News

Mediawan has come on board two English-language premium scripted series, Brian O’Malley’s steampunk spaghetti Western show “That Dirty Black Bag” and Gilles de Maistre’s “Big Five.”

Aimed at family audiences, “Big Five” will be set in South Africa, and will follow the adventures of Daniah de Villiers, the young actress in “Mia and the White Lion” who will play the lead role.

The half-hour series will be produced by Mai Juin Productions, a Mediawan subsidiary. “Mia and the White Lion” traveled to nearly forty territories and grossed approximately $37 million worldwide.

“That Dirty Black Bag” is being produced by Palomar, the Mediawan-owned Italian shingle behind “The Name of the Rose” and the thriving American banner Bron Studios, whose credits include “Joker.” The series is being developed in three seasons comprising eight-episodes each.

The international casting of “That Dirty Black Bag” is being finalised and production is due to start in May.

Director Gilles de Maistre had good intentions at heart bringing an animal activist message to the mainstream with “Mia and the White Lion.” The craft and care it took to capture a portrait of a headstrong young girl and her unconventional friendship with a white lion is astounding, considering the filming spanned a few years so the actress could authentically bond with the animal. This sweetly sentimental feature — aimed squarely at the family demographic, particularly those with small children — will assuredly connect with animal lovers, with one big caveat: There’s a whiplash-inducing reveal that could prove traumatic to some of those same folks.

Ten-year-old Mia Owen (Daniah De Villiers) has recently moved from London to South Africa and is struggling with lots of complicated feelings. Her frustration and angst over this sudden lifestyle change has prevented her from fitting in at her new school, as she gets in fights with classmates and teachers alike.

"I'm going to get you to somewhere safe... and then you'll be free." A new official Us trailer has debuted for the charming adventure Mia and the White Lion, which was first released last year in France under the title Mia et le lion blanc - since it's made by a French filmmaker, though the dialogue is mostly in English. The story is about a young girl from London who moves to Africa with her parents where she befriends a white lion cub. After the lion grows up, she decides to set out on a journey across the South African savanna in search of another land where Charlie can live out his life in freedom. Daniah De Villiers stars as Mia, with a full cast including Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Ryan Mac Lennan, Lionel Newton, Lillian Dube, and Brandon Auret. This was shot at the Welgedacht Reserve in South Africa,...

In today’s film news roundup, a film about a white lion named Charlie is getting a U.S. release, 3 Arts makes a key hire and Gravitas buys the documentary “Mosul.”

Release Date

Ledafilms Entertainment Group has set an April 12 release for the family adventure film, “Mia and the White Lion,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Shot over the course of three years, the film centers on a willful young girl named Mia whose family decides to leave London to manage a lion farm in South Africa. She bonds with a white lion cub named Charlie but become distraught by the thought that he could be in harm and sets out on a journey across the South African savanna in search of another land where Charlie can live out his life in freedom.

French director Gilles De Maistre shot the film at the Welgedacht Reserve in South Africa. The film...

Company also reports deals on One Nation, One King, The Silent Revolution and Sink Or Swim.

Paris-based Studiocanal is reporting near sell-out sales on French director Gilles de Maistre’s South Africa-set family film Mia And The White Lion at last week’s Efm.

The English-language drama revolves around a rebellious young girl who bonds with a white lion cub, and then runs away with him as he approaches full size to prevent his sale into the big game, trophy-hunting business.

The ambitious production was shot over the course of three years so that the film’s young star Daniah De Villiers and other supporting cast members could truly bond and grow with the animals that appear in the film.

This approach as well as a powerful trailer struck a chord with buyers, said Studiocanal head of international sales Anne Cherel.

“We knew we had something special in our hands but even we were surprised by the enthusiasm...