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The intricate planning, a bunch of misfits coming together, and an impossible amount of money all come together and result in a thrilling heist. The heist genre is generally one of the most popular sub-genres out because of all the thrills and mystery you can have in the plot while also having a ton of fun. So, if you are a heist genre fan, Netflix is the streaming service for you, as it has some of the best heist shows you can find anywhere.

Kaleidoscope Credit – Netflix

Kaleidoscope is a heist thriller drama series created by Eric Garcia. The Netflix series follows a master thief and his crew as they try to $7 billion, but their internal conflict and greed get in the way of their plans. Kaleidoscope is known for its unique way of presenting its story because...

As another winds down, it's always a good idea to take a spin on Netflix and see what you missed. That's exactly what I did for November 2024. And, I have to say, there were some really good and underrated shows that most Netflix viewers probably missed.

No, I'm not talking about the biggest shows. Everyone knows Outer Banks season 4, Cobra Kai season 6 part 2, and Arcane season 2 premiered in November. Those shows are all over the Netflix Top 10! Everyone was talking about those shows before the new seasons came out. Even A Man on the Inside, the new Netflix original series from Michael Schur and starring Ted Danson, was more hyped up than the shows we picked for this list.

Let's get the list started with a sneaky good series that needs to return for a new season soon, The Cage!

The Cage

Premiere date: Nov. 8

The Cage is the perfect show for fans of Mma,...

The Helicopter Heist is an engrossing Netflix series that transforms a true-life Swedish robbery into a heart-pounding narrative of desperation, friendship, and high-stakes crime. Set against the backdrop of Stockholm’s criminal underground, the show reconstructs the infamous 2009 Västberga helicopter robbery, a heist that gripped Sweden and became a criminal legend.

This gripping series revolves around two childhood friends, Rami and Michel, whose lives are tightly intertwined by a shared history of small crimes and complicated personal struggles. Rami, now a family man attempting to shed his criminal past, finds himself in financial trouble following a failed business effort. Michel, the archetypal mastermind, represents the enduring draw of their criminal past.

The eight-episode series, crafted by Ronnie Sandahl and Daniel Espinosa, methodically deconstructs the planning and execution of an unprecedented robbery. More than just a crime thriller, it’s a complex examination of survival, friendship, and the razor-thin line between respectable ambition and criminal desperation.

To escape with a cool $5 million, a group of criminals plans an intricate heist that involves a security firm with a concrete roof filled to the brim with cold hard cash, a stolen helicopter, and a police station several hundred feet away. Can they pull it off and walk away unscathed? The Helicopter Heist, a Swedish crime thriller based on the book of the same name, tells the true story of a 2009 heist in Stockholm. The series, written and created by Ronnie Sandahl (Borg vs. McEnroe), was directed by Daniél Espinosa (Morbius), Jonas Alexander Arnby (When Animals Dream), and Anna Zackrisson (The Restaurant). 

Stream it now.

Check it out at the top of this page. 

Childhood friends and ex-robbery duo Michel and Rami lost touch years ago after Rami left a life of crime behind to start a family with Karin (Hedberg). Michel is still in the game,...

“The Helicopter Heist” is a new Swedish-produced live-action TV miniseries created by Ronnie Sandahl, based on the 2017 by Jonas Bonnier, starring Mahmut Suvakci, Ardalan Esmaili, Iskra Kostić, Dejan Milačić and Erik Svedberg-Zelman, streaming November 22, 2024 on Netflix:

“…one early September morning in 2009, eyes from around the world turn to an inconspicuous Stockholm suburb.

“A helicopter has landed on the roof of the country's safest cash depot, and the police can only watch as the robbers disappear along with several million dollars. Not a single shot is fired…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Exclusive: Swedish super-indie B-Reel Films has taken film and TV rights to ‘Jävla Karlar’ (‘Bloody Men’ in English), the award-winning novel from Andrev Walden.

‘Jävla Karlar’ took Sweden by storm when it was released in 2023. It was the country’s best selling book of the year and scooped the August Prize, which is Sweden’s top literary honor. Translation rights have been sold across Europe and the English-language version of the book will hit shelves next year.

Starting in 1983, the story follows a young boy who has a series of father figures coming and going in his life. His mother relays a fantastical story about his true father, a mysterious, long-haired figure living far away. It sparks the boy’s imagination to believe his father is the king of a magical land.

B-Reel is behind the upcoming Netflix action thriller The Helicopter Heist, based on the Jonas Bonnier novel about a daring real-life bank raid.

Exclusive: Goodfellas is adding a new sports-focused sales label to its growing roster of genre-based companies and themed sales strands.

