luz; Love, Brooklyn starring André Holland; Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius); Elegance Bratton...

The next “A Real Pain” might be found in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival film lineup, which was announced on Wednesday.

Next year’s festival includes several big names, including Jennifer Lopez (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”), Carey Mulligan (“The Ballad of Wallis Island”), and Josh O’Connor (“Rebuilding”). Notable directors with films at the festival include Oscar winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (“Sly Lives! aka The Burden of Black Genius”), Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim (“Deaf President Now!”), and Oscar winner Barry Levinson (“Bucks County”).

This year, several top indie features premiered at Sundance, including “A Real Pain,” a top awards contender, and films like “Didi,” “A Different Man,” “Daughters,” and “Sugarcane.”

“The Sundance Film Festival remains steadfast in its commitment to elevating unique and urgent voices in independent storytelling. Audiences can expect a 2025 program that showcases varied and vibrant filmmaking globally,” said Robert Redford, Sundance Institute Founder and President.

“The Festival is...

The 2025 line-up for the Sundance Film Festival has been announced.

This year’s fest features the latest projects from Oscar winners, studio filmmakers, and indie stalwarts like Justin Lin, Ira Sachs, Barry Levinson, and Questlove while the U.S. Dramatic Competition section is made of selections from directors new to the Park City fest.

“The combination of these new voices and some of these filmmakers who might be more household names, speaks to the the power of independent cinema and how, no matter where you are in your career, you are drawn to this community that Sundance has helped build over the years,” Sundance director of programming Kim Yutani told The Hollywood Reporter. Of the 87 feature films announced thus far, 36 titles (41 percent) are directed by first-time feature film directors.

Across the line-up, talents like Jennifer Lopez, Dev Patel, Bowen Yang, Chloë Sevigny, Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ayo Edebiri star in fest films,...

The Sundance Film Festival is still deliberating about where to move in 2027, but in the meantime, the 2025 festival will go on in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. On Wednesday, the festival announced its Features and Episodic lineup, with a rich selection of independent projects that feature a lot of big names.

Memento International has boarded “Atropia,” the directorial feature of “Uncut Gems” actor Hailey Gates which is produced by “Queer” director Luca Guadagnino. The war comedy stars Alia Shawkat (“Blink Twice”), Callum Turner (“Masters of the Air”), Chloë Sevigny (“Bonjour Tristesse”) and Tim Heidecker (“Tim & Eric”).

Guadagnino is producing at Frenesy Films, along with Naima Abed and Emilie Georges at Paradise City and Lana Kim and Jett Steiger for Ways & Means. Executive producers include director Hailey Gates and actress Alia Shawkat, along with David Siegel, Scott McGehee and Mike Spreter for Big Creek Projects and Kc Wallace for Mary of Exeter.

The feature is based on Gates’ 2019 short “Shako Mako” which she originally produced for fashion brand Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales series. UTA and WME Independent are handling North American sales.

Set against the backdrop of the Mojave Desert at the Fort Irwin National Training Center, “Atropia” tells the story of Fayruz,...

Four women running leading companies and organisations in the German film industry came together at Filmfest Hamburg for an event called ‘Inspiring Talk – Women at the Top’ to discuss topics such as how communication and diversity within their teams and achieving a work/life balance for all.

“There are a lot of issues that concern us and I realised I’m not alone, there are other women who think the same way,” said Malika Rabahallah, the new director of the Filmfest Hamburg, who was joined by Wiebke Andresen, managing director of the Hamburg-based production companies Nordfilm and Letterbox Filmproduktion, Tanja Meissner,...

Exclusive: One of the buzzier titles set to debut at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival is Lilies Not For Me, the first feature from American filmmaker Will Seefried, which we can share a first-look clip from above.

Set in 1920s England, the film follows a gay novelist and his psychiatric nurse who form an unlikely friendship over a series of doctor-prescribed ‘dates’. Through their conversations, he tells her the story of his relationship with an old friend which spiraled out of control when they turned to a risky procedure to cure themselves of their forbidden feelings for one another.

The film stars Fionn O’Shea (Normal People), Robert Aramayo (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Erin Kellyman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Louis Hofmann (Dark), and Jodi Balfour (Quarry). Producers are Hannes Otto, Roelof Storm, Will Seefried, Naima Abed, and Emilie Georges. Memento International is handling the pic.

