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Channel 4 and Sky in the U.K. have extended their pre-existing, long-term commercial partnership in a new multi-year agreement which, according to the companies, will facilitate greater opportunity for collaboration, commercial growth and innovation as broadcasting evolves going forward.

Under the terms of the new deal, Sky customers will have access to even more Channel 4 content as more than 1000 hours of All 4 — Channel 4’s VoD platform — exclusives are integrated into Sky’s current and future TV products. Channel 4 will benefit from under the new terms by opening avenues to new digital ad revenue streams which can support its Future4 strategy.

“When we set out our Future4 strategy last year, we made clear that securing strategic distribution partnerships would be a vital part of ensuring we can maximize our reach and impact with viewers in a digital age, grow our revenues and compete more effectively for the future,” said Alex Mahon,...

Bac Films, the Paris-based film group behind the Venice Horizons title “My Days of Glory,” has bolstered its international sales division with a new team topped by Marine Goulois and Andrea Dos Santos.

Goulois previously worked at Snd, the sales arm of the commercial network M6, and Les Films du Losange, while Dos Santos worked at Orange Studio and Alfama Films. They will head the international sales division together.

Goulois, who has a track record handling both prestige auteur movies such as Michael Haneke’s films at Les Films du Losange, and high-concept genre or comedy movies at Snd, will also be in charge of international acquisitions.

The new team will be completed by Juliette Béchu, who will work on sales, and Marine Dorville, who will be the festival manager.

“Our ambition is to continue to develop an international lineup of independent European cinema, high-profile English-language projects and animated feature,...

The 26-year-old French star Vincent Lacoste continues his winning streak playing certified losers in My Days of Glory (Mes jours de gloire), an enjoyable shaggy-dog story that’s somewhere between early Woody Allen and the bluesy Paris-set coming-of-age romances of Christophe Honoré.

Funny in places and overtly depressing in others, it marks an amusingly offbeat debut from writer-director Antoine de Bary, who adapted from his own Cannes prize-winning short. Premiering in Venice’s Orizzonti sidebar and slated for release in France next year, Glory is the kind of easygoing arthouse flick that could find traction outside Europe, with Lacoste providing the ...

The 26-year-old French star Vincent Lacoste continues his winning streak playing certified losers in My Days of Glory (Mes jours de gloire), an enjoyable shaggy-dog story that’s somewhere between early Woody Allen and the bluesy Paris-set coming-of-age romances of Christophe Honoré.

Funny in places and overtly depressing in others, it marks an amusingly offbeat debut from writer-director Antoine de Bary, who adapted from his own Cannes prize-winning short. Premiering in Venice’s Orizzonti sidebar and slated for release in France next year, Glory is the kind of easygoing arthouse flick that could find traction outside Europe, with Lacoste providing the ...

The lineup has been unveiled for year’s edition of the Venice International Film Festival, taking place August 28 through September 7. Aside from films previously announced as coming to Tiff, some major new announcements include Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, James Gray’s Ad Astra, Roy Andersson’s About Endlessness, Ciro Guerra’s Waiting for the Barbarians, David Michôd’s The King, Benedict Andrews’ Kristen Stewart-led biopic Seberg, and Roman Polanski’s J’accuse. Only two films by female directors made into the competition lineup: Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate and Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth.

Check out the lineup below (hat tip to Mubi), which also includes other sections at the festival.

Competition

The Truth (Hirokazu Kore-eda)

The Perfect Candidate (Haifaa Al-Mansour)

About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)

Wasp Network (Olivier Assayas)

Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)

Guest of Honour (Atom Egoyan)

Ad Astra (James Gray)

A Herdade (Tiago Guedes)

Gloria Mundi (Robert Guédiguian...

There are only two films by female directors in competition.

The line-up of the 76th Venice Film Festival (August 28 – September 7) has been announced.

Scroll down for the full line-up

This year features some high-profile projects including Todd Phillips’ Joker and James Gray’s Ad Astra, a lack of female directors in competition once again, and the controversial selection of Roman Polanski’s latest film.

Australian title Babyteeth, from first-time director Shannon Murphy, and Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate are the two films in the 21-strong competition from female filmmakers. Last year festival chief Alberto Barbera was heavily...

Finnish poet-turned-filmmaker Mikko Myllylahti’s feature debut, “The Woodcutter Story,” won Cannes’ Critics’ Week inaugural Next Step award, part of a program aimed at helping the directors of the 10 shorts playing in the sidebar to make their feature debut.

“The Woodcutter Story,” which is being developed by the production banner Aamu Film Company, unfolds in Finland’s Lapland, in a quiet village where a dark force enters and sparks a series of tragic events. The tragedies start dragging down the morale of all but one villager, the local woodcutter whose unflinching optimism becomes suspicious.

Myllylahti said the movie mixed black comedy, surrealism and metaphorical thriller elements. He said the movie would also carry an environmental theme and would be about hope. The filmmaker, who has had four collections of poems published, said the tone of “The Woodcutter Story” was inspired by the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” and the work of Robert Bresson.

Paris-based Bac Films is launching a slate of new acquisitions at the UniFrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, including Nicolas Pariser’s “Alice And The Mayor” with Fabrice Luchini, and Antoine de Bary’s concept comedy “My Days of Glory” with Vincent Lacoste.

“Alice And The Mayor” stars Luchini as Paul Théraneau, a prominent French mayor who has run out of ideas after thirty years in politics and enlists the help of a brilliant young philosopher, Alice (Anais Demoustier). The film revolves around their relationship which ultimately shakes the mayor’s convictions.

Marie Garrett, Bac Films’s VP of international sales, said a scene from “Alice And The Mayor” will be shown to buyers at the UniFrance showcase. The executive said the film could almost be described as a philosophical drama dealing with the existential crisis that politicians can experience.

A popular French actor, Luchini starred in “Courted,” “Ma Loute” and “A Man in a Hurry.

Colcoa is keeping up with the times. Now in its twenty-first year, the lauded French film festival, sponsored by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, has added a pair of forward-thinking new categories for its newest edition. This year will include a virtual reality program and a web series competition, in addition to its Cinema, Television and Shorts competitions.

“These two new popular formats offer more opportunities to showcase the creativity of French producers and filmmakers as well as the diversity of French production,” said François Truffart, Colcoa Executive Producer and Artistic Director. “While entertainment is still the key word for the program, with a balanced mix of comedies and dramas, several topical issues will cover the program this year, including the environment, discrimination, racism, terrorism, and the role of the artist in society. More than ever, Colcoa will offer a unique opportunity to see these universal topics from different angles.”

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