News

Saudi Arabia’s nascent Red Sea International Film festival has unveiled its inaugural lineup featuring the Middle East premiere of Harvey Weinstein-inspired workplace abuse drama “The Assistant” amid a fresh mix of feature films and docs from Europe, the U.S., Asia, and Africa launching in the region on top of a robust representation of Arab films.

Significantly, the opener will be “The Book of Sun” by debuting Saudi directorial duo Faris and Suhaib Godus, about a teenager named Husam who, prompted by the growing phenomenon of Saudi YouTube content, embarks with a group of geeks on a mission to make a no-budget horror pic. Production of this film was supported by the fest.

Oliver Stone will preside over the competition jury.

Red Sea festival chief Mahmoud Sabbagh in a statement called “Book of Sun” “a testament to the passionate community of pioneering filmmakers who have inspired and drive Saudi cinema culture.

Pulsar Content, the newly launched Parisian sales boutique, has closed deals on “Aznavour by Charles,” a documentary feature on the late French-Armenian crooner Charles Aznavour, directed by Marc di Domenico and narrated by Romain Duris.

“Aznavour by Charles” delivers an intimate portrait of the iconic singer through exclusive footage of him through the years, and interviews with some of his famous friends, including Edith Piaf and Frank Sinatra. The documentary closed the Angouleme Film Festival and had a market screening at Toronto.

Pulsar Content has sold the film to Canada (Les films Opale), Italy (Zivago), Israel (Lev), Latin America (Babilla), Brazil (Imovision), Benelux (Athena), Switzerland (Praesens), Bulgaria (6A Entertainment), former Yugoslavia (McF), the Middle East (Salim Ramia) and Baltics (A-One).

Pulsar, which was launched by former Bac films executives Gilles Sousa and Marie Garrett at Toronto, is also selling “A Perfect Enemy,” a psychological thriller directed by Spanish filmmaker Kike Maíllo,...

French film industry veterans Gilles Sousa and Marie Garrett, the duo behind Bac Films’ thriving international sales division, are teaming up with Logical Pictures to launch the Paris-based sales outfit Pulsar Content. The banner has also announced a partnership with Nicolas Winding Refn.

The production and financing outfit Logical Pictures was launched in Cannes 2016 and has so far invested in more than 20 projects, including “Farming,” which premiered at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival last year and will be released by Lionsgate in the U.K. next month, as well as Coralie Fargeat’s thriller “Revenge.”

Logical Pictures has invested in Refn’s new streaming service, Nwr, and will be working with Pulsar Content on the filmmaker’s diverse projects, including his next feature film.

“Refn and I both share a similar vision of the industry’s evolution in terms of new opportunities,” Logical Pictures president Frederic Fiore said. “Since Refn...