News

Upcoming features by Babak Jalali, Kamila Andini, Martin Koolhoven, Emily Atef, Yann Gonzalez and Diego Lerman are among 67 projects selected for the 12th Venice Gap-Financing Market.

The project incubator which is a component of the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Production Bridge industry program will run from August 29 to 31.

The 67 projects from around the world in the final stages of development and funding have been selected from 330 applications.

They span 40 feature-length fiction and documentary projects, 14 immersive projects, 10 Biennale College Cinema immersive projects and three Biennale College Cinema projects.

Their director-producer teams will participate in one-to-one meetings organized by the Vpb with top industry decision-makers including producers, private and public financiers, banks, distributors, sales agents, TV commissioners, streamers, VoD platforms, institutions and post-production companies.

All meetings will be held at the Venice Production Bridge venues of Hotel Excelsior and Venice Immersive Island.

The full list of feature film projects:

93 – Echo Froma...

Projects from Emily Atef, Babak Jalali, Luis Ortega and Ulrich Seidl are among the 40 films selected for the 12th edition of the Venice Gap-Financing Market (August 29 – 31), taking place during the Venice Film Festivals.

The market is a part of the Venice Production Bridge and provides the 67 projects with the chance to close their intentional financing. This year’s focus is on projects from the UK, Chile and Morocco.

Atef makes her English-language debut with Call Me Queen about a friendship between an Irish journalist in Kenya and a Rwandan woman during the 1990s AIDS crisis. It is produced by Germany...

Exclusive: Arrested Industries Talent has signed The Smell of Apples co-writer Christopher Ciancimino and actress-director Bryerly Long.

The talent management division of Anthony Kimble’s Arrested Industries has been building its international talent roster since launching in February, and will represent Ciancimino and Long going forwards.

Ciancimino has over 20 years’ experience in TV and film as a writer and exec, and most recently co-wrote wrote the upcoming adaptation of the acclaimed South African novel The Smell of Apples with John Trengove for Portobello Productions.

His other credits include the Zimbabwean wine-tasting comedy Blind Ambition with co-writer Nathan Boyd for Impact X and Goodgate Media, and producing Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, John Krasinski’s directorial debut, with a cast that included Timothy Hutton, Corey Stoll, Will Forte and Julianne Nicholson. The film was produced by Woodshed Entertainment, a company that Ciancimino co-founded and that was also home to his debut feature,...

Exclusive: Anthony Kimble has opened the newest management agency on the international beat with a roster of UK and South African talent.

Arrested Industries Talent will sit within Kimble’s Arrested Industries, the content development, financing and production company he runs out of L.A., London and Cape Town. Its launch is designed to identify and curate talent from smaller markets and expand their international careers.

The agency launches with a roster comprising writer/director Christiaan Olwagen, writer/director/author Etienne Fourie, director Tina Gharavi, Edinburgh Fringe breakout Lyndon Chapman, and actors Daniel Fox, Daniel Schultz and Sam Benjamin.

Kimble will continue working with LA-based 5X Media, with Arrested Industries Talent now having a co-representation in the U.S. with the producer and management firm. 5X will represent Arrested’s talent in the U.S., while Arrested will rep 5X talent in South Africa and other territories.

“During the course...

Screenreveals a snapshot of the latest high-end TV and film productions shooting in the UK for the big studios and streamers.

Pleasecontact us hereto add or update changes to the following or new productions taking place in the UK.

Films

Next Life

A jazz singer finds herself across two alternative realities.

Dir:Drake Doremus

Prod:Mutressa,Fetisoff Illusion, 42

Where:London

When:December-ongoing

Distributor:Tbc

Cast:Emilia Clarke, Edgar Ramirez

& Sons

A famous novelist becomes convinced he is going to die imminently.

Dir:Pablo Trapero

Prod:Matanza Cine srl,Infinity Hill

Where:uk

When:December-ongoing

Distributor: Tbc

Cast: Bill Nighy, George MacKay, Matt Smith

H Is For...

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.

Another screen project about Iran’s Royal Family is in the works.

“Queen Cleopatra” director Tina Gharavi is set to co-direct a new drama series titled “The Shah, The Spy, The Madman” alongside Iranian-American series creator Shahriar William Raee.

The project, produced by Caspian Pictures, is envisioned as a returning series and aims to bring the story of Iran’s last emperor, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to the screen.

“The Shah, The Spy, The Madman” is set to go into pre-production in late 2024, with the pilot and first season ready to go. Casting is in the works.