Bannered Oui Michel, the label is launching with documentary Nasty, about controversial Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase, which makes its international premiere as a Special Screening in Cannes Official Selection this May.

Directed by Romanian filmmakers Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu, the doc focuses on the immediate aftermath of Nastase’s sudden worldwide fame when he won his first U.S. Open in 1972 and made it into the Wimbledon and Davis Cup finals that same year.

As per the official synopsis: “Nasty explores his highs and lows, the controversies that surrounded the 1973 world number one ranked player, and the enduring impact he has had on the world of tennis. Lovable, charming and generous, yet temperamental, arrogant and obscene – Nastase disrupted the sport’s antiquated etiquette with a...

Hollywood is leaving milk and cookies out for Olivia Wilde this holiday season with news that she’s striking a deal with LuckyChap to direct Naughty, a comedy described as Bridesmaids in the North Pole. Cocaine Bear writer Jimmy Warden wrote the script with Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara, producing through LuckyChap.

According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Naughty follows Mallory, whose only hope of securing custody of her son from her gaslighting trashbag ex is to find Santa Claus in the North Pole and convince him to testify in her divorce hearing.

In case you forgot, LuckyChap produced Barbie, which earned $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office. Combine Barbie‘s success level with Wilde’s in-demand status as a filmmaker, and you’ve got a recipe for making money fall in a blizzard-like fashion.

Wilde’s next film is the biographical sports drama Perfect, starring McKenna Grace and Thomasin McKenzie.

Click here to read the full article.

Breakout talents from festival favorites Saint Omer and Tori and Lokita, new faces from Netflix hits The Playlist and Babylon Berlin, and discoveries from arthouse features from across Europe are among the top 10 talents picked to be the 2023 European Shooting Stars.

The annual list of up-and-coming actors from across Europe — which has proved a reliable talent spotter over the years — was unveiled Wednesday by European Film Promotion, which organizes the selection.

The eight women and two men picked by the Shooting Star jury will attend the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where they will be introduced to the international industry, and meet with talent agents, directors and producers.

Previous European Shooting Stars have included the likes of Michaela Coel (2018), Luca Marinelli (2013), Riz Ahmed (2012), Alica Vikander (2011), Daniel Brühl (2003), Ruth Negga (2006) and Matthias Schoenaerts (2003).

Here’s a short introduction to next year’s class:...

The Universal animation took £10.4m in its debut weekend.

RankFilm (distributor) Three-day gross (July 1 - 3)Total gross to date Week 1. Minions: The Rise Of Gru (Universal) £10.4m £10.4m 1 2. Elvis (Warner Bros)

£3m £10.2m 2 3. Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount)

£2.7m £68.0m 6 4. Jurassic World Dominion (Universal)

£1.8m £30.4m 4 5. Lightyear (Disney) £863,720 £8.5m 3

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.21

Audiences suited up and turned out in their droves for the opening weekend of Minions: The Rise Of Gru, taking it to the top of this week’s UK-Ireland box office chart.

The Universal title, directed by Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson, Jonathan Del Val and featuring the...

Other new releases include ‘Nitram’ and ‘The Princess’.

With the school summer holidays already underway for some and in sight for most children, Universal is going big with the release of Minions: The Rise Of Gru.

The Minions sequel will play in 637 sites, making it Universal’s widest ever animation release in the UK-Ireland. The first Minions film debuted at the top of the UK-Ireland box office back in 2015, taking £11.6m from 573 sites, which broke the then record for the biggest ever three-day opening for an animation.

The Illumination title is the fifth film in the Despicable Me franchise. Despicable Me 3...

Warner Bros.’ “Elvis,” directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £4.02 million (4.9 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.

After two weeks at the top, Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” was in second place in its third weekend with £3.4 million for a total of £27.1 million. In its fifth weekend, Paramount’s Tom Cruise jet “Top Gun Maverick” collected £3.3 million in third place and now has a total of £63 million.

Disney’s “Lightyear” was in fourth position with £2.2 million in its second weekend for a total of £6.9 million. Debuting in fifth place was Universal’s “The Black Phone” with £1.3 million.

Moviegoers Entertainment’s Bollywood release “Jug Jugg Jeeyo,” starring Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Neetu Kapoor and Kiara Advani, debuted in sixth place with £163,648. The other debut in the top 10 was Trafalgar Releasing’s music documentary “George Michael Freedom Uncut,...

Fictionalised account of Martin Bengtsson, who quit after struggling with suicidal thoughts, can’t decide if the problem is with the footballing system or not

This oddly unsatisfying and misfiring sports drama was Sweden’s Oscar submission last year; it fictionalises the real-life case of teen Swedish footballing prodigy Martin Bengtsson who was on the verge of the big time when he signed for Inter Milan in 2003, but quit soon afterwards, suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts. He was put under the extraordinary pressure of being treated like a kid at the club’s youth academy, yet showered with the kind of money that buys sports cars while being subject to the needling suspicion that he could get dropped at any time.

