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QCinema Project Market (Qpm) wrapped this weekend with an awards ceremony in which cash prizes and in-kind services worth $442,000 were handed out to projects from the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia.

The event is part of an expanding roster of industry programs at QCinema International Film Festival (November 8-17), one of the Philippines’ major film gatherings, hosted by Quezon City, which is the largest city within the vast metropolitan area of Metro Manila.

While the festival has been running for 12 years, Qpm (November 14-16) was holding its second edition this year, and was joined by the launch of Asian Next Wave Film Forum, a series of panel discussions, masterclasses and case studies of regional co-productions.

Qpm selected 20 projects, including 13 from the Philippines and seven from the rest of Southeast Asia. Winning projects included Myanmar-Indonesia co-production The Beer Girl In Yangon and upcoming works from Filipino filmmakers Martika Ramirez Escobar,...

Eine originelle Beziehungskomödie ist Iván Sáinz-Pardo mit „Der Vierer“ gelungen. Entstanden ist sie im Verbund mit ehemaligen Kommilitonen der Hff München, den Produzenten von Neos Film und Wiedemann & Berg Film. Aus Österreich unterstützte Epo-Film. Über die verschlungenen Pfade hin zu seinem Spielfilmdebüt und das Ankommen in der Branche spricht er hier im Spot-Interview.

Iván Sáinz-Pardo beim Dreh von „Der Vierer“ (Credit: Petro Domenigg)

Sie haben Ihr Regiestudium an der Hff München vor rund 14 Jahren abgeschlossen, haben bis dato (erfolgreiche) Kurzfilme gemacht, Werbung und auch als Fotograf gearbeitet. Jetzt kommen Schlag auf Schlag mehrere große Projekte: Regie bei „Sebastian Fitzeks Die Therapie“ für Prime Video (geteilt mit Thor Freudenthal), Ihr erster Kinofilm „Der Vierer“ mit Topbesetzung und die Joyn-Serie „Die StiNos“. Sind sie nun angekommen? Und wenn ja: warum hat es so lange gedauert?

Iván Sáinz-Pardo: Ich habe oft gehört: Warum hat das jetzt alles so lange gedauert bei dir? Ich fühle mich wie jemand,...

An aspiring writer moonlighting as a sex worker to bring authenticity into his novel is the kind of premise that has endless possibilities. Many kinds of films of different genres—mainly dramas and thrillers—can be spun from it. In his latest movie, Sebastian, director Miko Makkela takes that premise and makes something that works both as a character study of a very ambitious individual and sort of a cautionary tale regarding what can happen if you go too far for your aspiration. The narrative of Sebastian is understandably dense, but thanks to sharp editing and a very compelling performance from its lead actor, Ruaridh Mollica, it never loses any steam. In this article, of course, we’re going to discuss the ending of the movie and the little bit of ambiguity around it. Let us take a closer look.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happens in the Movie?

Twenty-five-year-old freelancer Max Williamson...

Vietnam talent showed strong presence at the 12th QCinema International Film Festival in Quezon City, Philippines, as Trương Minh Quý’s “Viet and Nam” claimed the top prize, while compatriot Dương Diệu Linh’s “Don’t Cry, Butterfly” secured the Grand Jury Prize.

“Viet and Nam,” which made its debut in Cannes Un Certain Regard, emerged victorious in the Asian Next Wave competition. The jury, comprising Babyruth Villarama, Gabor Greiner, Ming-Jung Kuo and Nguyen Le, praised the film for “conjuring the haunting presence of trauma and memories that are embedded within the landscape, and tenderly following a romance that unfolds deep within the coal mines.”

“Don’t Cry, Butterfly,” Dương’s debut feature, follows a middle-aged wife who, upon discovering her husband’s infidelity, embarks on a mystical journey in search of a better life. The film previously won three prizes at Venice.

Elizabeth Lo took home the Best Director award for “Mistress Dispeller,...

The Apprentice Box Office (Worldwide): Crosses A Significant Milestone (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Donald Trump is all set to become the President of the United States for the second time. While he is about to set foot on this journey, the biographical film The Apprentice has also crossed a significant milestone. MCU star Sebastian Stan portrayed the central character and was directed by Ali Abbasi. Scroll below for the deets.

According to reports, Trump was angry over the movie’s release. The movie revolves around the former president’s rise to prominence as a real estate mogul in the 1980s. It was a relatively limited release, opening in 1700 theatres across North America. He even called the film ‘fake and classless.’ According to The Hindu’s report on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “A Fake and Classless movie written about me, called The Apprentice, will hopefully bomb.”

Donald Trump slammed The Apprentice...

The British Independent Film Awards this year honor two Sundance breakout films, with both “Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” atop the 2024 nominations list.

Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” (repping Ireland for the 2024 Best International Feature Oscar) leads this year’s nominees with 14 nods, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best British Independent Film. “Kneecap” is based on the eponymous rap group, which star here alongside Michael Fassbender in a fictionalized band origin story.