The first season will focus on the U.S.’s covert plot to overthrow Pahlavi in the early 1950s as operatives oust his Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and install a pliable young King in order to thwart the Soviet Union. Two more seasons are also planned.

“This series requires filmmakers experienced in telling stories...

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,...

The U.K.’s Documentary Film Council (Dfc) is seeking funds to support the independent documentary sector, which is under “existential threat.”

The Dfc was formed in response to a three-year study on the U.K. feature-length documentary film industry and co-designed by several organizations in the field, including Doc Society, Sheffield DocFest, the Grierson Trust, The Whickers, Scottish Documentary Institute, Docs Ireland and BBC Storyville.

An open letter to the U.K. screen industries compiled by the Dfc states that the formation of the Dfc is “based on the recognition that independent documentary in the U.K. faces an existential threat and that there is urgent need for coordinated, long-term interventions across the sector.”

“Films at the independent end of the spectrum – creative, observational, character-led films, films that originate outside of a commissioner’s brief or which explore difficult-but-vital political or cultural questions – are increasingly hard to get made,” the letter adds.

Partners on the scheme include Gaumont, Eleven, and Maia Pictures.

The Writers Lab UK and Europe has set the 15 participants taking part in the 2023 edition, which for the first time is offering a combined UK and Europe edition, with participants from all four UK nations, plus Ireland, Greece, Italy, Germany and Austria.

The development and marketplace programme devoted to script development for women and nonbinary screenwriters over 40 launched in 2015 with a US edition, expanding to the UK in 2021, and Europe in 2022. It provides an opportunity to discover and nurture new talent, matching selected writers with leading film and TV industry...

Ewan McGregor saw the strike coming in June, just as filming on his Paramount+ series A Gentleman in Moscow was nearing the finish line.

Like McGregor’s character, a Russian aristocrat under house arrest in a Soviet hotel, the shoot had nowhere to go. Continuing to film without a leading man was not an option, so McGregor, sporting a carefully clipped mustache, gathered colleagues to deliver the news many dreaded: the show would not go on.

Despite a brief reprieve as SAG-AFTRA extended talks with studios in early July, A Gentleman in Moscow eventually shut up shop last week. It had just seven days left to shoot. “He was gutted,” says someone in the room as McGregor gave a brief address to cast and crew.

A Gentleman in Moscow was not filming in the fulcrum of strike activity in Hollywood. Instead, it was one of a long line of shoots entrusted to the UK,...

’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.

“Queen Cleopatra,” Netflix’s four-part documentary on perhaps the most famous Queen of Egypt, has been very poorly reviewed.

On Rotten Tomatoes it currently has a tomatometer score of 10%, meaning official reviews have been terrible. But it also has a 2% audience score, meaning that the overwhelming majority of non-professional users who bothered reviewing the show themselves hated it too.

But no doubt you’ve seen by now how the show’s star and creators have had to push back against much of the reaction to the show, and the star herself has been harassed. So what’s going on?

It’s complex, but in short, while yes, there are sincere critiques of the show’s historical inaccuracies and the production itself, there is also a separate backlash that is unmistakably racist. Let’s dive in.

Racism

“Queen Cleopatra” focuses on many of the things people know about her. Her rise to power in Egypt,...

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.

The Netflix original series Queen Cleopatra chronicles the life of its titular subject, Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and its popularity has viewers wondering whether there will be a Queen Cleopatra season 2. Released in May 2023, Queen Cleopatra is a docudrama miniseries, in which the life, rule, and influence of Cleopatra VII are discussed and depicted over the course of four episodes. The format of the show mixes dramatic portrayals — fictionalized scripted reenactments with actors in the roles of Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Julius Caesar, Augustine, and others — and talking-head interviews with historians and other academics with expertise on the iconic figure and the events of her reign.

Queen Cleopatra was executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, who also narrates the series, as the second installment of her African Queens franchise. Like the first installment, African Queens: Njinga, Queen Cleopatra is also directed by Tina Gharavi. While the prior series, which debuted in...

Queen Cleopatra star Adele James has reacted to the Egyptian lawsuit against Netflix for portraying Cleopatra VII as Black in the documentary series, saying, "I feel sad for them." The series is the second installment in Netflix's African Queens documentary series, which explores female figures of power throughout African history. James, a Black actor, stars as Cleopatra in Queen Cleopatra, which has caused controversy over her portrayal's historical accuracy.

Speaking on The Wayne Ayers Podcast, James responded to the Egyptian lawsuit against Netflix for her role in Queen Cleopatra. She claims the lawsuit is rooted in racism and finds it amusing. Check out James' full statement below:

"I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's quite funny. I think it's quite funny. The level of threat that you must feel, just on my skin tone, to file a lawsuit against an entire streaming service. That to me is really extreme. It's a really extreme reaction,...