Erik Enge plays Bengtsson, Alfred Enoch plays his friend Ryan and Frida Gustavsson plays his model girlfriend Vibeke; writer-director Ronnie Sandahl (who scripted Borg McEnroe in 2017) can’t...

B-Reel Films, the Swedish banner behind “Midsommar,” is set to produce a thriller series based on Jonas Bonnier’s true crime novel “The Helicopter Heist,” and has attached Ronnie Sandahl (“Borg vs McEnroe”) as creator and writer.

Boasting offices in Stockholm and Los Angeles, B-Reel has secured the rights to the popular novel from Swedish literary agency Salomonsson, and is adapting it into an eight-episode, character-driven suspense series. Rights to the novel were previously acquired by Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories banner in 2016, where it was being developed as a feature, but the project fell through.

The plot is based on the true story of four young Swedes who orchestrated the one of the most spectacular daylight heists of all time in 2009 and used a stolen Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter to land on the roof of a G4S cash service depot building in in Stockholm. They stole more than 4 million in cash.

“Too much too soon” is a scenario that plays out in many life arenas, and it certainly does for the teenage protagonist swept into the professional sports world of “Tigers.” . It’s a compelling tale, well cast and directed with vivid intensity by Ronnie Sandahl. Still, the somewhat frustratingly limited insight we get into our hero’s addled head may affect export prospects for a film that is more about psychology than athletics.

At age 16 in 2003, Bengtsson (played here by Erik Enge) was considered such a football prodigy that he got sold by a Swedish club to Serie A behemoth Inter Milan. It was the realization of his lifelong dream, but that doesn’t mean he was prepared for the reality, particularly off-field.

Speaking no Italian at first, able to communicate only with those teammates who speak English, he’s thrown into a dormitory-style living situation where virtually everyone is older and jaded.

Martin Bengtsson was just 15 years old when he was first signed by a professional football club, Sweden’s Örebro Sk. Two years later he was snapped up by Inter Milan. It seemed like a dream come true, but as Bengtsson went on to reveal in his autobiography, it was anything but. This film by fellow Swede Ronnie Sandahl dramatises his story, with a powerful central performance by Erik Enge as the brilliantly talented young man who is hopelessly out of his depth.

Sweden’s official submission to the 2022 Oscars, Tigers – a title which will make complete sense when you watch it – picks up when Martin is first invited to join the Italian club. There’s a medical, naturally, but the dehumanising nature of it as presented here is the first clue that this might not be a conventional sports film. Martin is paraded around half-naked in front of much older.

Tigers

Martin Bengtsson was just 15 years old when he was first signed by a professional football club, Sweden’s Örebro Sk. Two years later he was snapped up by Inter Milan. It seemed like a dream come true, but as Bengtsson went on to reveal in his autobiography, it was anything but. Now his story has been told on film by fellow Swede Ronnie Sandahl. Tigers is Sweden’s official submission to the 2022 Oscars.

When Ronnie and I met to talk about the film, I told him that the first thing I had thought of when watching it was the #MeToo movement. It doesn’t feature sexual abuse, but the success of that movement has led to the gradual emergence of conversations about other kinds of mistreatment, especially with regard to young people just starting out on careers in prestige industries. He tells me that he started work on the story several.

Starring newcomer Erik Enge, Black Spark Film’s Tigers tells the extraordinary true story of Swedish soccer star Martin Bengtsson, who made his international debut at just 17 years old. In stark contrast to many other sporting movies, which tend to focus on stories of triumph over adversity, Ronnie Sandahl’s movie from Black Spark Film examines the true cost of success in the world of professional football and the pressures that almost cost Bengtsson his life.

Accompanied by cast members Alfred Enoch, who plays Bengtsson’s American teammate Ryan, and Frida Gustavsson, who plays his model girlfriend Vibeke, Sandahl said during Deadline’s Contenders Film: International event that Sweden’s Oscar entry this year had been a long time in the planning.

“It’s been with me for a number of years,” he said. “I met Martin Bengtsson when we were both in our early 20s, coming out with our books.

Sweden is sending Ronnie Sandahl’s Tigers to this year’s International Oscar race.

The film is a coming-of-age drama about the world of professional sports, telling the true story of 16-year-old football prodigy Martin Bengtsson (played by Erik Enge).

It was written and directed by Ronnie Sandahl, based on Martin Bengtsson’s autobiographical novel In the Shadow of San Siro. The project was produced by produced by Piodor Gustafsson in co-production with Lucia Nicolai, Marcello Paolillo and Birgitte Skov.

