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If you saw Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, starring Vicky Krieps, or Josef Hader’s Wild Mouse, among other films, you have experienced Ulrike Kofler’s work as an editor. But the Austrian creative also works as a writer and director.

After directing and co-writing What We Wanted, starring Lavinia Wilson, Elyas M’Barek, and Anna Unterberger, her second feature as a writer and director is the family drama Gina, which tells the story of a nine-year-old girl, played by Emma Lotta Simmer in her first-ever acting role. Growing up in a household overseen by her young, pregnant and struggling mother, portrayed by Marie-Luise Stockinger (Maria Theresia), she must take care of her two siblings in a home that often has no food on the table and gets regular visits from the child services department.

Kofler, who has two children, one of them a foster child, shows the world through Gina’s...

UFA Hires ‘September 5’ Exec Producer Christoph Müller

Fremantle’s German production house UFA has hired Constantin Film’s Christoph Müller for its cinema division. The producer, who is an exec producer on the Golden Globe-nominated September 5, joins from Constantin Film and will begin at UFA Fiction on February 1, 2025. He also is known for productions including the Oscar-nomnated Sophie Scholl, box office hit Er Ist Wieder Da and Elyas M’Barek and Sönke Wortmann’s films Contra and Der Nachname. “We want to open up new business areas and continue to expand on already successful ones,” said Sascha Schwingel, CEO of UFA. “I am therefore very pleased that we are now strengthening our team with Christoph Müller, who is a renowned producer of cinema productions that delight audiences and critics alike. With him on the team, we will significantly increase the rate of our successful cinema productions.” Sebastian Werninger, Managing Director of UFA Fiction,...

Exclusive: BAFTA and Sundance-nominated Tina Gharavi has optioned Icelandic bestseller ‘Refurinn’ and is adapting it as crime thriller that will be a UK-Iceland co-production. Gharavi helmed Jada Pinkett Smith’s four-part Netflix docudrama African Queens: Cleopatra and is currently directing Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day. She will be showrunner on the series, has penned a pilot, and plans to produce and direct.

The Fox is based on Sólveig Pálsdóttir’s Refurinn, one of her Ice & Crime series thrillers, which feature detective Guðgeir Fransson.

Nordic noir fan Gharavi bought the rights directly from the Pálsdóttir and spent time researching the book’s characters with the author. She will introduce a new British character to proceedings, said to be loosely based on the Robbie Coltrane’s Fitz in the classic crime drama Cracker and the real-life writer and feminist Germaine Greer.

The series turns on a Sri-Lankan woman who arrives in...

Production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film has unveiled the cast for its crime-drama series “Smilla’s Sense of Snow,” and the first-look images from the show.

The series stars Filippa Coster-Waldau, Elyas M’Barek and Henry Lloyd-Hughes. Other cast members include Morten Suurballe, Amanda Collin, Set Sjöstrand and Alexandre Willaume.

Elyas M’Barek plays Rahid in “Smilla’s Sense of Snow.”

The series is directed by BAFTA winner Amma Asante. Adapted from Peter Hoeg’s bestselling novel, the show was written by Asante together with Tanja Bubbel, Clive Bradley, Tina Hastings, Rebecca Martin, Julie Nørgaard Jensen, Keith Hodder, Sonya Desai and Pipaluk K. Jørgensen. The book was previously adapted in 1997 as a feature film, directed by Bille August and starring Julia Ormond.

The series is set in 2040 in Copenhagen. Smilla Jaspersen lives in a surveillance state under threat from an impending energy crisis. She is alone and leads a withdrawn life until she meets a...

Jack Whitehall, Jennifer Saunders, and Sally Phillips have joined the ensemble cast of the adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Night & Day.’

The trio will join the previously announced Haley Bennett who will play the lead, with BAFTA-winner Timothy Spall, British singer Lily Allen and German superstar Elyas M’Barek.

Set in an era when glass ceilings were made of concrete, Bennett will play Katharine Hilbery — one woman who insisted on reaching for the stars. Based on what has been called Woolf’s funniest novel, Night and Day is described as an “unromantic comedy” about a passionate astronomer who does everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage. Contemporary in tone, the story of Katharine’s bold challenge to the Edwardian patriarchy is set against the backdrop of the suffragette movement and advances in science and technology, at the turn of the 20th century.

