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In today’s Global Bulletin, “Big Brother Canada” sets 10th season; Francesco Totti soccer documentary wins Rotterdam award; Dok Leipzig returns to cinemas in October; Bavaria Fiction, WarnerMedia, Production Guild of Great Britain appoint key personnel; BAFTA Breakthrough U.S., U.K., open for applications; Hulu buys Red Arrow factual series package; and BFI restores vintage Sherlock Holmes titles.

Banijay Rights has signed a deal for a tenth season of “Big Brother Canada” for Corus Entertainment’s Global channel in Canada.

The ninth season delivered its most diverse cast ever, with Tychon Carter-Newman (pictured) making history as the first Black winner of “Big Brother Canada.”

Produced by Insight Productions, a Boat Rocker company, in association with Corus Entertainment and Banijay, “Big Brother Canada” Season 10 will debut on Global in spring 2022. The deal was agreed by Banijay Rights.

The “Big Brother” format is represented internationally by Banijay, with over 60 adaptations and broadcast in more than 80 countries.

The one-off summer edition ran in cinemas from June 2-6 and continued online until today (June 9).

My Name Is Francesco Totti, Alex Infascelli’s feature documentary about the legendary Roma football star, has won the audience award worth €5,000 at the one-off summer edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

The event ran in cinemas from June 2-6 and continued online until today (June 9). The IFFR’s 50th edition in early February was forced online due to Covid-19.

Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic talked of the emotion she felt on the opening night of the summer edition, introducing the screening of...

The closing part of this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) kicks off Wednesday with a vast program of films and events that includes an all-new section and a showcase of works from up-and-coming filmmakers.

The first part of IFFR’s 50th edition, which ran Feb. 1-7, focused on the main Tiger, Big Screen and Ammodo Tiger Short competitions as well as the Limelight sidebar, a preview of upcoming arthouse releases. From February to June, the fest continued to stream films from its rich history as part of the IFFR Unleashed: 50/50 program.

A total 139 features, short and mid-length films are screening in the Harbour, Bright Future, Cinema Regained, Classics and Short and Mid-Length Film sections. Harbour is the festival’s newest and largest program.

“The port is the backbone of the city of Rotterdam and in the same way Harbour is the backbone of the festival itself,” says festival director Vanja Kaludjercic.

Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, was the big winner at Italy’s 66th David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes.

The Davids were held with an in-person ceremony aired from two venues amid a strong spirit of restart as Italian movie theaters gradually begin to reopen.

“Hidden Away,” which was the frontrunner with 15 nominations, scored seven statuettes including best picture, director and actor honors won by Elio Germano who tackles “the fiendishly difficult role” of the self-taught artist “with customary gusto,” as Variety critic Jay Weissberg noted in his review.

The best actress statuette went to Sophia Loren for her role as Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor, in Netflix Original “The Life Ahead,” directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. The Italian icon’s return to the big screen after a decade had been snubbed by the Oscars earlier this year.

NBCUniversal Global Distribution has closed a deal for all international rights outside Italy, Germany and the U.K. on Italian soccer icon doc “My Name Is Francesco Totti,” an intimate look at the life and career of long-time A.S. Roma team captain Francesco Totti.

Directed by Rome native Alex Infascelli (“S Is for Stanley”) who had access to its star and lots of archival material – including home movies and images from Totti and his family – the high-profile piece is narrated by Totti. On the night before his farewell to soccer the team captain basically relives his life as though he were watching it as a movie, together with his fans, his team, and collectively his native Rome, the city that during his long faithful career he has come to encapsulate like few others.

The deal was inked between Sky Studios and Italian sales company Vision Distribution International, in which Sky is a partner.

Japanese anime Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train delivered a strong second session, with a decline of just 16%.

‘Demon Slayer’ posts strong hold with $37m second session

Japanese anime Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train delivered a strong second session in Japan for joint distributors Toho and Aniplex – an estimated $37m for the weekend period, which is a decline of just 16% from the debut frame. The manga adaptation has rapidly built a total of $102.5m after just 10 days.

Mugen Train (aka Infinity Train) also delivered a stellar result for Imax, with second-weekend takings of $2.06m, down just 8% from the opening session.

Italian sales company Vision Distribution has scored sales on soccer icon doc “My Name Is Francesco Totti” by Roman director Alex Infascelli (“S Is for Stanley”) to Sky for the U.K. and Germany, ahead of its Rome Film Festival world premiere on Saturday.

The deal, which sees the high-profile doc start its international journey, was announced during Rome’s Mia market being held Oct. 14-18 as a hybrid digital and physical event.

The intimate piece is narrated by Totti, who on the night before his farewell to soccer basically relives his life as though he were watching it as a movie, together with his fans, his team, A.S. Roma, and his native Rome, the city that during his long faithful career he has come to encapsulate like few others.

Infascelli, himself a Rome native, told Variety that the doc transcends the soccer world.

This film is a homage to Rome,...