Adele James, star of Netflix's Queen Cleopatra, responds to backlash over her casting in the role of the titular monarch. Queen Cleopatra is a Netflix docudrama that premiered on May 10, following the Egyptian queen over her 21-year rule from 51 BC to 30 BC. The series was accused of "Blackwashing" by casting a Black woman as Cleopatra, with an Egyptian governmental agency, the Supreme Council Of Antiquities (Sca), even going so far as to denounce the casting as being "a blatant historical fallacy."

In an interview with The Wayne Ayers Podcast, James responds to the Blackwashing claims, saying that Queen Cleopatra has been thoroughly researched, and that Cleopatra's race is still a big question among experts. James also condemns the show's backlash, saying that Blackwashing isn't a real issue, and that people often feel the need to separate Egypt as a country from the rest of the African continent. Read James' full response below:

Well,...

Over in Egypt, a new big budget documentary about Cleopatra has been announced as a direct response to the controversial Queen Cleopatra docuseries on Netflix. Produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Cleopatra has been criticized by Egyptians over its casting of Black actress Adele James as the late ruler. Critics argue that Cleopatra was of European descent and it's a "violation of the country's media laws" to portray her as Black. The Egyptian governmental agency called the Supreme Council of Antiquities previously dubbed the Netflix doc as a "falsification of Egyptian history and a blatant historical fallacy."

"Statues of Queen Cleopatra confirm that she had Hellenistic (Greek) features, distinguished by light skin, a drawn-out nose and thin lips," the Egyptian government noted on Twitter.

Now, it's been revealed that the next step has been to make a new documentary that will cast a light-skinned woman to play Cleopatra. Variety reports that the Al Wathaeqya channel,...

A government-owned Egyptian broadcaster has responded to controversy over the casting of a Black actress to play Cleopatra in the Netflix docudrama series “African Queens,” which streams from May 10, by announcing production of its own big-budget Cleopatra doc.

The fact that Britain’s Adele James, who is of mixed heritage, plays the first-century Egyptian ruler as a queen with African roots in the Netflix original produced by Jada Pinkett Smith has been sparking an uproar in Egypt. Ever since the trailer dropped last month local academics and others are claiming that Cleopatra, who was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BC and belonged to a Greek-speaking dynasty, was of European descent and not Black.

In response to what they claim is Netflix’s falsification of Egypt’s history, the Al Wathaeqya channel – which is a subsidiary of Egypt’s state-affiliated United Media Services – has announced start of production...

Queen Cleopatra is a Netflix documentary directed by Tina Gharavi and Victoria Adeola Thomas, starring Adele James, Craig Russell and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Do you remember the Joseph L. Mankiewicz movie, Cleopatra, starring Elisabeth Taylor? Well, absolutely nothing to do with it.

A documentary series that follows in the footsteps of African Queens: Njinga in its treatment and approach to dramatized documentary.

Queen Cleopatra About the series

To say it with (much) subtlety: the series is not a ten, nor a seven… from there, let’s go down and let everyone places it where they want. A series that undoubtedly lacks the means to recreate the grandeur of Ancient Egypt and that, without the actors or the imagination of I, Claudius (the mythical BBC series) pretends to do something similar, but with not enough resources for the choice of a subject so… grandiose.

And with such a brutal and imperial...

Queen Cleopatra is a towering figure in world history who was immortalized by Shakespeare in his tragic play Antony & Cleopatra, a love story of two powerful leaders who succumbed to love and jealousy, or is that what the famous playwright meant through his literature? When we think of Queen Cleopatra, we think of the unmatched beauty of Egypt, who bathed in milk, and we think of Elizabeth Taylor encapsulating the beauty of the Pharaoh in such a way that it is still hard to imagine another actor in the role other than the iconic Hollywood actress. But the new Netflix Original documentary series about the famous Queen of Egypt is not interested in talking just about the doomed love story. Directors Tina Gharavi and Victoria Adeola Thomas tell us the tale of the politician and leader that the Queen was, who managed to stay strong till the end.

The documentary begins with an American professor,...

After sparking controversy regarding one of its cast, Netflix's Queen Cleopatra documentary recently sparked a response from an Egyptian government agency. Black actor Adele James stars as Cleopatra VII Philopator, the legendary North African ruler in a dramatized four-part series detailing her life and reign over Egypt. Immediately following the British actor's cast, Netflix and series director Tina Gharavi immediately received significant backlash accusing the show of blackwashing the historical figure.