Will Seefried’s romance drama “Lilies Not for Me,” led by Fionn O’Shea (“Normal People”) and Robert Aramayo (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”), has been boarded by Memento International in the run up to its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

The cast of rising actors also includes Erin Kellyman (“Willow”), Jodi Balfour and Louis Hofmann (“Dark”).

Set in 1920s England, “Lilies Not for Me” revolves around a gay novelist and his psychiatric nurse who form an unlikely friendship over a series of doctor-prescribed dates. “Through their conversations, he tells her the story of his relationship with an old friend which spiraled out of control when they turned to a risky procedure to cure themselves of their forbidden feelings for one another,” the synopsis reads.

The film hails from “Call Me by Your Name” producers Emilie Georges and Naima Abed at Paradise City, as well as Hannes Otto,...

“I’m really glad we got it made for Bill,” declares Cynthia Erivo about producing, starring in and writing an original song for the indie drama “Drift.” The late Bill Paxton was originally slated to direct, before he unexpectedly passed away in 2017. For our recent webchat she adds, “I think it’s a really wonderful thing that we were able to do something that was one of Bill’s last wishes. That’s a really special thing. I’m really proud of the fact that we put all the work we could possibly have put into this to have it be a real thing, to have it be real, to have it be realized, because it wasn’t easy. We worked really hard. I feel like it’s a really special piece.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

See 2024 Oscars battle for Best Original Song

“Drift” is Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen‘s first English-language feature,...

Grammy, Emmy, and Tony award-winning triple threat talent Cynthia Erivo emotionally unzips herself for moving film “Drift,” the first project she has produced to be released.

The Oscar-nominated actress leads the independent film, which debuted at Sundance earlier this year. Based on Alexander Maksik’s 2013 novel “A Marker to Measure Drift,” the film follows a refugee who crosses paths with a lonesome tour guide in Greece.

The official synopsis reads: “Jacqueline (Erivo), a young refugee, lands alone and penniless on a Greek island, where she tries first to survive and then to cope with her past. While gathering her strength, she begins a friendship with rootless tour-guide Callie (Alia Shawkat) and together they find the resilience to forge ahead.”

Ibrahima Ba, Honor Swinton Byrne, Zainab Jah, Suzy Bemba, and Vincent Vermignon also star.

“Drift” is the English-language debut of Camera d’Or-winning director Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo”), who won the...

Writers’ Development

The U.K.’s National Film and Television School (Nfts) has partnered with “The Crown” producer Left Bank Pictures on the Nfts Diverse Writers Development Program that kicks off in March 2024. It will select six emerging U.K. screenwriters from under-represented backgrounds to contribute their voices to the entertainment landscape and inject fresh perspectives into scripted drama.

The chosen writers will embark on a paid 10-week program, during which four full series ideas will be developed and pitched, with the aim of creating commercially viable television drama concepts. The participants will work through a curriculum designed by the Nfts. The initiative will connect writers with production executives from Left Bank Pictures and potentially other British production companies.

Applications are open now and close Oct. 31.

Promotion

Alexandre Moreau has been promoted to head of sales at Paris-based company Memento International. The executive will oversee Memento International’s slate of films and strategy,...

Cynthia Erivo stars, alongside Alia Shawkat, Honor Swinton Byrne.

MetFilm Distribution has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Drift, the English-language feature debut of filmmaker Anthony Chen, which stars in and is produced by Cynthia Erivo.

Adapted from Alexander Maksik’s novel A Marker To Measure Drift by Susanne Farrell and Maksik, Drift is a character study of a refugee – played by Erivo – who is struggling to eke out a living on a Greek island, while traumatised by memories of her war-torn country.

Alia Shawkat and Honor Swinton Byrne star alongside Erivo. Memento Films International handles worldwide sales on the title.

Cynthia Erivo stars, alongside Alia Shawkat, Honor Swinton Byrne.

MetFilm Distribution has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Drift, the English-language feature debut of filmmaker Anthony Chen.

Adapted from Alexander Maksik’s novel A Marker To Measure Drift by Susanne Farrell and Maksik, Drift is a character study of a refugee – played by Cynthia Erivo – who is struggling to eke out a living on a Greek island, while traumatised by memories of her war-torn country.

Alia Shawkat and Honor Swinton Byrne star alongside Erivo. Memento Films International handles worldwide sales on the title.