Also in news – BIFA Announce nominations...

Jack Whitehall, Jennifer Saunders and Sally Phillips have joined Haley Bennett, Timothy Spall, Lily Allen and Elyas M’Barek inVirginia Woolf’s Night & Day, as the UK’s WestEnd Films unveils a first look at the anti-romantic comedy.

Production is underway in Newcastle, with Tina Gharavi directing.

Further cast includes KaosstarMisia Butler,Alex Macqueen,Simon Phillips andFrances Barber.

A passionate astronomer, played byBennett,does everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage, in this adaptation of Woolf’s novel of the same name. It’s set at the turn of the 20thcentury, across the backdrop ofthe suffragette movement and advances in science and technology.

In key appointments at Constantin Film, one of Europe’s biggest – and most ambitious – of production powerhouses, Viola Jäger and Jan Ehlert has been named as its new Chief Content Officers.

Jan Ehlert will head up TV/streaming, Viola Jäger oversee content for theatrical/film; both report to Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben.

For years, Constantin has built its business on big international hits, such as the “Resident Evil” franchise, and a rock-solid domestic business powered by national blockbusters, such as, most recently, “Chantal and the Magic Kingdom,” which has sold over 2.6 million admissions in Germany.

Coming just a couple of months after Berben took over formally from Martin Moszkowicz as Constantin Film CEO, the new appointments are a play for continuity. Ehlert joined Moovie in 2000, just a year after Constantin head Berndt Eichinger had bought the Berben-headed company. Focusing on TV in his now 24-year career at Constantin Film,...

Lily Allen is the latest star ready to lighten up Night and Day, an adaptation of the comedic Virginia Woolf novel.

The singer and actress joins a cast that includes Haley Bennett, Elyas M’Barek and Timothy Spall, who will bring to life the 1919 novel revolving around the daily lives and romances of two women. Katharine Hilbery (Bennett), is an Edwardian astronomer who avoids love, while Mary (Allen) is a straight-talking, fearless, funny suffragette. Jack Farthing rounds out the cast for the feature.

Justine Waddell penned the script and will produce, with BAFTA nominee Tina Gharavi directing the feature, which is aiming to shoot this fall in Newcastle, England and Cologne, Germany.

Financing company FilmHedge has come on board to back the project, withs its founder and CEO Jon Gosier and its COO Chandler Heinz Laun serving as executive producers, along with Konstantin Korenchuk.

Producers include Christopher Figg, Meg Thomson and German co-producers Glisk,...

Germany network Rtl Deutschland has struck a long-term strategic deal with Wiedemann & Berg Film and the producer’s parent, Leonine Studios.

The multi-year agreement covers free TV and streaming, and means Rtl Deutschland will have exclusive rights to German theatrical releases from the two companies, which produced or co-produced the country’s most successful film in each year between 2020 and 2023.

The pact includes the new comedy Alter Weisser Mann from director Simon Verhoeven starring Jan Josef Liefers, Nadja Uhl, Friedrich von Thun, Michael Maertens, Meltem Kaptan and Elyas M’Barek. It began shooting this month.

The film follows family man Heinz Hellmich, who tries show is ‘wokest’ side and prove he is not an ‘old white man’ to land the job he has longed for. Inviting his boss and colleagues to a dinner party, his family politically correct facade begins to crumble, causing chaos among the guests.

Andreas Fischer, Chief Operating...

Picture Tree Intl. has boarded international sales for Constantin Film’s comedy fantasy blockbuster “Chantal and the Magic Kingdom,” which will receive its market premiere in Cannes.

The film has been No. 1 on Germany’s box office charts for four consecutive weeks since its release on March 28, and reached more than 2 million admissions, with a gross of $22.5 million.

“Chantal” is the latest German-language hit from writer-director Bora Dagtekin and producer Lena Schömann. The duo previously delivered “Turkish for Beginners,” the “Fuck You Goehte” franchise and the German remake of “Perfect Strangers,” which have collectively grossed more than $300 million worldwide.

