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The Gotham Film & Media Institute (The Gotham) has announced the winners of the inaugural Gotham Week Honors.

Gina Duncan, President of Bam (Brooklyn Academy of Music), was awarded with the first-ever Gotham Week Cultural Impact Honor. Filmmakers RaMell Ross and Sean Wang each received an inaugural Gotham Week Alumni Honor of Distinction Award.

The romantic comedy “Here for the Weekend,” written and directed by Jane Casey Modderno, won the U.S. Features in Development honor. “Thirstygirl,” written and directed by Alexandra Qin, took home the the U.S. Shorts to Features honor. “Matininó” won the Spotlight on Documentaries award.

Sophie Luo, producer of “Valley of the Tall Grass,” was recognized as the Global Producer of The Year. “Valley of the Tall Grass” is centered around “a trashed TV/Vcr combo set that survives and circulates through the lives of various Indigenous characters in an Oregon town.”

The Gotham Week...

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Dark Winds is a crime thriller series created by Graham Roland. The AMC series is based on a Leaphorn & Chee novel series written by Tony Hillerman. Dark Winds is set in the 1970s Southwest and it follows the story of two Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) as they go up against their dark past and evil forces to maintain peace in their community. So if you loved the dangerous crimes, thrilling mysteries, and compelling lead characters in Dark Winds here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Longmire Credit – A&e

Longmire is a neo-Western crime drama series developed by John Coveny and Hunt Baldwin. Based on the Walt Longmire Mysteries book series by author Craig Johnson, the Netflix series follows the story of the sheriff of Absaroka County in Wyoming,...

“The Head of Joaquín Murrieta” bowed Feb. 17, guns blazing worldwide on Prime Video, weighing in as one of the biggest bets ever from Amazon Studios in Latin America and Amazon Prime and Colombian production powerhouse Dynamo. Its success can open the door for other big swings in Latin America.

Created by Colombia’s Mauricio Leiva Cock at Fidelio, one of the fastest rising writing-directing talents in Colombia, and Diego Ramírez Schrempp at Dynamo, which handled physical production of “Narcos” in Colombia, the ambitious Latin Western, fully locally developed, describes how Joaquin Murrieta, played by a mischievous Juan Manuel Bernal, became a legend.

His figure emerged to offer hope for downtrodden Mexicans in the chaotic and brutal aftermath of the 1846-48 Mexican American War which ended with Mexico’s loss of over half its territory, a hero to Mexicans, villain to the U.S., a Robin Hood of sorts, in a fractured and disjointed land,...

Last October, the National Association of Television Program Executives – NATPE – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, cancelling its January 2023 conference in the Bahamas.

Three conventions contend for NATPE’s crown: Content Americas, organized by C21 International; Discop Miami, announced in October by Basic Lead’s Patrick Zuchowicki, behind Discop Budapest; and January’s NATPE Global itself, bought this month by RealScreen owner Brunico Communications.

For January 2023 at least, only one event has made it across the starting line: Content Americas, which runs Jan. 24-26 at the Hilton Downtown Miami. Following, 10 takes on this year’s inaugural event.

Content Americas: A Pre-Market Take

Founded in 1963, NATPE was born and boomed as a U.S. TV syndication emporium. Moving to Miami in 2011, many of its overseas delegates instantly came from Latin America. Their presence came to dominate the event. Now the tail isn’t just wagging the dog. It’s nearly the whole beast.

Creating what looks like one of the undisputed highlights of Ventana Sur’s Spanish Screenings, three of Perú’s foremost filmmakers – Daniel and Diego Vega and Joanna Lombardi –have boarded “Bienvenido Mr. Hollywood,” which promises a complete departure for one of Catalonia’s leading edge cineastes, Mar Coll.

Co-created and directed by Coll (“Three Days With the Family”) and Aina Calleja, an editor on Coll’s first series, “Killing the Father”), “Welcome Mr. Hollywood” is written by Coll, Calleja and Diego Vega, who with brother Daniel broke out with his debut, 2010 Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner, “October.” A 2013 Locarno best actor winner for Fernando Bacilio, “El Mudo” consolidated the brothers’ reputation as top young Latin America auteurs.

““Welcome Mr. Hollywood” is lead produced by Barcelona’s Funicular Films and co-produced by Daniel and Diego Vega’s Lima-based Maretazo Cine. Lombardi, a former head of fiction at Telefonica Media Networks Latin America,...