Drift debuted in the Premieres strand of Sundance Film Festival in January.

While the lineup of Cannes Film Market’s newly launched initiative Cannes Investors Circle has remained under wraps, Variety has learned about four of the nine projects which were pitched during the invitation-only event.

The initiative was created by the film market’s new executive director Guillaume Esmiol to connect VIP private investors with select filmmakers and producers boasting a stellar track records. Curated by experts such as Medici’s Tamara Tatishvili, Arte Cinema’s Rémi Burah and financier Serge Hayat, the nine projects are budgeted between €2 million and €12 million. Among these are “Dracula: The Second Coming” directed by Radu Jude; “Rivo Alto,” directed by Clément Cogitore (“The Wakhan Front”) and produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond at Kazak Productions (“Titane”); “The Girl” directed by Marina Ziolkowski (“But You Look So Good”) and produced by Philippe Gompel (“Cherry”) at Manny Films; and “The Birthday Party” directed by Miguel Angel Jimenez (“Chaika”) and...

Panellists cite slowdown in streamer investment and difficulties in attracting audiences to cinemas.

The Cannes Marche’s inaugural Investors Circle saw international producers and financiers debate the future of independent theatrical film at a time when streamers are curtailing investment in production.

Club Zero and Triangle Of Sadness producer, Mike Goodridge of Good Chaos, formerly CEO of UK sales agent Protagonist Pictures, said that streamers are retrenching.

“That massive wave of money that came into the business, in the late teens [pre-2020], it’s massively slowed down… we all know the troubles they are going through on a corporate, subscription level.

Market

The Cannes Film Market has launched Cannes Investors Circle, which will commence with a keynote introduction by Liesl Copland, Participant’s executive VP, content and platform strategy, who will offer her perspective on the modern media landscape. The initiative will also feature a panel discussion titled Navigating Film Finance in a Changing World that aims to offer insights on global financing and market trends in 2023 and beyond. The panelists will include Elisa Alvares, finance expert at Jacaranda Consultants; Rikke Ennis, CEO of REinvent Studios; Emilie Georges, co-founder and CEO of Paradise City; Mike Goodridge, U.K. producer at Good Chaos who is also presenting Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero” in the festival’s official competition; with film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell moderating.

The event will also include an invitation-only session where VIP private investors will listen to pitches of nine new global film projects at the investment stage. The...

Exclusive: The Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film has unveiled a new exclusive event, bannered the Cannes Investors Circle, aimed at connecting high-caliber, global feature film projects with private investors.

Unfolding May 21 at the market’s new Plage de Palmes beachfront venue, the afternoon event will present nine in-development projects with international potential to a select group of no-more than 50 private investors.

Details of the projects are under wraps, but the market has revealed they are budgeted at up to $13 million (12 million euros) and involve producers and directors who have previously won the Cannes Palme d’Or or Berlin’s Golden Bear.

Participant Executive Vice President, Content and Platform Strategy Liesl Copland, will kick off the meeting with a keynote fireside conversation, offering her unique perspective on the modern media landscape, which will be open to all market badge-holders.

The entertainment industry veteran took up her newly-created role at...

Utopia has landed the North American rights to “Drift,” an emotional drama starring Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat. The sale comes a few months after its debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

“Drift” is the English-language feature debut of Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo”). Based on Alexander Maksik’s 2013 novel “A Marker to Measure Drift,” the story follows a refugee (Erivo) who struggles to survive on a Greek Island as she is tormented by memories of the war-torn country she was able to flee. Through her friendship with an American tour-guide (Shawkat), she begins to find a way to move past the violence and trauma she has endured to forge a new life for herself.

“After our very emotional Sundance premiere, I’m so pleased to be working with Utopia to bring ‘Drift’ to audiences across the States,” Chen said. “I’m convinced our film’s message of hope...

Exclusive: Drift director Anthony Chen is gearing up to direct his first US-set project, Heartbeat: A New York Story, about the rarely-told experiences of the Asian gay community during the AIDS epidemic in 1980s New York.

The English-language feature is based on a short story Tea For Two, by acclaimed Taiwanese writer Pai Hsien-yung, and is described as “an emotional and affecting story of self-discovery, grief and hope through the eyes of a Taiwanese gay man.” Singaporean playwright Joel Tan has adapted the short story for the screen.