In “Chantal,” the beloved “Fuck You Goehte” character Chantal and her best friend Zeynep are sent on a fantasy adventure into the world of fairytales with a comedic and contemporary twist.

Chantal, an influencer without followers, and Zeynep stumble into the fairytale world through an ancient magic mirror, which they mistake for a social media gimmick.

’The Light’ is one of a slate of features to receive backing from German regional fund Film-und Medienstiftung Nrw.

The Light, Tom Tykwer’s first film for the cinema since his 2016 German-us comedy A Hologram For The King is one of 10 feature film projects allocated almost €6m in production support by the Düsseldorf-based regional fund Film-und Medienstiftung Nrw.

Tykwer’s original screenplay for The Light (Das Licht) centres on a troubled family who take on a Syrian immigrant as a housekeeper. When she successfully shakes up the lives of the family she then confronts them with the dark fate of her own.

As striking writers continue to walk picket lines in Los Angeles and New York, buyers and sellers are marching the Croisette, making their way to the Cannes film market. Whether or not they pack their bags with films in hand is still unclear.

Heading into the festival, dealmakers were largely confident, or at least vocally so, that the WGA strike would not have a major impact on the film market. Scripts for splashy packages had been rushed to get in prior to the May 1 strike deadline and the projects with A-list talent like Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh seemed to have numbered more than many markets in recent memory.

Now, on the ground, a slightly more complicated picture is emerging

Top of mind is the potential for a multi-union strike. Less than a week before the opening of the Cannes market, the DGA entered contract negotiations with negotiations committee co-chair...

Haley Bennett (Cyrano, Swallow, The Girl On The Train) is set to lead Night and Day, Justine Waddell’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, to be directed by BAFTA nominee Tina Gharavi (I Am Nasrine, Cleopatra: African Queens). WestEnd Films has boarded the the German-Irish-u.K. co-production and is introducing the project to buyers in Cannes.

Set in an era when glass ceilings were made of concrete, Bennett will play Katharine Hilbery — one woman who insisted on reaching for the stars. Based on what has been called Woolf’s funniest novel, Night and Day is described as an “unromantic comedy” about a passionate astronomer who does everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage. Contemporary in tone, the story of Katharine’s bold challenge to the Edwardian patriarchy is set against the backdrop of the suffragette movement and advances in science and technology, at the turn of the 20th century.

Picture Tree Intl. has picked up global sales rights to “Gina” (working title), by Ulrike Kofler, which follows her Netflix debut “What We Wanted.”

“Gina” tells the story of a 9-year-old girl longing for a home and family while having to take care of her younger siblings and mother, who is too overwhelmed to take care of herself, let alone her children.

The film, produced by Film Ag, is the second feature by Kofler, who is a long-time editor for Austrian director Marie Kreutzer. Kofler’s editing work includes “Corsage,” which won best film at the London Film Festival and three nominations for the European Film Awards in 2022, “The Ground Beneath My Feet”, and Josef Hader’s “Wild Mouse”.

Kolfer’s directorial debut “What We Wanted,” starring Elyas M’Barek and Lavinia Wilson, was sold by Pti exclusively to Netflix, and was Austria’s official entry for the Academy Awards in...

Berlin-based sales agent Picture Tree Intl. has sold romantic comedy “Love Thing,” starring top German actor Elyas M’Barek, to several territories. It has also closed the first deal for Austrian horror movie “Smother.”

“Love Thing” has gone to Flins & Piniculas in Spain; A2 Distribuidora in Latin America; Cinemart A.S. in Czech Republic; and Av-Jet in Taiwan. Spafax & Anuvu took airline rights. Pti is in negotiations with buyers in France, Italy, Cis and Hungary.

“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed 85 million. The film was produced by Constantin Film, which released it in Germany earlier this year.

In the movie, it’s red carpet time in Berlin, and everyone at the premiere is waiting to catch a glimpse of Germany’s biggest movie star,...

