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The family that slays together stays together in Nigerian director Daniel Oriahi’s “The Weekend,” a bloody thriller about a woman who discovers a shocking secret about her soon-to-be in-laws. Variety has been given exclusive access to a clip from the movie ahead of its world premiere in the Midnight section of the Tribeca Festival, which runs through June 16.

Produced by Uche Okocha of Trino Motion Pictures and executive produced by Babatunwa Aderinokun, “The Weekend” marks the fourth theatrical release from Oriahi and was written by Egbewamei Sammy, Vanessa Kanu and Freddie O. Anyaegbunam, Jr. New York-based The Film Sales Company is repping world sales. Here’s an exclusive first look:

Speaking to Variety from Lagos, Oriahi dished on the evolution of Nigeria’s ragtag Nollywood industry, his crash course in the “Roger Corman film school” and the long journey from Lagos to the starry heights of New York’s premier film fest.

Five screenwriters will take part in the six-week programme.

Five African screenwriters have been selected for the Realness African Screenwriters’ Residency, which will run for six weeks from July 14 to September 6 in South Africa.

The five writers are Ghana’s Amartei Armar, Nigeria’s Michael Omonua, South Africa’s Chantel Clark, Gabon-Lebanon’s Chadi Zeneddine and South Africa’s Babalwa Baartman.

For the seventh edition of the annual residency, the writers will work with three mentors: story consultants Selina Ukwuoma and Thandeka Zwana, and creative producer Cait Pansegrouw. The course will provide mentorship on the writers’ projects and how to...

Seven years before its Jan. 23 world premiere in Park City — the first-time that a homegrown Nigerian feature has scored a coveted slot in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance — C.J. Obasi’s “Mami Wata” began with a vision.

The director was sitting on a West African beach, in between projects and contemplating his next move. Suddenly, an apparition came to him: A mermaid standing on the ocean’s shore, beckoning to a mysterious young woman behind him.

“It was really vivid,” Obasi says. “It was in black and white. In the vision, the goddess’ eyes are red, but also very soft. There was a kindness to her eyes. When I came to, I said, Ok, so my next movie is ‘Mami Wata.’”

What followed was a personal and professional journey to understand that moment on the beach, and to breathe life into a movie about the titular mermaid-deity of West African folklore.

Rehearsal Short Film — Michael Omonua‘s Rehearsal (2021) short film has been released. Rehearsal short film stars Ruby Akubueze, Chimezie Imo, Amanda Oruh, and Brutus Richard. Crew Produced by DonPaul Umana. Featuring cinematography by Kc Obiajulu. Plot Synopsis Rehearsal‘s plot synopsis: “How do you stage a miracle healing? Protagonists are cast and different variations are tried out, [...]

Continue reading: Rehearsal (2021) Short Film: Boundaries dissolve between Church and Theatre in Michael Omonua’s Miracle Healing Movie...

"I have a story I want to tell you..." Everyone knows faith healers are religious snake oil salesman, right? Right? This award-winning short film is made by a British-Nigerian filmmaker named Michael Omonua and is finally available to watch online after playing at fests. Rehearsal is an entrancing 14-mintue short film that first premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year. The film shows a group of people rehearsing "miracle healing" experiences near a theatre in London. The footage is intercut with video of their audition tapes to play these roles - either as the pastor or a faithful hoping to be healed. This also features gorgeous cinematography that brings out the textures of the room they're in and gives an additional later to the ideas this film is bringing up. It's such a shrewd, tidy film that will leave an impression upon anyone who watches. Thanks to Vimeo Staff...

Year after year a site par excellence for the most innovative premieres—in that respect an antithesis to the ensuing fall circuit—the Locarno Film Festival returns triumphant next month. Their 2021 lineup, per usual, mixes iconic names with complete unknowns and, admittedly, a head-scratcher or two. Abel Ferrara’s much-anticipated Zeros and Ones, sure. Gaspar Noé’s Vortex—makes sense. A new film from The Wild Boys director Bertrand Mandico? Great! But Shawn Levy and a Jennifer Hudson Aretha Franklin biopic?