Per Deadline, Egyptian governmental agency the Supreme Council Of Antiquities (Sca) has responded to Queen Cleopatra's casting controversy. In a statement released Thursday by Sca Secretary General Mostafa Waziri, the 160-year-old agency attempts to set the record straight regarding Cleopatra VII's ethnicity and race, stating that she "had light skin and Hellenistic (Greek) features," and pointed to early depictions of the queen with "fair skin, drawn nose and thin lips." Read more of what the Sca said below:...

“African Queens: Queen Cleopatra” director Tina Gharavi is addressing the casting of biracial Black actress Adele James as the titular Greek-Egyptian ruler.

The trailer for Netflix docuseries “Queen Cleopatra” caused a stir and led to allegations that the streamer was “blackwashing” the heritage of Queen Cleopatra VII. Egyptian scholars claim that Cleopatra, who was born in Egyptian city Alexandria in 69 Bce, was born of European descent and not Black. Historians have confirmed that Cleopatra was Macedonian-Greek on her father Ptolemy Xii’s side but her mother’s ethnic origin is unknown.

Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary filed a complaint with the nation’s public prosecutor to request that Netflix be blocked in Egypt due to the promotion of “Afrocentric thinking” including “slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity.” Two petitions to “Cancel Netflix’s ‘Queen Cleopatra’” circulated with more than 88,000 signatures combined.

“Queen Cleopatra” director Gharavi spoke...

Queen Cleopatra director Tina Gharavi recently defended her upcoming Netflix documentary series amid backlash regarding the race of the Egyptian ruler. Black actress Adele James stars as the legendary North African ruler in a four-part dramatized retelling of Cleopatra VII Philopator's historic reign. Due to the show's casting choice, Gharavi and executive producer Jada Pinkett-Smith have received criticism accusing Queen Cleopatra of blackwashing history.

Gharavi defended Queen Cleopatra in Variety, writing a guest column to explain what drew her to the documentary project while tackling the blackwashing backlash head-on. Watching Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor portray the titular queen in Cleopatra (1963) as a child, Gharavi recalled questioning the ruler's heritage, "Was her skin really that white?" After a wealth of research, the director admits to pondering the "political act" of casting Cleopatra with a black actress. "Why shouldn’t Cleopatra be a melanated sister," she asks, "And why do some people need Cleopatra to be white?...

The director of “Queen Cleopatra” is addressing critics.

Last week, Netflix released the trailer for the new drama-documentary series about the iconic Queen of Egypt and drew intense backlash for casting a Black actress as Cleopatra. The series is executive produced and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith.

Read More: Gal Gadot Defends ‘Cleopatra’ Casting Against ‘Whitewashing’ Backlash

Writing for Variety, director Tina Gharavi, who is Iranian, directly took on criticisms, recalling, “I remember as a kid seeing Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra. I was captivated, but even then, I felt the image was not right. Was her skin really that white?”

It is not known exactly what the real Cleopatra looked like, and heritage has long been a source of debate, often attributed to Macedonian Greeks, but with some claiming Persian and other backgrounds.

“Doing the research, I realized what a political act it would be to see Cleopatra portrayed by a Black actress,...

Last summer, I was living in Venice Beach and had decided, due to a friend’s persistence, to visit a fortune teller. Me, ever the sceptic but game for a laugh, agreed to go along. What the fortune teller said made me roll my eyes: “I am not saying you are Cleopatra but somehow you share her story and are connected.”

Less than a month later, I got a call from a production company making Jada Pinkett Smith’s “African Queens” and was subsequently hired to direct four episodes of a drama-documentary on the life of the controversial leader. The joke was on me.

I remember as a kid seeing Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra. I was captivated, but even then, I felt the image was not right. Was her skin really that white? With this new production, could I find the answers about Cleopatra’s heritage and release her from...

African Queens: Njinga is a documentary series directed by Tina Gharavi and Victoria Adeola Thomas.

African Queens is a docu-series on Netflix that tells us in 4 chapters about Njinga, a queen in Central Africa who was opposed to the European invasions and who ruled the Ambundu people keeping them safe during the Sixteenth century. She was brought up to be a warrior and was also a woman with great political and diplomatic acumen.

About the Series

This is a different kind of docu-series full of dramatizations that set it apart from the classic structure of a documentary: interviews, off-screen voices, experts, current images of landscapes… none of this, in this series we find dramatization full of force, vigor and impacting images that are attractive and truly immerse us into a story that deserves to be told.