"Something is wrong with Lars' text." Beta Cinema has released an official US trailer with English subtitles for a German film titled A Thousand Lines, or Tausend Zeilen in German. It opened in Germany a few weeks ago, but it still doesn't have a US distributor yet. Inspired by true events, the film is another odd story about journalism losing its way. Freely based on one of the biggest scandals in recent media history, UFA Fiction and Warner Bros. Entertainment present a gripping and entertaining David vs. Goliath story in our times of fake news and alternative facts. Starring Elyas M’Barek and Jonas Nay, with Marie Burchard, Michael Ostrowski, Jörg Hartmann, Michael Maertens, and Kurt Krömer. This film reminds me of another comedy of errors German film, Operation Curveball, also about a screw up that no one wanted to admit was a screw up. All of the quotes in this trailer are made up,...

Variety has been given access to the international trailer (below) for “A Thousand Lines,” by one of Germany’s most successful directors, Michael Bully Herbig (“Manitou’s Shoe”), and starring two of its leading actors, Elyas M’Barek (“Fuck You Göhte”) and Jonas Nay (“Deutschland 83”). The film opened via Warner Bros. across German-speaking Europe two weeks ago. Beta Cinema is presenting it to buyers at AFM.

“A Thousand Lines” – a blend of satire, drama and comedy – is written by Hermann Florin, inspired by Juan Moreno’s “Tausend Zeilen Lüge.” It is the fictional adaptation of one of Germany’s biggest media scandals. The story centers on freelance journalist Juan Romero, played by M’Barek, who encounters inconsistencies in a cover story by award-winning reporter Lars Bogenius, played by Nay.

For the time being, the board of directors of the Chronik news magazine sticks by their celebrated leading writer, and try to...

Picture Tree Intl. has acquired international sales on “A Whole Life,” which is based on the bestselling novel by Robert Seethaler, and was adapted for the screen by Ulrich Limmer, whose credits include Oscar nominee “Schtonk.”

The film is directed by Hans Steinbichler, whose films include Berlin Film Festival entry “The Diary of Anne Frank,” and the third season of pay TV operator Sky’s TV series “Das Boot.” Austrian actor Stefan Gorski takes the lead role.

“A Whole Life,” produced by Germany’s Tobis Film and Austria’s Epo-Film, is shooting now and is scheduled for release in the summer or fall next year.

The film tells the story of Andreas Egger over eight decades of the last century, a life marked by poverty, war and violence, but also moments of bliss and love. His experiences make him a humble man, happy with the little things life has to offer.

Berlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has added to its European Film Market slate “Love Thing,” starring top German actor Elyas M’Barek, whose credits include “The Collini Case.” Also on the slate is “Soul of a Beast,” which debuts its trailer below.

Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.

“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed $85 million.

“Love Thing” is produced by German production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film, which has set its release for July 7. The producers are Rüdiger Böss and Philipp Reuter; the co-producers are Anika Decker and Jan Decker; and the executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz. Picture Tree will present a first teaser trailer to select buyers.

Tighter national measures mean cinemagoers must be vaccinated or have proof of recovery from Covid-19.

As the Berlinale and European Film Market organisers continue to plan for physical events in February 2022, some German distributors are rearranging their schedules in reaction to further measures being brought in nationally to help curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

Constantin Film has postponed the release of three of its major upcoming titles: Caveman, starring Moritz Bleibtreu, due to open on December 23; Sönke Wortmann’s comedy sequel Der Nachname on January 20, and Anika Decker’s romantic Liebesdings, with Elyas M’Barek and Lucie Heinze,...

This adaptation of Ferdinand von Schirach’s thriller about a grandfather with a murky past is let down by conventional storytelling and clunky acting

“We need to know about the evil,” said the German lawyer-turned-bestselling-novelist Ferdinand von Schirach. “That’s the only way we can live with it.” His grandfather was head of the Hitler Youth and his grandmother served as Hitler’s secretary. Now, Von Schirach’s thriller about the legacy of Nazism featuring a grandfather with a murky past has been adapted into a watchable if sluggish and dated courtroom drama – let down by cliched storytelling and clunky acting that drains the movie of tension.

Elyas M’Barek plays newly qualified public defender Caspar Leinen, who is constantly being reminded that his Turkish heritage puts him on the outside of the establishment. Three months into the new job, he lands the case of his career, representing an Italian man...

