News

Ammonite, Apples, Promising Young Woman, Supernova, The Dig, The Father and The Mauritanian are among the first wave of movies recommended by a European Film Awards committee for nomination at this year’s event.

A record number of movies have been suggested by the committee this year in light of the pandemic disruption. More than 40 films have been revealed today — features and docs — with more set to be revealed in September.

The feature films have been selected by a committee of the Academy Board and a range of European industry professionals. The documentary films have been selected by Efa Board Members Graziella Bildesheim (institutional/Italy) and Ada Solomon (producer/Romania), Katja Gauriloff, Kathrin Kohlstedde (festival programmer/Germany), Veton Nurkollari (artistic director/Kosovo), Orwa Nyrabia, Rada Šešić (festival programmer and filmmaker/Bosnia & Herzegovina/The Netherlands), Rajesh Thind and...

“Game of Thrones” co-executive producer Vince Gerardis is developing “Provvidenza,” a prequel to Italy’s national literary classic “I Promessi Sposi” (The Betrothed) to be set in a 16th-century plague-stricken Milan that is dirty, dark, lethal and corrupt.

After setting up a Rome-based company called Ciao, Gerardis — who specializes in packaging big world-building film and TV projects based on literary properties, such as “Game of Thrones” — has now partnered with Italian publisher Rizzoli which in October will publish a “Promessi Sposi” prequel novel, written by young Italian scholar Francesco Musesti and titled “Lodovico.”

Gerardis has also teamed up with Rome-based producer Maria Grazia Saccà, who is heading up his Italian outpost. They have started shopping the project to broadcasters and streamers.

The prequel novel is centered around the backstory of the character of Friar Christopher, who before converting, murdered a nobleman in a duel, and also that of other characters...