This is a great docu-series that tells us this other side of History we don´t usually dwell on,...

The shortened in-person Berlin Film Festival (Feb. 10-16) has revealed a raft of high profile shows that will participate in keenly anticipated annual fixture Berlinale Series.

The strand opens with Amazon Prime Video Argentinian spy series “Yosi, the Regretful Spy” and also includes HBO Max Swedish friendship comedy series “Lust”; Lone Scherfig’s TV2 Danish maternity ward-set “The Shift”; Czech Television, Arte drama “Suspicion” from Czech Republic and France; British Sky supernatural thriller “The Rising”; Channel 2 Iceland police drama “Black Sand”; and from France’s Club illico, comedy-drama “Last Summers of the Raspberries.”

Films selected for the youth-focused Generation Kplus strand include “The Hill of Secrets” (South Korea); “Waters of Pastaza” (Portugal); “Moja Vesna” (Slovenia/Australia); “My Small Land” (Japan); “The Realm of God” (Mexico); “The Apple Day” (Iran); “Shabu” (Netherlands) and “Boney Piles” (Ukraine).

Films selected for the Generation 14plus strand include “Alis” (Colombia/Chile/Romania); “Bubble” (Japan...

Greece’s Argonauts Productions has boarded “Forough: A Lonely Woman,” a biopic about iconoclastic Persian poet Forough Farrokhzad by BAFTA-nominated director Tina Gharavi (“I Am Nasrine”), ahead of its presentation in the co-production forum of Rome’s Mia market.

The film follows the short and controversial life of Farrokhzad, a feminist icon who in the 1950s and ‘60s found a way to tell her story in an Iranian society not yet ready for the uncomfortable truths of female desire and ambition.

Gharavi described the modernist poet as “our Sylvia Plath” and drew a comparison to another feminist artist and icon, calling Farrokhzad “as important [to Iranian culture] as Frida Kahlo is to Mexico.”

“Like her, she was a revolutionary,” she said. “Culturally, Forough was this luminary, an independent woman, very advanced for her times, an exquisite poet.” Farrokhzad challenged the traditional norms and structures of Persian poetry while also living an openly promiscuous life,...

Film and TV market devoted to scripted and unscripted content will unfold October 13 to 17.

Rome’s Mia film and TV market has unveiled the line-up and highlights of its seventh edition, unfolding October 13 to 17 in and around the Italian capital’s Piazza Barberini district.

The market is expected to be of greater importance for European film buyers and sellers this autumn, after the Covid-19 pandemic deterred many from travelling to Toronto earlier this September and forced the American Film Market (Nov 1-5) to move online for a second year.

In a sign of this, Mia has reported a 30% increase in...

Breaking Through The Lens, an initiative launched three years ago to promote emerging female directors, has unveiled the shortlist of projects vying to participate in the 3rd edition of its pitching platform set to take place during the Cannes Film Festival.

The selected projects, which will be pitched to over 100 financiers and key industry people during Cannes, were announced during the European Film Market on Feb. 25.

Spanning 13 countries, this year’s shortlist of 20 titles includes Tamika Guishard’s African dance-driven feature “Rhythm in Blues;” Daresha Kyi’s U.S. documentary “Mama Bears” which follows conservative Christian mothers whose lives are transformed as they accept their Lgbtq children; Ahd Kamel’s Saudi Arabian feature “My Driver and I” set in 80s and 90s and centering on an unlikely friendship between a privileged Saudi girl and her Nubian driver; and Laura Moss’ feature debut “Birth/Rebirth,” a female-driven Frankenstein adaptation.

Set to be announced in early April,...

Exclusive: BAFTA Los Angeles has unveiled the participants for the latest edition of its Newcomers Program, which provides support to emerging international artists and industry professionals.

In 2018 the initiative was opened up to talents beyond the UK, and this year’s crop hail from countries including Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa and Turkey. Scroll down for the full list.

Since launching in 2007, the initiative has spotlighted the legacy of UK talents moving to the U.S. to expand their knowledge, develop their skills, and expand their network of peers. It includes professional networking opportunities, peer matching with others who have recently moved to the U.S., curated educational programming including BAFTA Briefing sessions, and access to BAFTA’s wider professional development event schedule including the BAFTA Insights series.

There are 25 new participants this year, taking the overall number on the four-year program to 71.

The...

The event will also host a masterclass for delegates.

Production Finance Market, the UK financing event run by Film London, has selected four projects under its inaugural ‘Ones To Watch’ initiative, and named Monumental Pictures producer Alison Owen as its keynote speaker.

