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France’s Canal+ Group has increased its stake in multi-territory Asian video streamer Viu to 36.8%. It says that the move is in accordance with the terms of the strategic partnership with Viu owner Pccw Group announced a year ago and follows the satisfaction of key business milestones.

The move is the second time that Canal+ has increased its share stake and means that Canal+ has released the last instalment of its $300 million staggered investment. “This investment is a renewed testimony to Canal+’s commitment to develop Asia as one of the group’s growth engines and underlines Canal+’s confidence in Viu and its team,” the French company said in a statement. A further investment, at Canal+’s discretion, could lift its ownership stake in Viu to 51%.

Sydneysiders Speak

Days after the completion of the festival, “The Moogai” was revealed as the winner of the audience award for...

The 71st edition of Australia’s Sydney Film Festival (Sff) closed on Sunday June 16 amid a wave of optimisim with a wealth of prizes, a likely rise in ticket sales, and an influx of young cinemagoers.

Ticket sales were estimated to be more than 10% up on last year, making 2024 the second biggest year on record after 2019.

“It’s been quite phenomenal and we feel very optimistic about the future,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. “We can’t tell with precision, but judging by which films sold, the younger demographic is increasing.”

Paola Cortellesi’s post-Second World War Italian melodrama There’s Still Tomorrow,...

There are few things more enjoyable when watching a documentary than being able to fully root for an underdog. From spelling bees to singing contests, debate societies and sporting contests, they have proved themselves cinematic winners with a fine pedigree - and The Home Game’s triumph in the Glasgow Film Festival audience award again proves its a winning formula. Although technically from the sporting end of the genre, even non-football fans are likely to find themselves won over almost immediately by this tale of one team’s determination against the odds.

The story starts long before directors Smari Gunn and Logi Sigursveinsson entered the picture, back in 1994. It was then that Viðar Gylfason, a resident of the Icelandic village of Hellissandur (population: 369), settled on the pipe dream of building a football pitch and having his club Reynir Fc play a home game on it in the country’s Fa Cup.

When Icelandic directors Smari Gunn and Logi Sigursveinsson set out to make The Home Game, they couldn’t have imagined the response this small, local Icelandic documentary would gather on the festival circuit. The film, which follows a group of spirited underdogs as they fight for local soccer glory, is coming off the back of a rapturous reception at the Glasgow Film Festival, where it won the fest’s prestigious Audience Award. It previously screened at the Tromso International Film Festival, Doc NYC and Nordisk Panorama.

The Home Game follows the story of an impulsive Icelander, Kari Vidarsson, who wants to fulfil his father Vidar’s failed dream to get their small fishing village, Hellissandur (population 369), a home game on the unused football pitch he built. While Vidar managed to build a team in 1994, the side ultimately drew an away game and fell to a 10-0 defeat. Fast-forward to 2020 and...

Icelandic football filmThe Home Game won the Glasgow Film Festival audience award which was presented as the 20th edition drew to a close in the Scottish city last night (March 10).

Smari Gunn and Logi Sigursveinsson’s documentary about plucky underdogs Reynir Fc’s bid for cup glory scored the highest audience score in the award’s 10-year history.

Based in the Icelandic village of Hellissandur, with a population of 369, Reynir Fc was re-formed in 2020 with a ragtag bunch of locals including a 15-year-old schoolboy rapper, 40-something in goal and the somewhat controversial inclusion of a former Iceland women’s team player.

The Home Game. Smari Gunn: 'We just started filming without kind of knowing what we were going to do with it. We had no money or anything. We just got filming' Photo: MetFilm Crowd-pleasing documentary The Home Game tells the uplifting story of how a football club in Iceland from Hellisandur, in Iceland, which has a population of less than 400, became determined to play a match on local turf in the country’s Fa Cup. The idea was the brainchild of Viðar Gylfason but despite getting the pitch up and running his dream was scuppered by an away draw which saw his team Reynir Fc lose spectacularly 10-0.

As 2020 rolls around, his son Kári Viðars becomes determined to realise his dad’s dream. The pitch is impressive but, even more so, the team spirit of a club which has an inclusive policy of accepting players no matter what their age,...

Rose Glass’s romantic thriller Loves Lives Bleeding is set to open the 20th edition of Glasgow Film Festival (Gff) on February 28.

The UK filmmaker’s follow-up to Saint Maud stars Kristen Stewart as a gym owner who falls for a bodybuilder with criminal connections. The A24 feature will receive its UK premiere at Glasgow following its debut at Sundance earlier this month.

John Archer’s documentary Janey, about Scottish stand-up comedian Janey Godley as she embarks on her final tour following a terminal cancer diagnosis, will close the festival on March 10.

Gff has secured eight world premieres (see below...

The Home Game is a heartwarming documentary that showcases the power of sport via a small Icelandic village, highlighting the importance of grassroots football. The film follows the journey of one determined man and his community as they work together to create a competitive football team and compete in the country's Fa Cup competition. Through its depiction of everyday people pursuing their dreams, The Home Game serves as a love letter to soccer and sheds light on the positive aspects of the sport often overshadowed by corruption and capitalism.

The iconic UK football manager Bill Shankly once claimed that, "Some people think that football is a matter of life and death; I can assure you, it's much more than that." That quote has pulsated through the veins of the footballing world for decades, and unbeknownst to him at the time, Shankly would capture the very essence of what this sport...