Tigers was voted Best film in the Flash Forward section at Busan International Film Festival last year. It also picked up awards for Best Emerging International Actor (Erik Enge) and Best Emerging Italian Actor (Antonio Bannò) at Alice nella città, the independent and parallel section dedicated to films for children and youth at the Rome International Film Festival.

“I could not be more happy, proud or grateful. This is a great honour.

Exclusive: Ghostbusters: Afterlife and The Handmaid’s Tale star Mckenna Grace is joining Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) in Olivia Wilde and Searchlight’s feature Perfect.

Filming is set to begin in 2022 on the buzzy package about Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug. Based on the book Landing On My Feet, A Diary Of Dreams by Strug and John P. Lopez, the movie will tell the true story of the gymnast’s triumph against the odds to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Strug was hailed as an American hero when she completed her final vault at the Atlanta games on a badly injured ankle to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

McKenzie will be playing Strug. Grace’s role has yet to be revealed. Searchlight snapped the project up out of the EFM last year, as we first revealed.

Producers are Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films from...

Two internationally-acclaimed documentaries from the Nordic region – “Flee” and “Gunda” – are among the five films nominated for a Nordic Council Film Prize.

This is the most prestigious film award in the Nordic region, celebrating films with unique artistic visions that actively engage with Nordic culture. It’s the eighteenth year the Nordic Council Film Prize is awarded, and the winner will be announced on Nov. 2 in Copenhagen, taking home a prize of Dkk 300,000 to be shared equally among the screenwriter, director, and producer. Here are the five film nominations:

“Flee,” (Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Denmark)

Co-written by Amin (a pseudonym), and produced by leading Danish company Final Cut for Reel (nominated for an Oscar for both “The Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence”), the film has already had a hugely successful festival circuit run. At Sundance, it won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary section, while...

The lucrative prize is now in its 19th year.

The five nominees for this year’s Nordic Council Film Prize have been unveiled at the Haugesund International Film Festival in Norway today (August 24).

The lucrative prize, now in its 19th year, comes with an award of $47,000, which is shared equally between the screenwriter, director and producer. The winner will be unveiled on November 2 in Copenhagen.

The nominees include two films that premiered at the Berlinale: Finland’s Any Day Now from writer-director Hamy Ramezan, selected for the Generation 14plus strand this year; and Viktor Kossakovsky’s Norwegian documentary Gunda, which...

Thomasin McKenzie is going for the gold.

The young star has signed on to play Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug in the upcoming biopic “Perfect,” from director and exec. producer Olivia Wilde.

McKenzie, best known for her breakout performances in “Leave No Trace” and “Jojo Rabbit,” will portray Strug in the film, which is described as “an intimate and unflinching portrait of grit and determination” and tells the story behind Strug’s historic olympic vault which secured America’s first-ever gold medal in team gymnastics during the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The film’s script comes from Ronnie Sandahl (“Borg v. McEnroe). Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films will produce the project, with Nik Bower, Thomas Benski, Jeremy Baxter and Moss Barclay serving as producers. Wilde and Sandahl are executive produces alongside Deepak Nayar and Marisa Clifford.

Filming on the Searchlight Pictures film is set to begin in 2022.

Since breaking onto the scene...

Film set up at Searchlight Pictures has a script by Ronnie Sandahl

Thomasin McKenzie, the young star of “Jojo Rabbit” and “Leave No Trace,” will play Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug in the biopic “Perfect” from director Olivia Wilde, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.

“Perfect” is set up at Searchlight Pictures and tells the story of how Strug led the USA women’s gymnastics team to its first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta — including completing her final vault on a badly injured ankle — and the price she paid for her heroic efforts.

Ronnie Sandahl, who wrote “Borg v. McEnroe,” is writing the screenplay for “Perfect,” which is based on Strug’s memoir she co-wrote with John P. Lopez, “Landing on My Feet, a Diary of Dreams.”

Filming is expected to begin in 2022.

Nik Bower, Thomas Benski, Jeremy Baxter and Moss Barclay are producing “Perfect.” Olivia Wilde and Ronnie...

Exclusive: Following an extensive search, director Olivia Wilde looks to have found her Kerri Strug setting Leave No Trace breakout Thomasin McKenzie to play the Olympian gymnast in Perfect for Searchlight. Wilde will direct from a script by Ronnie Sandahl. Nik Bower & Jeremy Baxter will produce through Riverstone Pictures along with Thomas Benski & Moss Barclay who will produce through Pulse Films. Deepak Nayar of Riverstone and Marisa Clifford of Pulse will exec produce along with Wilde and Sandahl.

