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Locarno, Switzerland — Anna Alarcón, co-star of Liliana Torres’ South by Southwest winner “Mamífera” is attached to take the lead in Torres’ follow-up “Climacteric,” which is being brought onto the market this market at Locarno’s Match Me! networking forum.

In a parallel move, Barcelona-based boutique studio Filmax has acquired Spanish theatrical distribution rights to “Climacteric,” which is produced, like “Mamífera,” by Barcelona’s Distinto Films and Edna Cine.

Also written by Torres, “Climacteric” (“Climateri”) sees Selva (Alarcón) beginning to experience strange physical sensations after the death of her mother. She travels to her hometown to sell the family house, little knowing she will never return to her pleasant urban life-style. In the rural town she will discover that that stockbreeding is ravaging the local landscape. The doctor diagnoses that she is suffering a premature menopause. But her transformation will go beyond the limits of the human body to vindicate the fight of nature to survive.

Ecam Forum, the new go-to international co-production market, has just announced the main program of its second edition, running June 10–13 at Madrid’s historical Matadero venue.

To mark the significance of this fast-expanding industry initiative, spearheaded by the prestigious Ecam film school in Madrid, today’s launch at the Spanish Pavilion in Cannes was attended by Icaa head Ignasi Camós, Raoul Torquemada, director of Madrid Film Office and Nacho Carballo from the Community of Madrid, key partners to the event.

Nacho Carballo, Raúl Torquemada, Alba Wystraëte and Ignasi Camós in Cannes Credit: Ecam

“Ecam Forum is particularly important as it is part of the Ecam film school in Madrid, one of the landmark audiovisual schools in Spain,” Camós told Variety at the press launch. ” In only two editions, the organisers of this new market have managed to create a vital link between talents with projects in development and in post-production,...

A museum curator faces all facets of mourning in Spanish director Sergi Pérez’s upcoming feature “Memorial,” selected to participate at Madrid’s 7th Annual Ecam Incubator, among Spain’s most prestigious international co-production forums.

Written by Pérez and Anna Cammany, the project is produced by Eave and Berlinale Talents Alum Carla Sospedra Salvadó and her production outfit Edna Cinema (“Mamífera”). Other producers include Jofre Ferré and Ander Sagardoy at Barcelona’s Sumendi Filmak (“Betiko Gaua”), Alex Lafuente at Madrid’s B Team Pictures (“Reinas”) and Jerome Vidal at Paris-based Noodles Production (“Robot Dreams”).

Having contributed to the pre-production of Carla Simon’s Golden Bear-winning Berlinale title “Alcarràs,” Sospedra has also produced Isabel Coixet and Laura Ferrés’ 2022 San Sebastian stunner “El techo amarillo,” Bélen Funes’ “Sara a la Fuga” and Simon’s 2020 short “Correspondencias,” co-directed with Dominga Sotomayor. She’s also worked with Elena Trapé, Liliana Torres (“Mamífera”) and Alba Cros...

The SXSW Film & TV Festival said Wednesday that Universal’s The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling will serve as the 2024 edition’s Centerpiece film, and Netflix’s 3 Body Problem from David Benioff, D. B. Weiss and Alexander Woo will open the fest’s opening-night TV premiere.

The news comes as the festival, whose 31st edition runs March 8-16 in Austin, unveiled first titles in its Feature and Short Competitions, Midnighters, Global and Xr Experience categories. See the list below, which includes berths for the world premiere of Pamela Adlon’s Babes, the Daisy Ridley-starring Magpie, Prentice Penny’s docuseries Black Twitter, Season 3 of Hacks and the final season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Organizers said today that more titles, including the opening- and closing-night films, will be announced early next month across Headliner, Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Visions, Midnighter, Global, 24 Beats Per Second,...

The 2024 SXSW Film and TV Festival has announced its lineup, with Netflix’s splashy sci-fi series 3 Body Problem opening the fest and the Ryan Gosling and Emily Bunt action comedy The Fall Guy acting as a centerpiece screening.

David Benioff and Dan Weiss are behind 3 Body Problem, based on the book of the same name. David Leitch directed the Universal feature about a Hollywood stuntman (Gosling) who is tasked with tracking down the star of the latest movie he is working on.

The Pamela Adlon movie Babes will also act as a centerpiece screening. The narrative competition features include Crystal Moselle’s latest, The Black Sea, and Barbie Ferreira starrer Bob Trevino Likes It. Elsewhere in the lineup are a Cheech and Chong doc, Tommy Dorfman’s directorial debut, Lilly Singh comedy Doin’ It, and My Dead Friend Zoe, exec produced by NFL star Travis Kelce.

The film...

Final part of Spanish director’s trilogy to start shooting at the end of the month.

Spanish director Liliana Torres is preparing to shoot Mamífera, the final film in a trilogy of features about relationships and family life that began with her San Sebastian premiere Family Tour and includes Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival competition film What Went Wrong

Mamífera, which is the Spanish word for a female mammal, is scheduled to start shooting at the end of February, and centres on an unwanted pregnancy.

It focuses on Lola, who accidentally gets pregnant at a time when Spanish law required...