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Lhasa de Sela Doc Among Six Canadian Films Set For Locarno Pro First Look

Award-winning film editor Sophie Leblond will be among six Canadian filmmakers showcasing upcoming films in Locarno Pro’s First Look work-in-progress event this August. Leblond, who has been feted for her editing of films such as Viking and Alexander Odyssey, will present directorial debut feature Lhasa. The doc explores the trajectory of late Canadian folk and world music star Lhasa de Sela, whose life and career were cut short in 2010, when she died of breast cancer at the age of 37. The other movies in the selection comprise Nick Butler’s misfit drama Lunar Sway; Geneviève Dulude-De Celles’ Bulgarian artist homecoming tale Nina Roza; Bryce Hodgson’s Thanks To The Hard Work Of The Elephants, billed as a “queer love fantasy” about two teenage boys who escape a youth detention center and try to set up an...

Raymond St-Jean’s horror Veins is among six Canadian features selected for First Look, the work-in-progress section of Locarno Film Festival’s industry strand Locarno Pro.

Produced by Canada’s 1976 Productions, Veins is set in a semi-abandoned Canadian village, where a young woman unravelling the mystery of her father’s sudden death makes discoveries more sinister and horrifying than she could have imagined.

Scroll down for the full list of projects

St-Jean has previously made features including 2023 crime film Dusk for a Hitman.

Running from August 8-10 and presented in partnership with Telefilm Canada, the First Look section is for...

Six Canadian film projects have been chosen and unveiled on Tuesday for the Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro First Look program, highlighting works-in-progress.

Out of more than 40 submissions, a first pre-selection was made by a committee composed of Ana David (Berlinale Panorama, Márgenes, Queer Lisboa), Tom McSorley (Canadian Film Institute), and Alex Masson (San Sebastian International Film Festival). The projects will be presented to accredited industry professionals by the producer or producers during the Locarno Film Festival.

An international jury, comprised of Franck Finance-Madureira, film critic and president and founder of the Queer Palm and the Queer Palm Lab, Kim Yutani, director of programming at the Sundance Film Festival, and Jacqueline Lyanga, co-director of film programming at the Berlin International Film Festival, will award several prizes, including one covering post-production services up to a certain price, one covering music supervision services at Music Library & SFX’s labs, and one for image finishing services,...

Liza Weil, Douglas Smith and Noah Parker are set to star in the dark comedy feature Lunar Sway.

Nick Butler is writing and directing the movie that hails from Cloudy Pictures Inc., with development funding from the Canada Council for the Arts. Lucas Meeuse (The Legacy of Cloudy Falls) and Izad Etemadi (Cyrus and Chels) serve as producers, while Robin Cass (Lilies) executive produces.

Lunar Sway centers on Cliff (Parker), who is struggling with his love life in a desert town when he unexpectedly connects with his estranged birth mother (Weil). After learning of his mom’s string of secrets, Cliff is led on a wild misadventure while also spending time with his love interest Stew (Smith), a mysterious dentist.

The film is continuing the casting process and aims to begin shooting in September. Lunar Sway marks Butler’s sophomore directorial feature following The Legacy of Cloudy Falls, which is...

Speaking to CNBC’s David Faber on Tuesday, Elon Musk refused to walk back comments he made recently about billionaire investor George Soros that critics, including the Anti-Defamation League, have noted are full of antisemitic tropes.

Musk, as usual, relied on his familiar claim that he is a defender of “free speech,” and stood by the remarks. He also denied any antisemitic intent, describing himself as “like a pro-semite.” Ironically, earlier in the conversation Musk repeatedly denied that the neo-Nazi who committed the mass shooting in Allen, Tx on May 6 was a white supremacist.

But first, Soros. On Monday Musk, apparently angry that Soros’ investment firm recently dumped every share of Tesla it owned, compared Soros to the Marvel Comics character Magneto. Journalist Brian Krassenstein replied to Musk, pointing out that like Magneto, Soros is a holocaust survivor who is “attacked nonstop for his good intentions which some Americans think...

The iHeartPodcast Network Australia has today announced a strategic partnership with Producey, focussed on the monetisation and growth of its podcast slate. This includes sales representation for the cult podcast Dyl & Friends, List Cloggers, 200 Plus, Bromley-Lynch and more.

The addition of the Producey Podcast slate further showcases the iHeartPodcast Networks ability to connect brands with the podcasts Australians can’t get enough of. With half of the nations top 10 podcasts, the addition further bolsters the networks line-up. Director of Producey, Dylan Buckley said: “"We're delighted to partner with the iHeartPodcast Network to grow the sales component of the Producey podcast network. We're extremely proud of the content we create for sports-loving millennial males and with Arn/iHeart's support we're excited about the opportunities that will open up for us in the future."

Corey Layton, Head of Digital Audio said: “Producey’s sports content credentials are exceptional as proven by...