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The initial frames of Katell Quillévéré’s Along Came Love plunge us into that most queasy of historical moments: the supposed liberation of France, circa 1945. Newsreel cheers, the GIs are here, hurrah. But the camera, like a restless spirit, doesn’t linger on the bunting. Instead, it veers sharply into the shadows where liberation’s uglier sibling, retribution, is busy at work.

We witness the ritualistic shaming of women, the femmes tondues, their heads shorn as a brutal public penance for liaisons with the occupiers. This isn’t just backdrop; it’s the film’s original sin, staining everything that follows.

From this maelstrom of collective judgment emerges Madeleine (Anaïs Demoustier), her own hair freshly shorn, a swastika daubed on her pregnant belly – a walking, breathing symbol of national disgrace and intimate betrayal. She is a woman already burdened, already carrying the weight of a past that will stretch its tendrils across the ensuing decades.

“Hi and welcome. We all know why you’re here.”

With those nine words, TikTok user @ReesaMTeesa turned her storytime about meeting, dating, and divorcing a man she called a “pathological liar” into TikTok’s newest hit reality series. It’s called “Who Tf Did I Marry,” and even though it essentially involves the Atlanta-based woman recounting her experiences with her ex-husband in 10-minute increments while finishing her hair or driving to work, TikTok users have already declared the series a classic — and demanded a Hollywood treatment. (Reesa did not...

In her career to date, French director Katell Quillévéré has demonstrated an unusual talent for connecting to her characters so intensely that in some moments they seem less to be up on the screen in front of you, than sitting right next to you. Or even, as with the daydreams and interior musings that punctuated her wonderful last film “Heal the Living,” right inside you. But with her fourth feature, “Along Came Love,” that intimate connection appears to have been broken, as though this turbid post-war romantic saga is coming to us through the decades via a long-distance call that keeps dropping.

Perhaps to establish some authenticity early, the film opens with archival footage of the French liberation celebrations at the end of World War II. The jubilant scenes darken as “collaborator” Frenchwomen, accused of pursuing relationships with the occupying Germans, are lined up for ritual public humiliation. Last year,...

Viacom International Studios (Vis) has signed a quintet of first-look deals with emerging British talent as part of a drive to hand more opportunities to diverse creators.

Morgan Bailey, Bec Boey, Chris Bush, Iman Qureshi, and Kaamil Shah will spend the next two years pitching five ideas to ViacomCBS’ in-house producer and Vis has committed to commissioning at least two projects to the treatment stage of development, and taking one of those to script.

Vis Vice President Kate Laffey and Vis UK Head of Development Claire Sowerby-Sheppard are overseeing the program, which will be repeated with another set of under-represented writers at some point in the near future.

The program comes off the back of the launch of Vis’ Social Impact division, which is dedicated to the development of social-impact-driven content.

Vis said the quintet were chosen “based on their proven scriptwriting talent, their variety of interests and writing styles,...

ViacomCBS International Studios’ Vis unit has unveiled first-look deals with five emerging writers from the U.K., kicking off a new “First Look Deal Program” designed to “amplify diverse voices” as part of the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.

The writers – Morgan Bailey, Bec Boey, Chris Bush, Iman Qureshi and Kaamil Shah – were chosen “based on their proven scriptwriting talent, their variety of interests and writing styles, and potential to collaborate on distinctive development projects intended for Paramount+,” the company said.

“These deals mark the first round of creatives confirmed to work with the international ...

ViacomCBS International Studios’ Vis unit has unveiled first-look deals with five emerging writers from the U.K., kicking off a new “First Look Deal Program” designed to “amplify diverse voices” as part of the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.

The writers – Morgan Bailey, Bec Boey, Chris Bush, Iman Qureshi and Kaamil Shah – were chosen “based on their proven scriptwriting talent, their variety of interests and writing styles, and potential to collaborate on distinctive development projects intended for Paramount+,” the company said.

“These deals mark the first round of creatives confirmed to work with the international ...