Nominees for the 12thAnnual Indie Series Awards were revealed Wednesday during a special episode of Serial Scoop Now hosted by actor and entertainer Jo Weil.

Anacostia and The Bay led the pack with 15 nominations each. They are joined in the Best Drama Series category by Arthur, Capital Roar, For the Record, Incompleteness, My Pride and Purgatory.

The comedies were led by The Amazing Gayl Pile: Last Resort with 14 nominations. They are joined in the Best Comedy Series category by Aidy Kane (Really Wants You to Love Him), Cady Did, Cam_Girlfriend, Claire-ity, The Communist's Daughter, Reality Sets In and Searching for Sylvie.

The growing audio fiction genre was added to the ceremony this year. The nominees for Best Audio Series are Around the Sun, Clutch: Chapter 3, Earth Eclipsed, Jack and Lou: A Gangster Love Story, The Ol' Timey Spectral Hour and Silva Lining's Care Plan.

A record number of submissions...

M-Appeal has closed deals for two of its Ventana Sur titles: Marcela Lordy’s “The Book of Delights” to Pigeon Co. in Taiwan and “The Night of the Beast” from Mauricio Leiva Cock to HBO in Eastern Europe.

“The Book of Delights” is an Argentina-Brazil co-production between Cinematográfica Marcela and bigBonsai which had already sold in the U.S. and Japan before the Taiwan announcement was made. M-Appeal will be looking to secure deals in more territories during Ventana Sur.

Adapted from Clarice Lispector’s Brazilian novel “Uma Aprendizagem ou Livro dos Prazeres,” “The Book of Delights” is the erotic story of Lóri, a woman on the lookout for sexual satisfaction, unwilling to compromise her own agency. An attractive young teacher by day, Lóri engages in a string of casula affairs catering to her desires and needs while purposefully avoiding emotional attachments.

Eventually, she crosses paths with renowned philosophy teacher,...

Initiating one of Amazon’s most ambitious titles ever in Latin America, production has begun on “La cabeza de Joaquín Murrieta,” the region’s first Western Amazon Original series, Amazon Prime Video announced Tuesday.

An “action-packed” series made in Mexico, it added, “La cabeza de Joaquín Murrieta” stars top Mexican actor Juan Manuel Bernal and Alejandro Speitzer, a fast-rising star after prominent roles in Mexican hits in “Dark Desire” and “Someone Has to Die.”

Backed by a powerful creative combo, the Amazon Original series is produced by Dynamo, who handled the physical production of “Narcos” in Colombia and produced Amazon’s “Falco” and Netflix’s first-anounced Colombian Original series, “Green Frontier.”

The series is created by Dynamo’s Diego Ramírez Schrempp and Fidelio’s Mauricio Leiva-Cock.

Series episodes will be directed by Humberto Hinojosa Ozcariz and David Pablos, fresh of his success with “Dance of the 41,” and director of “The Chosen Ones,...

Night Of The Beast screens as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival November 5th – 22nd.Ticket information for the virtual screening can be found Here

Using some of Iron Maiden’s most famous tracks, including “Aces High” and “The Trooper,” first-time director Mauricio Leiva-Cock — co-creator and showrunner for Netflix’s “Green Frontier” — tells the story of two young metalheads coasting aimlessly through Bogota’s alleys on the day of the band’s first-ever appearance in Colombia. While biding their time before Iron Maiden’s concert — their day is wrecked and friendship sorely tested when hoodlums steal their most valued possession: the tickets to see their favorite band perform live.

Review of Night Of The Beast

Remember the days of music concerts. Especially the big rock and roll

and heavy metal extravaganzas which packed stadiums, arenas, and all

manner of massive outdoor venues. Seems so long ago,...

Colombia’s Fidelio, one of the fastest growing companies in Latin America, has made its third big unveil at Spain’s Conecta Fiction, revealing this time round a multi-title co-development alliance for Spain and Latin America with Barcelona-based Amor y Lujo, headed by Andrea H. Catalá, Javi Ferreiro y Almudena Monzú.

First title up is “Picadero” a neo noir series created by Spanish scriptwriter and story editor Almudena Monzú, co-founder of the Barcelona-based Amor y Lujo, which she launched in 2016 with Venezuelan producer-director Andrea H. Catalá. Over the last few years. it has been providing production services, while building up its own project portfolio.