An intimate and unflinching portrait of grit and determination, Perfect charts the story behind Kerri Strug’s historic Olympic vault to secure America’s first ever gymnastics team gold.

Since her directorial debut on the coming-of-age-comedy Booksmart, studios have been lining up to work with Wilde. When she attached herself to the Perfect package at last year’s EFM, Searchlight moved fast to land rights the script paying $15 million for global rights.

The Tunisian drama debuted at Venice and is nominated for best international feature.

Studio Soho Distribution has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s drama The Man Who Sold His Skin, which is up for the best international feature at the Oscars this weekend.

The drama, sold by Paris-based Bac Films, premiered in Venice’s Horizons strand last September, where it won Yahya Mahayni best actor and the film the Edipo Re Award. Studio Soho is planning to release the feature theatrically in August.

Inspired by true events, it follows a young Syrian refugee in...

Rotterdam Winners

This year’s virtual International Film Festival Rotterdam has crowned the winners from its film program. Southern India-set Pebbles by Vinothraj P.S won the Tiger Award, while I Comete – A Corsican Summer by French filmmaker Pascal Tagnati and Looking for Venera by Norika Sefa from Kosovo both won Special Jury Awards. The Vpro Big Screen Award went to El perro que no calla by Ana Katz from Argentina and Quo Vadis, Aida? by Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić won the BankGiro Loterij Audience Award. The festival named its industry winners last week. “In these most challenging of times, we are incredibly proud to have brought an outstanding selection of titles in our reimagined festival format,” said festival director Vanja Kaludjercic.

Goteborg Fest Awards

Tigers, directed by Ronnie Sandahl, won the 2021 Dragon Award Best Nordic Film as this year’s Goteborg Film Festival came to a close over the weekend.

Ronnie Sandahl’s movie has won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film, with its main actor Erik Enge also recognised, while Another Round inspired the audience. Just one day before the official closure of the 44th Göteborg Film Festival, the awards were announced on 8 February, with Tigers by Ronnie Sandahl emerging as the winner of this year’s Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film as well as a prize of Sek 400,000, provided by Region Västra Götaland and the City Council of Gothenburg. “[Tigers] gives a rare glimpse into a world that many wish to enter, but only a few will be admitted to. We chose to award the film that made us feel and root for the main character in every situation, whether chasing their dream or giving it up in order to survive and become happy,” was the Nordic Competition jury’s statement. This year, the jury consisted.

Sundance documentary winner Flee earns Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary.

Swedish director Ronnie Sandahl’s Tigers won the $48,000 Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the Goteborg Film Festival.

The drama received its world premiere in Busan and tells of a Swedish teenager signed to a big Italian football club whose dreams turn into a nightmare.

Wild Bunch handles sales on the Sweden-Italy-Denmark co-production.

The jury, comprised of Swedish producer Anna-Maria Kantarius, New Zealand-Denmark director Daniel Josef Borgman, and Finnish producer Max Malka, said Tigers “gives a rare glimpse into a world many wish to enter, but only a few will be admitted.

Swedish sports drama Tigers, the story of teenage soccer star Martin Bengtsson, was named the Dragon Award winner for Best Nordic Film at the 2021 Göteborg Film Festival, Scandinavia’s top film event. The festival was held virtually this year because of the pandemic.

The Tigers film was based on Bengtsson’s autobiography, wherein he wrote of his experiences with top Italian football squad Inter Milan. The screenplay was by Ronnie Sandahl, best known for Janus Metz’s 2017 tennis biopic, Borg vs McEnroe.

The Dragon Award comes with a $478,000 cash prize. Erik Enge, who plays Bengtsson in the film, was named Göteborg’s Best Actor honor.

“Many of the films of this year’s Nordic competition had characters wanting to be the best versions of themselves while struggling with the pressures of success,” said a statement from the Göteborg jury. “The winning film gives a rare glimpse into a world many wish to enter,...

Swedish helmer-writer Ronnie Sandahl’s “Tigers” – a rare glimpse inside the world of professional soccer following a protagonist who struggles with the pressures of success – came away the biggest winner at Sweden’s 43rd Göteborg Film Festival, scoring the best Nordic film kudo, this year worth approximately $48,000.

The film’s lead actor, Erik Enge, also nabbed the fest’s award for best actor for his subtle, nuanced performance as a 17-year-old professional player hired by the Italian club Inter Milan.

The Golden Globe-nominated Danish film “Another Round,” from director Thomas Vinterberg, claimed the audience choice award for a film in the Nordic competition. Meanwhile, the critics’ jury opted for director-writer Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut, “Pleasure,” a bold and daring documentary-like descent into the subterranean world of the L.A. porn industry, with a tour de force performance from newcomer Sofia Kappel.