"You can't defend someone like him." Peccadillo Pictures in the UK has unveiled a new official UK trailer for the German legal thriller The Collini Case, from German filmmaker Marco Kreuzpaintner. This originally opened in Germany back in 2019, but is only now getting an official UK release in cinemas this September. Apparently this also opened in the US online last year, but we haven't heard about it until now, time to catch up with it anyway. Based on the international best-seller by Ferdinand von Schirach, The Collini Case is a slick and thrilling courtroom drama inspired by one of the biggest legal scandals in German history. Hoping to launch his career, a rookie defense lawyer takes on a mysterious case of a prominent Italian industrialist who's accused of murdering an old German tycoon, who was a father figure to him. He discovers more while digging into his past to try and understand his motives.

Peccadillo Pictures has launched a poster and trailer for the upcoming drama inspired by one of the biggest legal scandals in German history, ‘The Collini Case.’

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the story follows young attorney Caspar Leinen (Elyas M’Barek) as he is assigned his first major case when appointed by the court as a defence counsel to Fabrizio Collini (Franco Nero), an unassuming 70-year-old Italian accused of killing the respected industrial magnate Hans Meyer (Manfred Zapatka), seemingly without motive. But there is much more at stake for Caspar than his first big case as a defence lawyer. The victim was not only the grandfather of his childhood sweetheart Johanna (Alexandra Maria Lara) but also a mentor and father figure to him in his youth. Although a non-guilty verdict would propel his career, the damage to his personal relationships would be irreversible. Despite this, Caspar delves deeper into the high-profile case,...

German cinema looks set for a major boost this year from some of the country’s most commercially successful and critically acclaimed directors tackling such eclectic subject matter as U.S. torture in Guantánamo, the impact of bipolar disorder on family, and a folkloric love story about the Grim Reaper.

The pandemic postponed a number of scheduled 2020 productions, which will likely make 2021 a busy year as production companies make up lost time.

Andreas Dresen, Til Schweiger, Michael Bully Herbig, Hans-Christian Schmid, Sönke Wortmann and the late Joseph Vilsmaier all have high-profile projects in the works or set to hit theaters (when they reopen) this year.

Dresen explores the injustice of America’s war on terror in the tentatively titled “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush.” Dresen, who enjoyed a major hit with the award-winning 2018 biopic “Gundermann,” reteamed with writer Laila Stieler on the fact-based pic about Rabiye Kurnaz (Meltem Kaptan), a Turkish housewife in Bremen,...

Akin’s new film is a gangster drama called ‘Rheingold’.

Fatih Akin’s gangster drama Rheingold and Michael Bully Herbig’s media satire 1000 Lines are among the new film projects to receive funding from Hamburg’s Filmfoerderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (Ffhsh) and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (Mbb).

Akin’s gangster biopic is based on the 2015 book Alles oder Nix by the German hip hop rapper and label boss Xatar. It received €700,000 – the largest single amount at last week’s sitting of Hamburg’s committee for high-end films and series with production budgets over €3.5m.

Akin’s bombero international is producing the film which...

Akin’s new film is a gangster drama called ‘Rheingold’.

Fatih Akin’s gangster drama Rheingold and Michael Bully Herbig’s media satire 1000 Lines are among the new film projects to receive funding from Hamburg’s Filmfoerderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (Ffhsh) and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (Mbb).

Akin’s gangster biopic is based on the 2015 book Alles oder Nix by the German hip hop rapper and label boss Xatar. It received €700,000 - the largest single amount at last week’s sitting of Hamburg’s committee for high-end films and series with production budgets over €3.5m.

Akin’s bombero international is producing the film...

Elyas M’Barek, star of Who Am I and hit German comedy franchise Fack ju Göhte, and Deutschland 89 lead Jonas Nay have been cast to star in 1000 Zeilen (1000 Lines), a media satire inspired by the real-life 2018 fake news scandal involving disgraced Der Spiegel journalist Claas Relotius.