However, new festival head Giona A. Nazzaro sees it as part of a steady influx, telling Variety “A festival can be quite highbrow and also entertaining at the same time. That is why for this year’s lineup we have selected several comedies and also some genre movies, as well as straightforward auteur films.” By that metric it’s more inclusive than almost any other major competition on the European circuit.

After Blue (Paradis sale)The lineup for the 2021 festival has been revealed, including new films by Bertrand Mandico, Axelle Ropert, Abel Ferrara and others, alongside retrospectives and tributes, and much more.Piazza GRANDEBeckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino)Free Guy (Shawn Levy)Heat (Michael Mann)Hinterland (Stefan Ruzowitzky)Ida Red (John Swab)Monte Verità (Stefan Jäger)National Lampoon's Animal House (John Landis)Respect (Liesl Tommy)Rose (Aurélie Saada)Sinkhole (Kim Ji-hoon)The Alleys (Bassel Ghandour)The Terminator (James Cameron)Vortex (Gaspar Noé)Yaya e Lennie — The Walking Liberty (Alessandro Rak)Tomorrow My Love (Gitanjali Rao)Lynx (Laurent Geslin)Zeros and OnesCONCORSO INTERNAZIONALEAfter Blue (Paradis sale) (Bertrand Mandico)Al Naher (The River) (Ghassan Salhab)Espíritu sagrado (The Sacred Spirit) (Chema García Ibarra)Gerda (Natalya Kudryashova)I giganti (The Giants) (Bonifacio Angius)Jiao ma teng hui (A New Old Play) (Jiongjiong Qiu)Juju StoriesLa Place d'une autre (Secret Name) (Aurélia Georges)Leynilögga (Cop Secret...

With Cannes right around the corner, two more prominent European film festivals announced their official lineups for 2021 this week. The 2021 Locarno Film Festival (the 74th edition of the event) is taking place August 4-14 and will feature the world premiere of Abel Ferrara’s “Zeroes and Ones,” plus the Melissa Leo-Frank Grillo starring thriller “Ida Red” from director John Swab. Perhaps the most prominent U.S. title in the Locarno lineup is “Respect,” the Jennifer Hudson-starring Aretha Franklin biopic that has already caught the eye of Oscar pundits here in the states. The film will screen out of competition, as will Ryan Reynolds’ long-delayed Disney-Fox tentpole “Free Guy.”

“A festival can be quite highbrow and also entertaining at the same time,” Nazzaro told Variety in a statement. “That is why for this year’s lineup we have selected several comedies and also some genre movies, as well as straightforward auteur films.

Abel Ferrara’s contemporary thriller ’Zeros And Ones’ stars Ethan Hawke.

Abel Ferrara’s contemporary thriller Zeros And Ones and Srdjan Dragojević’s dark comedy Heavens Above are among 17 films from 12 countries having their world premiere in the international competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival (August 4-14) under the new artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro.

Scroll down for full line-up

In his first collaboration with Ferrara, Zeros And Ones sees Ethan Hawke plays an American soldier stationed in Rome who pursues an unknown enemy threatening the entire world after the Vatican gets blown up.

Ahead of shooting in Italy...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the lineup of 20 shorts from 17 countries which will compete for the Golden and Silver Bear awards for short films.

The festival said the films “daringly confront the present and rewrite the past,” while imagining “a new tomorrow” in many different ways. “There is longing to understand and to be understood (running) through the selection,” said the fest.

Among the films selected, some explore colonial history, such as “Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit,” “Strange Object,” “One Hundred Steps;” others tackle political violence, such as “International Dawn Chorus Day,” and right-wing terror, like “Your Street.”

“A Love Song in Spanish” and “My Uncle Tudor,” meanwhile, confront trauma within people and their families. “Vadim on a Walk,” “Glittering Barbieblood,” “One Thousand and One Attempts to Be an Ocean” look at society; or “Rehearsal” looks at institutions.

Some of the more philosophical and spiritual...