The ‘Ones To Watch’ scheme was unveiled earlier this year during Cannes Film Festival and will spotlight projects currently in development, co-selected by Film London and the BFI London Film Festival.

The four selected projects are The Panopticon to be directed by Jim Loach, produced by Lindsay McGee and Alysia Maciejowska and executive produced by Camilla Bray; The...

The initiative is spearheaded by filmmakers Daphne Schmon, Emily Carlton and Elpida Stathatou.

Canadian director Shelley Thompson, Philippines filmmaker Maritte Go and UK-based documentarian Emily James were among the participants at the second edition of female-focused financing event Breaking Through The Lens in Cannes over the weekend.

The initiative - spearheaded by filmmakers Daphne Schmon, Emily Carlton and Elpida Stathatou - is aimed at connecting female directors and their producers with financiers and other partners on upcoming projects.

Carlton explains they launched the platform to address the challenges female directors face when looking to finance their projects.

“There’s clearly...

BAFTA La is expanding its longstanding Newcomers Program for Brit arrivals in the city to include talent and industry professionals from international territories.

In its first year of expansion the support program will welcome professionals from Poland, South Africa, Australia, Israel, Korea, France, Turkey and Hong Kong. A full list of participants can be found below.

Each participant receives access to BAFTA membership events and initiatives aimed at supporting career development and the transition to living and working in the U.S.

This year’s 55 participants include 19 actors, 15 directors, nine producers, three screenwriters, two art directors, two executives, two composers, one cinematographer, one production designer, one agent and one publicist.

“As BAFTA extends its helping hand globally, we are thrilled that after 10 successful years supporting British talent in Los Angeles, the Newcomers Program now expands to include international talent,” said New Talent Committee Chairs, Sandro Monetti and Peter Morris.

“As our industry becomes increasingly global,...

Participants revealed for year-long initiative.

Bafta has named the 15 female directors taking part in its inaugural career development programme for under-represented groups in film and TV.

Launched in February, Elevate will initially focus on helping women progress their directing careers in high-end television and film. According to 2016 data from Directors UK, only 13.6% of working directors between 2004 and 2014 were female.

The group of 15 was selected from 250 applicants, and reflect a range of experience levels and backgrounds.

Participants include My Brother the Devil director Sally El Hosaini, who co-directed Channel 4 and Sundance TV’s Babylon; Wolfblood and Dates director Sarah Walker; Tina Gharavi, founder of media production company Bridge + Tunnel; and Vanessa Caswill, a lead director on BBC3’s Thirteen.

Full list of Bafta Elevate directors:Alicia DuffyAmanda BlueCathy BradyChristiana Ebohon-GreenDawn ShadforthDelyth ThomasEmma SullivanKate SaxonLindy HeymannLisa ClarkeRebecca JohnsonSally El HosainiSarah WalkerTina GharaviVanessa Caswill

The year-long initiative will include panel discussions, masterclasses and workshops, These will build...

Directors UK and Creative Skillset programme aims to diversify directing talent in TV drama.

Directors UK and Creative Skillset have announced the first two directors who have been selected for their new high end TV drama directors career development programme.

Tina Gharavi and Samantha Harrie have been picked for the scheme, which was launched to help progress and diversify directing talent in TV drama.

They have been selected from more than 200 applicants to work on Kudos’ The Tunnel: Vengeance and Neal Street Productions’ Call The Midwife.

Four additional candidates will be announced later this year.

The scheme includes a 12-week paid placement with high end drama production companies and broadcasters across the UK, working alongside a show’s lead director throughout the entire duration of the show.

Tina Gharavi, the BAFTA-nominated and award-winning filmmaker is working alongside director Gilles Bannier (Tin Star, In The Dark, The Tunnel: Sabotage) on The Tunnel: Vengeance, the Kudos produced...

Elitsa Petkova received the Bulgarian festival’s Grand Prix for her feature debut Zhaleika [pictured].

Women filmmakers triumphed at the 20th edition of the Sofia International Film Festival (Siff) at the weekend’s awards ceremony in the National Palace of Culture.

While Bulgarian-born feature debutant Elitsa Petkova received the International Jury’s Grand Prix ‘Sofia City Of Film’ for Zhaleika, her graduation film from Berlin’s Dffb film school, Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s debut Daisi was named the Best Project at the parallel Sofia Meetings.

The Meetings’ new Grand Prix, sponsored by the Nu Boyana Film Studios and consisting of $56k (€50k) worth of services and a cheque for $5.6k (€5k), was presented by CEO Yariv Lerner who declared that “based on the merits of the presentation, the fact of the possibility of making it and a belief in the director, we definitely saw that promise in this director and we look forward to seeing this film...