Nay will play Lars Bogenius, an award-winning star writer at a major German news magazine who secretly has been faking his interviews and reporting. The only one who suspects him is Romero (M’Barek), a fellow journalist who risks his career, and even his family, to bring the truth to light.

The film is inspired by the book,...

Elyas M’Barek, star of Who Am I and hit German comedy franchise Fack ju Göhte, and Deutschland 89 lead Jonas Nay have been cast to star in 1000 Zeilen (1000 Lines), a media satire inspired by the real-life 2018 fake news scandal involving disgraced Der Spiegel journalist Claas Relotius.

Nay will play Lars Bogenius, an award-winning star writer at a major German news magazine who secretly has been faking his interviews and reporting. The only one who suspects him is Romero (M’Barek), a fellow journalist who risks his career, and even his family, to bring the truth to light.

The film is inspired by the book,...

Do married couples in the movies ever go on vacation just for the hell and fun of it? Or is it always to get away from something, to cover over an absence, to shorten a yawning distance between them? Alice and Niklas, the Viennese pair at the center of “What We Wanted,” aren’t about to break with tradition. Coolly attractive and comfortably off, they nonetheless arrive at a Sardinian beachside resort under a low cloud of depression and discontent: They’re in their early forties, their latest attempt at in vitro fertilization has just failed, and they’re staring down the future of a marriage they don’t know how to complete, if not with an elusive and long-desired child. Austrian writer-director Ulrike Kofler’s debut feature follows in a long tradition of marital dramas negotiating this particular impasse or turning point, and it’s a handsome, sensitive entry...

"We deserve a nice life, too." Netflix has revealed an official trailer for an Austrian indie drama titled What We Wanted, the feature directorial debut of Austrian filmmaker Ulrike Kofler. This intimate, emotional story is about a couple that is struggling to conceive despite trying multiple times. Alice, played by Lavinia Wilson, and Niklas, played by Elyas M'Barek, are a couple who's biggest wish is to have a child of their own. After several failed attempts they decide to go on a holiday to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia to clear their minds. There they meet a family from Austria that seems to have everything they ever wished for. But appearances can be deceiving... Which usually means they'll discover they have plenty of problems as well, since we like to look at others who have what we want as perfect, but that's not true. It also stars Anna Unterberger, Lukas Spisser,...

You had me at Franco Nero. If you need more than that, here's a quick description drawn from the official synopsis: 'Lawyer Caspar Leinen (Elyas M'Barek) is confronted with a spectacular case when he is appointed by the court to defend Fabrizio Collini (Franco Nero), who has been accused of killing a man in his hotel room, seemingly without motive.' In our exclusive clip from The Collini Case, which you can watch below, we see the inciting incident, and its immediate aftermath. Marco Kreuzpaintner (Summer Storm) directed the taut courtroom drama, which will be available on a variety of VOD platforms as of Friday, June 5, 2020, via capelight pictures and Mpi Media Group. Here are many more official words about the film: "For Caspar,...

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It has been a long time since Franco Nero got a role fully deserving of his talents. In Marco Kreuzpaintner's take on Ferdinand von Schirach's international bestseller, he shows that he's still got what it takes - even though, in the opening scenes, it's very difficult to tell what his character is thinking or feeling. The camera focuses closely on those steely blue eyes as he approaches his destination, a spacious glass-fronted office in an expensive looking building. There, he is greeted by elderly executive Hans Meyer (Manfred Zapatka), and though we don't directly witness what happens between them, it's not difficult to figure out - even before he staggers down into the lobby to announce it.

The 70-year-old German-Italian Fabrizio Collini offers no defence. He barely even speaks. Things look even worse for him when he is assigned earnest young lawyer Caspar Leinen (Elyas M'Barek), who, it turns out,...

Actors Gerard Butler (pictured above with Soho House’s Dominic Hofer and Studio Babelsberg’s Christoph Fisser), Daniel Brühl and Tom Wlaschiha, who played Jaqen H’ghar in “Game of Thrones,” were among the guests at the Studio Babelsberg Night Friday at Berlin’s Soho House.

Other actors at the party included Thomas Kretschmann, Emilia Schuele, Elyas M’Barek, Iris Berben, Max von der Groeben, Sebastian Koch, Sabin Tambrea, Sonja Gerhardt, David Schuetter, and Hannah Herzsprung.