Swedish-born, Denmark-based Dp Linda Wassberg claimed the Sven...

Tigers, a Swedish sports drama based on the true story of teenage soccer talent Martin Bengtsson, has won the top prize, the Dragon Award, for Best Nordic Film at the 2021 Göteborg Film Festival, Scandinavia’s top cinema event.

Ronnie Sandahl —the screenwriter on Janus Metz’s 2017 tennis biopic Borg vs McEnroe—won over the Göteborg jury with his adaptation of Bengtsson’s autobiography, in which he details his experiences as a young player drafted by top Italian team Inter Milan. The prize comes with a $478,000 (Sek 400,000) cash bursary. Erik Enge, who plays Bengtsson in Tigers, took Göteborg’s Best ...

Tigers, a Swedish sports drama based on the true story of teenage soccer talent Martin Bengtsson, has won the top prize, the Dragon Award, for Best Nordic Film at the 2021 Göteborg Film Festival, Scandinavia’s top cinema event.

Ronnie Sandahl —the screenwriter on Janus Metz’s 2017 tennis biopic Borg vs McEnroe—won over the Göteborg jury with his adaptation of Bengtsson’s autobiography, in which he details his experiences as a young player drafted by top Italian team Inter Milan. The prize comes with a $478,000 (Sek 400,000) cash bursary. Erik Enge, who plays Bengtsson in Tigers, took Göteborg’s Best ...

The festival’s 44th edition runs online (due to the pandemic) Jan 29-Feb 8.

The Goteborg Film Festival has unveiled its slimmed-down lineup of 70 films from 39 countries (compared to the usual size of about 400 films); the festival’s 44th edition runs online (due to the pandemic) Jan 29-Feb 8.

Goteborg will open with the Swedish premiere of Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a biopic of Finnish artist and Moomins creator Tove Jansson; and will close with the European premiere of Frida Kempff’s Knocking, an unnerving psychological drama about a woman hearing strange noises in her new house. Knocking premieres at Sundance and is sold by Bankside.

Rolling off a strong year for Scandinavian filmmaking, the virtual 44rd edition of the Goteborg Film Festival will kick off with Zaida Bergroth’s “Tove,” which will compete alongside Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round” and Ninja Thyberg’s “Pleasure,” among other Nordic pics.

Telling the story of one of Finland’s most beloved and inspiring artists, “Tove” broke box office records in Finland last year in spite of the pandemic, and now ranks as the highest grossing Finnish film in the last 40 years.

“Tove,” which is also Finland’s Oscar candidate, will be one of the seven films vying for the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film. The lineup comprises “Another Round,” one of the most prominent titles in Cannes 2020’s official selection, and “Pleasure,” which is set to world premiere at Sundance, as well as Ronnie Sandahl’s “Tigers,” Lisa Jespersen’s “Persona Non Grata,” Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s “Gritt...

This year’s Busan International Film Festival – one of the key players in the Asian film market and indicators of emerging Asian film talent – experimented with a hybrid approach akin to Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan). In-person theaters filled up at 25 percent capacity, requiring a strict set of health screenings and restrictions for all attendees. Online screenings remained – well – online, but — interestingly enough — multinational screenings were cast simultaneously. This allowed certain Q&As to be conducted in real-time, wherein Korean audiences could speak to international guests within theatres.

Though there are less awards than last year, Korean productions still dominate this year’s selections. Some familiar faces, like Lee Woo-jung — perhaps most famous for writing the hit nostalgia drama “Reply 1988” — has plucked a few awards for her new feature, “Snowball.” Cannes-repeat Jero Yun also returns with his first fictional feature, “Fighter.” Among the newcomers, Jung Wook’s directorial...

Biff managed to achieve physical admissions of 29,135 despite pandemic social distancing requirements.

The 25th Busan International Film Festival (Biff)’s New Currents Awards went to Harumoto Jujiro’s Japanese film A Balance and Pak Ruslan’s Kazakhstan-Korea-Uzbekistan co-production Three in a closed ceremony last night.

Biff organisers announced the winners and closing results in a Zoom press conference this morning (October 30) in Busan.

The New Currents jury headed by director Mira Nair said of the top winners A Balance and Three: “Both are drawn by deep contemplation on human society, yet each has achieved its own unique cinematic language.

“Even...

The Busan International Film Festival concluded its 25th edition on Friday with the announcement of prizes across its multiple sections. The competitive New Currents section saw the top prize shared between “A Balance” from Japanese director Harumoto Yujiro and “Three,” a Kazakhstan-Korea- Uzbekistan co-venture directed by Pak Ruslan.