Fifteen candidates selected from 250 scheme applicants; previous mentees include Laura Hastings-Smith.

A total of 15 candidates have been selected from 250 applicants to take part in the seventh iteration of UK mentoring scheme Guiding Lights.

This year’s line up includes directing pair James Spinney and Peter Middleton, who have begun production on their feature film Notes on Blindness, as well as Aneil Karia, Emily Greenwood, Mahdi Fleifel, director of A World Not Ours, and Billy Lumby, whose short won the Pears Short Film prize.

Writers include Jennifer Majka, who wrote the screenplay for BAFTA-winning short The Bigger Picture, Matthew Orton, and Hannah Patterson.

Brian Falconer, producer of Oscar-nominated Boogaloo and Graham, made the cut alongside producers Daisy Allsop, Michael Ford, and Chi Thai.

The final two candidates were exhibitors Sophie Easterbrook, who programmed Farnham Maltings, a creative arts centre in the South East, and Carmen Slijpen, who is developing a new community cinema in East Sussex.

Mentors for the...

UK mentor scheme received seventeen applications for each place.

Actor-director Kenneth Branagh and writer-director Hossein Amini are among mentors for training programme Guiding Lights, run by Brighton-based cultural agency Lighthouse.

The 15 mentees include directors, writers, producers and, for the first time, exhibitors, as a result of a new partnership with Film Hub South East, part of the BFI Film Audience Network.

They will receive nine months of personal mentoring.

This year there were seventeen applications for each place on the scheme, which requires candidates to demonstrate experience in their field and their potential for the future.

The scheme began in 2006 and is sponsored by Creative Skillset and Studiocanal. Previous years’ mentors include Danny Boyle, Abi Morgan, Lone Scherfig and Julian Fellowes.

Kevin Macdonald, director of The Last King of Scotland, is taking part for the third time this year. He said: “What I really love about [Guiding Lights] is that I learn as much – maybe more – from the mentee...

Exclusive: Organisers behind the two-day event set to run July 14-15 during the International Festival Of Business 2014 (Ifb 2014) in Liverpool have announced the line-up of guests.

The film event is set to take place at Liverpool’s Foundation For Art And Creative Technology (Fact, pictured), the arts and media centre located in the Ropewalks district that houses state-of-the-art screens, art galleries and a café and bar.

Liverpool-born Im Global CEO Stuart Ford and writer-producer Kevin Sampson have curated the programme in association with Pinewood Studios and UK Talent Management Firm Independent.

Day One is focused on creativity and comprises three on-stage conversations with directors that will see Get Carter director Mike Hodges in conversation with The Independent’s Barry Forshaw; Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco director Mike Newell in conversation with Ford; and the Liverpool-born director of The Awakening, Nick Murphy, talking to Sampson.

The first day will include a masterclass in pitching led by...

Guiding Lights is run by Lighthouse and Creative Skillset and offers participants nine months of one-on-one mentor support, as well as industry training and networking events.

Digital culture agency Lighthouse and Creative Skillset have announced the 15 participants taking part in their 2014 Guiding Lights programme.

In its sixth year, Guiding Lights offers participants nine months of one-on-one mentor support from professionals in the film industry, as well as access to industry training and networking events. The candidates were selected from more than 250 applications.

“The Guiding Lights selection process is always extremely competitive, and this year was no exception,” said Lighthouse senior producer Emily Kyriakides.

“We’re really excited by the past achievements, future potential and talent within the group, and feel that they have a lot to offer each other as well. They’re a very impressive bunch, and we look forward to working with them over the coming months.”

This year, Lighthouse and Creative...

16 European producers will partner with 16 cross-media professionals at the fifth edition of Power to the Pixel’s annual event.

Power to the Pixel (PttP) has announced the projects taking part in this year’s Pixel Lab.

Taking place in Baden-Württemberg from July 6-12, the cross-media workshop will see its 32 selected participants partake in an intensive residential project-focuses training week.

16 European producers will develop projects with 16 cross-media professionals at this year’s event. Participants attending with projects include Tina Gharavi, Lily Lambert and Tim Travers Hawkins.

Producers attending with a project will attend a second workshop in London from Oct 7-10 as part of PttP’s Cross-Media Forum.

Liz Rosenthal, CEO and founder of PttP, commented: “The Pixel Lab continues to draw the best new and exciting ideas developed by creative talent working in filmed, interactive and digital content industries.

“In the Lab’s intensive, energetic and collaborative environment they receive expert guidance, in-depth attention...