The directors at the event were Tom Tykwer, Ruben Fleischer, Baran bo Odar, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Lars Kraume, Marco Kreuzpaintner, and Jan-Ole Gerster.

Among the politicians and business execs were Michael Mueller, Mayor of Berlin, Monika Gruetters, Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Charles Rivkin, chairman of the Motion Picture Assn., David Goldman, VP, original series at Netflix, Martin Bachmann, managing director at Sony Pictures Releasing in Germany, and Kirsten Niehuus, M.D. at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

Sales agent Picture Tree Intl. has taken the international rights to comedy “The Black Square,” which will star Sandra Hueller, the co-lead of Oscar-nominated “Toni Erdmann,” and now appearing in “Exile,” which has its European premiere Monday in Berlin’s Panorama section, after playing at Sundance.

Port au Prince Pictures will release “The Black Square” in Germany and Austria. The distributor also released last year’s Berlinale Silver Bear winner and German Oscar entry “System Crasher,” which became an indie box office hit in Germany with a $5.15 million theatrical gross.

“The Black Square,” which starts principal photography on Tuesday, is written and directed by Peter Meister, making his feature film debut.

The film tells the story of two art thieves who have stolen the iconic avant-garde painting “Black Square” by Kazimir Malevich. The handover of the $60 million ransom is set to take place on a cruise ship, but things go...

Picture Tree Intl. has secured global sales rights of Berlin comedy “Nightlife,” directed by Simon Verhoeven, following his last film “Welcome to Germany,” which was Germany’s comic relief to the refugee crisis. The film sold to more than 60 territories and screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide, while being the No.1 box office hit in Germany in 2016.

“Nightlife” features German star Elyas M’Barek as bartender Milo who, on a night out in Berlin, meets Sunny, a Berlin native and the woman of his dreams – a fateful encounter as it soon turns out. Their first date starts out very smoothly until Milo’s chaotic friend Renzo, played by Frederick Lau, appears on the scene. Unexpectedly, the romantic evening turns into a wild race through the nightlife of Berlin with the trio fighting for nothing less than their lives and true love.

After blockbusters like “Maennerherzen” (Men in the City) (2009) and “Welcome to Germany...

This Crazy Heart, last year's break-out German-language hit from director Marc Rothemund (Sophie Scholl: The Final Days), is going to Spain. And China.

The dramedy in the vein of About a Boy, which follows a rich, irresponsible 30-something forced to care for a 15-year-old heart patient, is getting local-language remakes in several territories, including China, Spain, Mexico and Turkey.

Germany's Constantin Film, which produced the original, earlier inked a deal for French adaptation of Crazy Heart with Dimitri Rassam’s Paris-based Chapter 2. The original film, which featured German superstar Elyas M'Barek as the spoiled 30-something and Philip Schwarz as the...

Did you fall in love with the time-twisting mysteries of Netflix's new series Dark this year? If it cured your post-Stranger Things blues, then you'll be pleased to know that the supernatural series has been renewed for a second season by the streaming service:

Press Release: Berlin -- Netflix has renewed its first German original production, Dark, for a second season. The acclaimed drama created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese has resonated with audiences in Germany and around the world, including the U.S., Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Spain and France among other countries. Dark, a family saga with a supernatural twist, is now one of the most-watched entirely non-English shows on Netflix, a German series that transcends borders to connect with audiences in every country.

Kelly Luegenbiehl, Vice President of International Originals for Netflix, said: "When we first heard about Dark, we realized very early on...

Comedy and romance bookend the 2017 Stony Brook Film Festival presented by Island Federal Credit Union. The 22nd Annual Sbff opens on July 20th at Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University. U.S. premiere screening of Welcome to Germany (Willkommen bei den Hartmanns), a feature written and directed by Simon Verhoeven (Men in the City), opens the Festival. Welcome to Germany is a timely comedy about a well-off Munich family who offer to take in a refugee. The film stars Senta Berger, Heiner Lauterbach, Palina Rojinski, Elyas M'Barek and Eric Kabongo. The film from Picture Tree, produced by Quirin Berg, Michael Verhoeven, Simon Verhoeven and Max Wiedemann, is being shown in its first screening in North America. A romantic comedy, Text for You, from...