The festival operated a hybrid format, with most events shifted online due to the coronavirus outbreak alongside a handful of in-person screenings at the Busan Cinema Center. It reported that over its ten day run (Oct. 21-30) it had attracted 20,100 visitors to its onsite screenings. Its aggregate online visitors numbered just 30,200 for its Biff Forum, Asia Contents Awards, the Asian Film Awards, and the Master Class lecture.

“Although the total number of festival audiences remained approximately 18,000 due to 25% occupancy for each theater, it was a noteworthy number that shows the love and support of the audience for the Busan International Film Festival,...

Festival to go ahead as a physical event with guests including Thomas Vinterberg and Francois Ozon.

Rome Film Fest has revealed the programme and plans for its 15th edition, which is set to go ahead as a physical event with digital elements from October 15-25.

A total of 24 films and documentaries will comprise the official selection, most of which have proved critically-acclaimed at festivals such as Toronto, with nine having previously received a Cannes 2020 label.

Scroll down for line-up

These include three titles from Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology: Mangrove; Lovers Rock; and Red, White And Blue. The...

In today’s film news roundup, Olivia Wilde’s “Perfect” gets sold, Music Box StreamLocal launches and the American Black Film Festival, Fantaspoa, Greenwich and TCM Classic festivals are all making adjustments to the coronavirus pandemic.

Acquisition

Searchlight Pictures has closed a deal for global rights for $15 million to the gymnastics movie “Perfect,” with Olivia Wilde attached to direct.

The project tells the story of American gymnast Kerri Strug and is based upon her memoir, written with John P. Lopez, “Landing On My Feet, A Diary of Dreams.” The film will follow her career-defining performance at the 1996 Olympics, when the 18-year-old Strug executed her routine on a severely injured ankle to help the gymnastics team to its first gold medal.

Wilde, who directed “Booksmart,” made the presentation at the Berlin Film Festival last month, triggering the bidding war. The script is by Ronnie Sandahl. Nik Bower is producing for Riverstone Pictures...

Searchlight Pictures has closed a global rights deal for Olivia Wilde’s “Perfect” about Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug.

Negotiations began last month at the European Film Market in Berlin. The film, which was one of the hottest projects for sale, sold for $15 million. It was subject of a high bidding war. CAA Media Finance brokered the deal.

In February, it was reported that Wilde would direct the film for Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films.

Also Read: Olivia Wilde to Direct 'Perfect' Biopic of Us Olympic Gymnast Kerri Strug

The fact-based film will follow Strug’s heroic efforts to secure Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics — including completing her final vault at the Atlanta Olympics on a badly injured ankle — as well as the price she paid for her heroic efforts.

Ronnie Sandahl (“Borg/McEnroe”) wrote the screenplay for “Perfect,” adapted from Strug and John P. Lopez...

Reports first emerged in Berlin.

Searchlight Pictures’ has closed a $15m worldwide deal on gymnastics Olympic gold medal drama Perfect for Olivia Wilde to direct.

Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films are producing the drama about Us gymnast Kerri Strug, who defied the pain of an injured ankle to earn Team USA’s first gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.

Strug was in such pain after her final gold-clinching vault that her coach carried her to the podium. She was later taken to hospital and diagnosed with tendon damage and severe sprain.

FilmNation handles international sales and CAA Media Finance...

Exclusive: Olivia Wilde’s Perfect, about Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug, has pre-sold to Searchlight Pictures in a big deal after negotiations began at the Efm in Berlin last month. This was one of the hottest scripts at the market and we understand the global deal has closed at $15M.

The Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films-produced movie sparked a frenzy among buyers with A24, WB, Paramount and HBO Max among those hot for it last month. The streamer is understood to have offered significantly more for the movie, almost double, but the lure of theatrical and Searchlight’s prestige track record won out. CAA Media Finance brokered the deal.

Hot on the heels of her Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Booksmart director Wilde went to Berlin to discuss the project with buyers at a buzzy presentation. As we revealed at the time, Searchlight was leading the pack of suitors.

The film, based on the book Landing On My Feet, A Diary Of Dreams by Strug and John P. Lopez, tells the true story of the gymnast’s triumph against the odds to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Strug was hailed as an American hero when she completed her final vault at the Atlanta games on a badly injured ankle to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

In iconic images, Strug was carried onto the medals podium to join her team, after which she was treated at a hospital for tendon damage. She became an instant national hit, visiting President Clinton, appearing on various talk shows, and making the cover of Sports Illustrated. Casting is underway. A start date has yet to be set.