Sean Ellis's Metro Manila was the big winner at last night's Moët British Independent Film Awards.

The film, which centres on a family who flee the rice fields of the Philippines to start a new life in Manila, won Best Director, Best Achievement in Production and Best British Independent Film.

The Best Actor prize went to James McAvoy for Filth, while Le Week-End's Lindsay Duncan took home the Best Actress award. Imogen Poots collected the Supporting Actress gong for The Look of Love and Ben Mendelsohn won Best Supporting Actor for Starred Up.

Special awards on the night were handed to Julie Walters, who took the Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution to British film, and Paul Greengrass, recipient of the Variety Award for helping to shine the world spotlight on the UK.

The Bifa winners in full are as follows:

Best British Independent Film

Metro Manila -...

This evening in London the winners of the 2013 British Independent Film Awards were announced and we were on hand to interview the great and good as they arrived to one of the highlights of the British film year.

Once again it was a major showcase for the wealth of emerging talent in this country with some of the year’s best films getting a shout-out in the awards. Each year the British Independent scene grows stronger and there is a greater spotlight shone on it each year, these awards are an indication of that strength.

Stefan Pape was our man on the red carpet and you can find his interviews below. More interviews will be added throughout the night.

Julie Walters

Tom Hardy

Eddie Marsan

Jim Broadbent

Ken Loach

Paul Greengrass

Steve Coogan

Will Poulter

Lesley Manville

Mark Strong

Saoirse Ronan

Shaun Thomas and Conner Chapman

Shirley Henderson

Tina Gharavi...

It’s a very important night for British film. Celebrating, in a way the BAFTAs can’t, the vital new talents emerging in this country. The British Independent Film Awards is one of our favourite nights of the year, as much a routemap for the people to watch over the next year as it is a celebration of them.

The sheer variety of films nominated is evidence of the potent creative landscape of Britain. From the crowd pleasing and inspirational journey of Steve Coogan and Judi Dench in Philomena, through the haunted and surreal discovery of Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, to the barren urban clash of Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant this country has an independent film industry to be proud of.

There was a great swell of support for one film in particular but the awards point to many successes here. It’s great to see...

Judi Dench, Scarlett Johansson: 2013 British Independent Film Awards nominations (photo: Judi Dench in ‘Philomena’) Since the likes of Judi Dench, Scarlett Johansson, James McAvoy, and Tom Hardy are in the running for the 2013 British Independent Film Awards, expect at least a little overlapping between the determinedly indie-oriented BIFAs and other awards season nominees and/or winners elsewhere. (See also: “Judi Dench Sole Bifa Nominee Surely to Get BAFTA, Oscar Nominations.”) Judi Dench and Scarlett Johansson are competing in the Best Actress category; Dench for Stephen Frears’ Philomena, Johansson for Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. Tom Hardy and James McAvoy are in the running for the Best Actor British Independent Film Award; Hardy for Steven Knight’s Locke, McAvoy for Jon S. Baird’s Filth. The top Bifa 2013 movie, however, is David Mackenzie’s Starred Up, with a total of eight nominations including Best British Independent Film, Best Director,...

The nominations for the 16th annual Moet British Independent Film Awards were announced today, and David Mackenzie's Starred Up led the pack with eight including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Jack O'Connell), and two Best Supporting Actor nominations (Ben Mendelsohn and Rupert Friend). I haven't seen many of the other contenders, but I caught Starred Up at Tiff, and it absolutely deserves any acclaim it receives, especially for O'Connell. Other notable nominees included possible Oscar contenders Blue Jasmine (Best International Film) and Judi Dench for Philomena (Best Actress). It's a good collection of nominations, but if I had to note some absences, I would point out that The Double deserved some more love (Mia Wasikowska was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, so the film was eligible). Also, I don't know if Dom Hemingway was eligible, but if so, ignoring Jude Law for Best Actor is criminal. Hit the...

While the Oscars and BAFTAs take up a fair share of the awards spotlight the British Independent Film Awards (or the BIFAs as they are lovingly referred to) are, to our mind, a far more exciting and precise barometer of the state of British film.

It matters not how many La-based golden statues are picked up by the British each February, it is the winners and nominees of the BIFAs which point, once again, to a thrilling year in British film with invention and stark, raving talent at the forefront.

Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant is rightly garlanded with nominations, as is David Mackenzie’s Lff-choice for many, Starred Up. Perhaps the more noticeable names of the Philomena cast and crew are present an dcorrect however it’s the slew of nominations for Jon Baird’s Filth and Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin which are very gratifying. Scarlett Johansson...