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Continuing their promotional run, the cast of “Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” stepped onto the red carpet for their Berlin premiere on Tuesday evening (August 20).

Lily Collins looked lovely in a cropped gown while she posed with her ex-beau/co-star Jamie Campbell Bower for a few photo ops.

Meanwhile, fellow cast mates including Kevin Zegers and Elyas M'Barek lent their star power to the wonderful evening and greeted fans and photogs before heading inside.

“Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” opened in theaters last evening, and scored a measly 24% approval rating from the industry’s top critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

What did you think of the flick?...

Sure, its hot young cast is aiming for the hearts of tweeners everywhere, but The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones boasts a few slightly older familiar faces that should draw in their parents as well. Gather up your family members, and check out these first two TV spots for the flick.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 21, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel...

For those of you younger fans out there, one movie that may be right up your alley is the upcoming big screen adaptation of Cassandra Clare's dark fantasy adventure tale The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.

City of Bones arrives in theaters August 21st and stars Lily Collins, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kevin Durand, Lena Headey, Kevin Zegers and Aidan Turner. In the film, Zegers stars as one of the story's Shadowhunters who must work alongside a young woman (Collins) in order to protect our world against demons threatening to invade and while at Sdcc 2013, we spoke to Zegers about his involvement in the project, what fans can expect and more on the upcoming sequel, City of Ashes, which is set to start filming very soon.

Read on for the highlights from our exclusive interview with Zegers below.

Dread Central: This seems like an exciting world to be part of...

Evan Dickson caught up with director Harald Zwart who dropped some interesting news on us regarding his latest film, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Read on for details.

"The first monster you meet in the movie, I was inspired by ‘The Thing’, which I think is a great movie," says Zwart. "One of the scariest movies I ever saw and I loved every second of it. I just loved the idea of demons taking possession of other creatures and when they surface, the living creature is just a host. The body is cracked to pieces and wrongly reassembled. I used that as a hook to the creature design here. I liked the idea of a demon as something you haven’t seen before. I watched ‘The Exorcist’ a lot of times for this as well, I wanted to have some of that feel. You can feel the actor [at work] there.

One-sheet number 18,001 in promotion of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones has made its way online, and we have it for you right here. Go ahead. Engage in a staring contest with it. We friggin' dare you!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 21, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the...

Before you head out for some 4th of July festivities and fireworks, here's a new video in which Lily Collins introduces us to the world of The Mortal Instruments.

In addition, for a sneak peek (or I guess a sneak listen) of the soundtrack featuring snippets of Demi Lovato's "Heart by Heart," Colbie Caillat's "When the Darkness Comes," and Zedd's "Into the Lair," visit The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Tumblr page.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 23, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager,...

This latest trailer for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is all about the Shadowhunters, kids! Who are they, you ask? Let's just say that their hijinx are the main reason that most of us will be going to see this flick!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 23, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons.

Another Shadowhunter graces the latest character poster for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones: Meet Isabelle, an Instrument of good, portrayed by Jemima West.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 23, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters,...

It's been about a month since we last brought you a character poster from the upcoming flick The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, but with the passage of time has come a new look at a Shadowhunter. Dig it along with the other five to refresh your memory!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 23, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in...

We've seen Instruments of Good and Evil so far, and now it's time for the reveal of an Instrument of Chaos in this latest character poster for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Check out Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 23, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle...

And the award for the second most dramatic headline of the week goes to... the Chris Cornell looking dude on the latest poster for Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 23, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must...

And the award for most dramatic headline of the day goes to... If only the one-sheet itself was as dramatic. Sadly, it's pretty mundane. Don't believe us? Why should you? We're bastards. In any event see for yourself.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s young adult fantasy novel and has a release date of August 23, 2013.

Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Elyas M'Barek, Lily Collins, Robert Sheehan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jemima West, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, and Jamie Campbell Bower star in the film helmed by Harald Zwart. Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King wrote the script.

Synopsis:

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After...