Singapore-born Chen recently made his English-language debut on Drift, produced by Emilie Georges, Peter Spears and Naima Abed, which filmed in Greece and the UK and received its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. Heartbeat: A New York Story, which he hopes to start shooting next year, will be his first project filmed in the U.S.

Chen’s Giraffe Pictures will...

Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen is on a roll – his English-language debut Drift is premiering at Sundance Film Festival, he has Chinese-language drama The Breaking Ice being readied for festival play later this year, and several other directing projects in different languages at various stages of development and pre-production.

Drift, which stars Cynthia Erivo as a Liberian refugee scratching out an existence on a Greek island, is thematically not a million miles away from Chen’s previous two features – Ilo Ilo and Wet Season – in that they’re stories about outsiders or people struggling to find their place in the world and fit in. “I seem to gravitate to telling stories about outsiders and the bonds, or the human connections, that we make between strangers,” says Chen, who has some experience with feeling dislocated, as he grew up in Singapore but spent many years living in the UK.

Chen shot the film,...

Singaporean director Anthony Chen’s English-language debut “Drift” world premieres in the Premieres section of the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22. Chen, the producers, and Cynthia Erivo, the film’s lead actor and one of producers, talk to Variety about the movie.

Starring Erivo (“Harriet”) and Alia Shawkat (“Arrested Development”), the film is from the producer team of “Call Me By Your Name” – Peter Spears, Emilie Georges and Naima Abed. Erivo, Solome Williams and Greece’s Heretic are also producers. Spears won the best picture Oscar for Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland.”

“Drift” is based on Alexander Maksik’s 2013 novel “A Marker to Measure Drift.” It was a New York Times Notable Book, and finalist for the William Saroyan Prize, and Le Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger. The screenplay is co-written by Maksik and Susanne Farrell.

Erivo plays migrant Jacqueline, who lives a marginal existence on the shores of a Greek island,...

Memento International has boarded “Fremont,” the latest film by BAFTA-nominated Iranian-born director Babak Jalali, which is set to world premiere at Sundance.

Slated for the Next section, the black-and-white film tells the story of Donya, a young woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the San Francisco bay. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.

“Fremont” marks the screen debut of Anaita Wali Zada, a real-life Afghan refugee, who stars in the film opposite Jeremy Allen White, well-known for his roles in “The Bear” and “Shameless,” and Gregg Turkington (“Ant-Man”). White will next been seen in Sean Durkin’s upcoming A24 movie “The Iron Claw” with Zac Efron.

Laced with wry humor, “Fremont” delivers a warm portrait of a...

Selection includes new work from directors Nicole Holofcener, Davis Guggenheim, Sophie Bathes, Brandon Cronenberg.

Established and new filmmakers will take a bow at the hybrid 2023 Sundance Film Festival as festival organisers announced 99 features selected from a record number of submissions. There is new work from Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Cynthia Erivo, We Are Lady Parts creator Nida Manzoor, Nicole Holofcener, Davis Guggenheim, Sophie Bathes and Brandon Cronenberg.

Scroll down for line-up

Anticipated World Cinema Dramatic Competition selections include UK duo Scrapper directed by Charlotte Regan and sold by Charades, and Girl by Adura Onashile. Both were supported...

This year’s Zurich Summit kicked off with a bang as a host of top industry execs gathered on stage to discuss one of the most challenging topics facing the independent film world today – how to finance an independent film in the streaming age?

The panel inevitably was drawn to the pros and cons of going down the streaming route.

Former Lionsgate film chief Patrick Wachsberger, who recently was a producer on Oscar-winning hit Coda, spoke at length about the challenges he faced when financing the project. The Pathé title was a project he helped develop at Lionsgate and took with him when he left the US studio. The film had pre-sold to a number of international territories but famously caused a stir when Apple came in and acquired the film at Sundance for 25M in a worldwide deal, causing the streamer to make buyback deals with those rights holders.

Former Lionsgate film chief Patrick Wachsberger, Carol producer Christine Vachon, Neon CEO Tom Quinn and SPC bosses Michael Barker and Tom Bernard will be among industry executives taking part in the Zurich Summit on Saturday in Switzerland.

The Zurich Film Festival’s flagship industry event, an all-day confab about the state of the independent film business, will gather around 100 top film professionals. Scroll down for the lineup and schedule in full.