Script is by Ronnie Sandahl (Borg/McEnroe). Nik Bower is producing for Riverstone Pictures and Thomas Benski for Pulse Films, together with Jeremy Baxter and Moss Barclay. Wilde will executive produce with Deepak Nayer, Marisa Clifford and Sandahl. FilmNation was the international sales agent.

Searchlight Pictures has emerged as the frontrunner for the Olivia Wilde-directed gymnastics movie “Perfect,” amid a days-long bidding war out of Berlin’s Efm.

Variety understands that the studio is ‘heavily pursuing’ world rights to the hot title — one of a crop of female-led projects at the market — with A24 and Warner Bros. also in the picture. The deal hasn’t yet closed.

The feature tells the story of American gymnast Kerri Strug and is based upon her memoir, written with John P. Lopez, “Landing On My Feet, A Diary of Dreams.”

The film follows her career-defining performance at the 1996 Olympics, when the 18-year-old Strug executed her routine on a severely injured ankle to help the gymnastics team to its first gold medal.

The “Booksmart” director presented the film to buyers in Berlin on Wednesday and was immediately met with an enthusiastic response. Talks began in earnest with a...

Riverstone Pictures, Pulse Films producing Olympic gymnastics true drama.

A pack of studios understood to be led by Searchlight Pictures is chasing worldwide rights in Berlin to the gymnastics Olympic gold medal drama Perfect that marks another directing vehicle for Olivia Wilde.

FilmNation handles international sales and CAA Media Finance arranged financing and represents Us rights to the project about Us gymnast Kerri Strug, who defied the pain of an injured ankle to earn Team USA’s first gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.

Strug was in such pain after her final gold-clinching vault that her coach carried her to the podium.

Exclusive: Olivia Wilde’s Perfect about Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug is getting top scores from the buyers here at Efm. We’re hearing that a big deal is in the works for world rights to the project, which is one of the Efm’s hottest projects.

We understand Searchlight Pictures is in pole position but this is still in play and a deal isn’t locked.

The movie has sparked a frenzy among buyers with A24, WB, Paramount and another streamer among those hot for the movie. We hear pre-buy offers range from $20-30M. Wilde was in Berlin to discuss the project and her presentation went down a storm.

The film, based on the book Landing On My Feet, A Diary Of Dreams by Strug and John P. Lopez, tells the true story of the gymnast’s triumph against the odds to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.

“Booksmart” filmmaker Olivia Wilde will direct “Perfect,” a biopic of U.S. Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug, for Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films, the companies announced Friday.

The fact-based film will follow Strug’s heroic efforts to secure Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics — including completing her final vault at the Atlanta Olympics on a badly injured ankle — as well as the price she paid for her heroic efforts.

Wilde has become a hot directing talent since her directorial debut “Booksmart,” which just won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Next, she will direct, produce and star in “Don’t Worry, Darling” for New Line. She recently starred in Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell,” which was also set during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Also Read: Olivia Wilde Says She'll Approach Real-Life Characters Differently After 'Richard Jewell' Flap

Ronnie Sandahl (“Borg/McEnroe”) wrote the screenplay for “Perfect,...

Hot on the heels of her Independent Spirit Award for best first feature, Booksmart director Olivia Wilde is heading to Berlin with a new film.

Produced by Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films from a script by Ronnie Sandahl, Perfect is the extraordinary true story of gymnast Kerri Strug’s triumph against all odds to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.

Producers are Nik Bower for Riverstone Pictures and Thomas Benski for Pulse Films, together with Jeremy Baxter and Moss Barclay. Wilde will executive produce with Deepak Nayar, Marisa Clifford and Sandahl. Based on the book Landing on my ...

Hot on the heels of her Independent Spirit Award for best first feature, Booksmart director Olivia Wilde is heading to Berlin with a new film.

Produced by Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films from a script by Ronnie Sandahl, Perfect is the extraordinary true story of gymnast Kerri Strug’s triumph against all odds to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.

Producers are Nik Bower for Riverstone Pictures and Thomas Benski for Pulse Films, together with Jeremy Baxter and Moss Barclay. Wilde will executive produce with Deepak Nayar, Marisa Clifford and Sandahl. Based on the book Landing on my ...

Exclusive: Booksmart filmmaker Olivia Wilde is set to direct Kerri Strug biopic Perfect, which will be among the hottest packages at the Efm in Berlin next week.

The film, based on the book Landing On My Feet, A Diary Of Dreams by Strug and John P. Lopez, tells the true story of the gymnast’s triumph against the odds to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Strug was hailed as an American hero when she completed her final vault at the Atlanta games on a badly injured ankle to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

In iconic images, Strug was carried onto the medals podium to join her team, after which she was treated at a hospital for tendon damage. She became an instant national hit, visiting President Clinton, appearing on various talk shows, and making the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Hot on the heels...