“Picadero” is a detective thriller that draws inspiration from Spanish film director Iciar Bollaín’s “Mataharis” and great detective classics.

It follows the cases of Llanos, a female detective who sets up in Barcelona to escape a dark family past and makes a living off secrets...

The erotic drama is the second feature of Piotr J Lewandowski (‘Jonathan’).

Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has picked up Piotr J Lewandowski’s King Of Ravens and will unveil the erotic drama at the Marché du Film Online.

The film centres on the relationship between a young and handsome undocumented immigrant named Darko and a mysterious woman who leads a steady life in Germany. Despite social and cultural differences, they share an immediate connection. The cast includes Malik Blumenthal, Antje Traue and Danuta Stenka.

It marks the second feature from Polish-German writer-director Lewandowski following Jonathan, which received its world premiere...

Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has acquired Colombian film “Night of the Beast,” produced by Fidelio Films and directed by Mauricio Leiva-Cock — the emerging showrunner behind Netflix’s “Green Frontier” and Movistar’s “Capital Noise.”

Leiva-Cock’s debut feature, “Night of the Beast,” is an urban road trip that follows two Bogota teenagers trying to get into the first Iron Maiden concert in Colombia, a historic event that had been awaited for three decades by fans of the metal band which eventually came to pass in 2008 in the Colombian capital. Metalheads of all ages pawned their instruments and saved for months to get the tickets.

Still in post-production, the film features a soundtrack of songs from Iron Maiden such as “Aces High” and “The Trooper” alongside Colombian metal bands like Vein, Agony, Masacre, Darkness, La Pestilencia and others.

Vargas and Chuki, the lead characters, cross the city in what comes across...

When “Embrace of the Serpent,” a psychedelic exploration of Colombian tribes in the Amazon, was released in 2015 to great acclaim and was shortlisted for the foreign-language Oscar, it instantly launched director Ciro Guerra onto the international film stage. The Colombian filmmaker, along with his ex-wife and producer Cristina Gallego, then had enough industry support to make their long-gestating passion project, “Birds of Passage.” The film, which became Colombia’s Oscar submission in 2018, uncovers the roots of Colombia’s drug war in the rise of illegal trading within the remote Wayyu tribes.

Working with a new set of collaborators, Guerra’s newest project is a mystery thriller for Netflix, which follows a disturbing string of femicides in the Amazon. “Green Frontier,” which also bears the Spanish-language title “Frontera Verde,” was shot on location in Colombia and filmed entirely in Spanish. The newly released first trailer promises stunning cinematography, gorgeous landscapes and...

Madrid — Over Oct. 4-7, the city of Segovia will host 3D Wire, Spain’s premier platforms for upcoming animation, video games, 3D and Ar content produced on the Iberian Peninsula, across Latin America and beyond.

This year’s market will see more than 1,000 industry professionals visit the historical Roman city best known for its extremely well preserved aqueducts. Segovia seems an ideal place to host an animation festival; the Alcazar de Segovia Castle is said to have inspired Walt Disney and the logo that accompanies so many of the artform’s most iconic productions.

Attendees will be invited to participate in presentations, screenings, round tables and conferences; a number of prizes will be awarded to upcoming projects; there will be a competition for animated short films. The official competition is broken up into domestic and international sections with the former featuring seven animated shorts, while the rest of the world contributes 26 – five from the U.

Film Lineup Set For Inaugural Palo Alto International Film Festival

Palo Alto, CA . The Palo Alto International Film Festival (Paiff) has announced its film program for the 2011 festival. The lineup includes 20 features and 74 short films curated from award-winning films and film festival favorites that exemplify Paiff.s theme of innovation in art, film and technology.

Paiff proudly presents a lineup that challenges the art form, taking creative risks with technology in films like Braden King.s cross-platform feature .Here,. to the artistically inventive .Bombay Beach. by music video director Alma Har.el to documentaries like .Something Ventured. which delves into the world of Venture Capital firms.

.We.re seeing a new movement emerging . films are trying to live outside the cinema. They.re breaking out of traditional storytelling structures,. said Paiff.s Director Programming Alf Seccombe. .This festival spotlights the creative risk-taking that is inherent in innovation..

The 2011 festival kicks...