For a full rundown of the day’s schedule click here.

As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.

The conference kicks off with the discussion “How to Finance Independent Films in the Age of Streamers” and a panel comprising UTA agent Alex Brunner, Memento International/Paradise City CEO Emilie Georges,...

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we’ll shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. who are shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re speaking with Memento Films International founder Emilie Georges and producer Naima Abed about their company Paradise City, its slate and why now is the time to move into the management and branded content spheres.

Eight years ago, Emilie Georges’ Memento Films International and its production arm La Cinéfacture quietly launched Paradise City, a specialty label for the outfit, with respected producer Naima Abed helping curate the slate. While the banner co-financed and co-produced a number of genre titles including Jim Mickle’s 2013 Sundance hit We Are What We Are, it was only when the duo worked on Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 Oscar-nominated hit Call Me By Your Name that Georges and Abed began to think about...

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The Sundance Institute has unveiled the producers and the projects selected for this summer’s Producers Lab and Producers Summit. Taking place July 25-28 and July 29-31, respectively, the events are being held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Producers Lab will feature six fiction films’ and five nonfiction films’ producers and their projects while the summit will host 40 industry insiders and 26 indie filmmakers.

Advisors for the feature film program include David Hinojosa (Zola, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Amy Lo (Nancy, Sugar), Riva Marker (The Guilty, Relic), Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jason Michael Berman (Nine Days, Uncorked) while the documentary film program features Daffodil Altan (PBS’ Frontline), Violet Feng (Hidden Letters, Tigre Gente), Andrea Meditch (Ernie & Joe, Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives, Softie) and Amanda Spain (MSNBC Films).

Industry participants in this year’s summit include Maria Altamirano...

Sundance Institute, the nonprofit organization that puts on the yearly film festival in Park City, has announced the entrants for its Producers Lab and Producers Summit.

Both events, the former taking place from July 25 to 28 and the latter from July 29 to 31, will be held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Institute picked six fiction film and five non-fiction film producers and their projects. Producers Lab and Producers Summit, which counts more than 40 industry leaders and 26 independent filmmakers among its participants, supports up-and-coming producers through year-round mentorship, granting, educational resources, strategic introductions, and networking opportunities with the industry.

“It has been three years since we have been able to gather in person, and over this time, the landscape for independent storytelling has shifted dramatically. It’s never been more critical to work to create a sustainable future for independent producers, a key priority for the Lab and Summit,...

Events to run this month in Utah,

Sundance Institute has unveiled participants for its Producers Lab taking place July 25–28 and Producers Summit running July 29–31. Both events take place in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort.

The six fiction film producers and their projects under the auspices of the Producers Lab are: The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper; The President’s Cake; Starfuckers; Sales Per Hour; and Huella.

The five documentary film producers and projects are: Untitled Dwarfism Project; Untitled Sura Mallouh Project; Untitled Baltimore Project; Bartolo; and Queendom.

Producers and projects participating in the Producers Summit include: Jade Jackson with...

The Sundance Institute has named the participants for its 2022 Producers Lab and Summit, both of which are set to take place in person this year at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort.

The Fellows and projects selected for the Lab’s Feature Film Program are Apoorva Guru Charan (The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper), Leah Chen Baker (The President’s Cake), Eli Raskin (Starfuckers), Chloe Sabin (Sales Per Hour), and the duo of Helena Sardinha and Doménica Castro (Huella). Those set for the Lab’s Documentary Film Program are Lindsey Dryden (Untitled Dwarfism Project), Yoni Golijov (Untitled Sura Mallouh Project), Dawne Langford (Untitled Baltimore Project), Neyda Martinez (Bartolo) and Igor Myakotin (Queendom).

Jade Jackson (Losa), Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Forward), Fox Maxy (Water Tight), Albert Tholen and Aiko Masubuchi (Earthquake), and Séverine Tibi (Birthday) will participate in the Producers Summit on the Fiction Features side, with Nonfiction Feature participants to include Jude Chehab...

Exclusive: Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) will lead cast alongside Being The Ricardos and Arrested Development star Alia Shawkat in Anthony Chen’s (Ilo Ilo) English-language debut Drift.

The film reunites Call Me By Your Name producers Emilie Georges and Peter Spears and exec producer Naima Abed. Spears won the Best Picture Oscar last year for Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland.

Drift follows a young Liberian refugee named Jacqueline (Erivo) who has barely escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. She offers massages to tourists in exchange for one or two euros to battle her hunger, while her daily struggle for survival keeps the memories that haunt her at bay. She meets an unmoored tour guide (Shawkat) and the two become close as they each find hope in the other. Ibrahima Ba, who has a supporting role in Cannes 2022 title Father & Soldier, and Honor Swinton-Byrne (The Souvenir: Parts 1 & 2), are also among cast.

Exclusive: Following festival favourite and Oscar shortlisted drama Night Of The Kings, Ivory Coast director Philippe Lacôte is developing his new feature film 7 Golden Thieves (Les 7 Voleurs D’Or) with his producing and co-writing partner Delphine Jacquet and Memento’s relaunched Paradise City banner.

The story is based on a real belief. In West Africa and in the imagination of the Malinké, gold has an ambivalent social function, conferring prestige and honor. However, whomever steals gold places a curse on his family line for seven generations. The project follows a man’s quest to break his family free from this ancient curse. Weaving together the stories of his forbearers over centuries, the film will crisscross between Western Africa and the U.S.

Anticipating a 2024 shoot, the film is currently in development and is being introduced to potential partners in Cannes.

Banshee Films and Wassakara Productions are producing, in association with Paris-based Paradise City,...

“Call Me By Your Name” producers Emilie Georges and Naima Abed are launching Paradise City, a London- and Paris-based film, TV drama and branded content production and management company. The banner’s slate includes projects by Edward Berger (“Deutschland 83”), Lili Horvát (“White God”), Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo”) and South African author Lauren Beukes (“Slipping”).

Georges is the founder and CEO of sales banner Memento Intl., which is at Cannes this year with Tarik Saleh’s competition film “Boy from Heaven,” Dominik Moll’s “La nuit du 12” in Cannes Premieres, Charlotte Le Bon’s “Falcon Lake” in Directors’ Fortnight and Kristoffer Borgli’s “Sick of Myself” in Un Certain Regard. Abed, who is based in the U.K., produced “Call Me By Your Name” with Georges under their other production banner La Cinefacture and has been building Paradise City’s roster for over a year. So far, the outfit...

Film festival prize-winners with strong North American distribution often have an advantage in the Oscar race for Best International Feature Film (see our 2022 predictions here). In the heated battle over the final selection from France’s Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, which announced their submission on October 12, Julia Ducournau’s taboo-busting Palme d’Or and TIFF Midnight Madness winner “Titane” emerged as the final pick.

The film beat out rookie Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner, the ’60s drama “Happening” (IFC Films), an immersive look at a high-school achiever’s harrowing experience trying to get an abortion, as well as surprise finalist “Bac Nord,” a slum policier directed by Cédric Jimenez, a French box-office smash with a low profile stateside — which was co-written by rising star Diwan.

The French selection committee included one-year members — auteurs Florian Zeller and Julie Delpy, ex-WarnerMedia senior executive Iris Knobloch,...

Film festival prize-winners with strong North American distribution often have an advantage in the Oscar race for Best International Feature Film (see our 2022 predictions here). In the heated battle over the final selection from France’s Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, which announced their submission on October 12, Julia Ducournau’s taboo-busting Palme d’Or and TIFF Midnight Madness winner “Titane” emerged as the final pick.

The film beat out rookie Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner, the ’60s drama “Happening” (IFC Films), an immersive look at a high-school achiever’s harrowing experience trying to get an abortion, as well as surprise finalist “Bac Nord,” a slum policier directed by Cédric Jimenez, a French box-office smash with a low profile stateside — which was co-written by rising star Diwan.

The French selection committee included one-year members — auteurs Florian Zeller and Julie Delpy, ex-WarnerMedia senior executive Iris Knobloch,...

Film was among three films shortlisted to be the French submission alongside Happening and Bac Nord.

Julia Ducournau’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Titane will be France’s submission to the best international film category for the 2022 Oscars.

It was among three films shortlisted in the country’s two-part selection process alongside Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening and Cédric Jimenez’s box office hit Bac Nord (aka The Stronghold).

The genre-bending thriller is lead produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond at Kazak Productions in co-production with Belgium’s Frakas Productions, Arte Cinema France and Belgian pay-tv companies Voo and BeTV.