Following “Kneecap” with 12 nominations is Rose Glass’s “Love Lies Bleeding.” Co-leads Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for Best Joint Lead Performance, and the film has also been recognized in the Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay categories.

Additional features that received multiple nominations include “The Outrun,” “Bird,” and “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.”

In 2023, “All of Us Strangers” swept the top categories with awards, in addition to “Rye Lane” and future...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” lead the nominees for this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

“How to Have Sex” breakout Mia McKenna-Bruce and “Rye Lane” star Vivian Oparah announced the nominations in London on Tuesday morning. “Kneecap” received the most nods with 14, including best screenplay, director for Rich Peppiatt and joint lead performance for Kneecap members Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Rose Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding” follows with 12, including best British independent film, director, screenplay and joint lead performance for Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. “The Outrun,” starring Saoirse Ronan, received nine nods for best British independent film, director for Nora Fingsheidt, screenplay for Fingsheidt and Amy Liptrot and lead performance for Ronan.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” and James Krishna Floyd’s “Unicorns” each garnered seven nominations.

The winners will be revealed, in addition to...

Nach seiner Weltpremiere in Cannes wurde Emmanuel Courcols „Die leisen und die großen Töne“ bei den Filmfestivals in Oberaudorf, Emden-Norderney und San Sebastian mit dem Publikumspreis ausgezeichnet. Neue Visionen startet die Geschichte um zwei Brüder, die erst spät im Leben zueinander finden, am 26. Dezember in den deutschen Kinos und hat jetzt den Trailer veröffentlicht.

In Emmanuel Courcols „Die leisen und die großen Töne“, der nach seiner Weltpremiere in Cannes bei den Filmfestivals in Oberaudorf, Emden-Norderney und San Sebastian mit dem Publikumspreis ausgezeichnet worden war, spielt Benjamin Lavernhe den Dirigenten Thibaut, der erst in der Mitte seines Lebens erfährt, dass er adoptiert wurde und noch einen jüngeren Bruder hat, Jimmy (Pierre Lottin), der in einer Schulküche arbeitet und Posaune in der Blaskapelle einer Arbeiterstadt spielt. Die beiden sehr unterschiedlichen Brüder eint einzig die Musik und so will Thibaut seinem Bruder die Chance geben, sein musikalisches Talent zu entfalten. Jimmy beginnt, von...

“Cruel Intentions” is headed to the cutthroat world of collegiate Greek life in Prime Video’s new reboot series.

The trailer for the new show, which debuts Nov. 21, introduces a new crop of upper class elites, with Sarah Catherine Hook taking the baton from Sarah Michelle Gellar as Caroline (changed from Kathryn) Merteuil, while Zac Burgess takes on a new version of Ryan Phillippe’s Sebastian as Lucien Belmont.

Like the 1999 movie, Caroline and Lucien are step-siblings with a salacious desire for one another, with Caroline leading her close-to-perfect sorority and Lucien being known as a campus-wide womanizer.

This semester, however, Caroline admits the sorority is “a little bit on the line this year because of the whole unfortunate hazing injury,” as the trailer flashes back to a formal event where a pledge’s head was hit hard by an unknown object.

In Caroline’s eyes, the only way to...

On October 22, 2024, the QCinema International Film Festival announced its much-anticipated lineup for this year, with The Gaze as its central theme. With 76 titles—22 short films and 55 full-length features—spanning across 11 distinct sections, the festival invites audiences to explore diverse perspectives through film. The Gaze seeks to challenge and expand how we view the world, from traditional masculine and feminine perspectives to new and transformative ways of seeing.

Quezon City Mayor Maria Josefina Belmonte officially opened the occasion, emphasizing QCinema’s vital role in advancing the city government’s cultural policies. She highlighted the festival’s contribution to Quezon City’s vision for sustainability and environmental friendliness, underscoring the partnership between the city and the festival to fulfill these goals.

The 12th edition of QCinema will open with Directors’ Factory Philippines, an omnibus film project in collaboration with Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. The project features four films created by Filipino directors alongside filmmakers from neighboring countries.

Exclusive: Andrea Iervolino, the Italian producer of sports car biopics Ferrari, Lamborghini: The Man Behind The Legend and the upcoming Maserati movie, is revving up a biopic of Ettore Bugatti.

Bugatti is slated to film late next year in Italy and France for Iervolino’s new banner, The Andrea Iervolino Company.

The movie is set to tell the life story of Bugatti, the founder of the iconic automobile company, who was known for transforming the automotive world with his creative genius and relentless dedication to design and technology. The Italian-born French designer and manufacturer also designed aeroplane engines and was no stranger to tragedy: Bugatti’s son, Jean, was killed on 11 August 1939 at the age of 30 while testing a Bugatti car near the family’s factory HQ in Germany.

Iervolino is in talks with writers and directors on the project, which will feature a U.S. and international cast and be English-language.

‘Masked’ Mania

Bandicoot Scotland, an Argonon joint venture, has secured a two-series recommission from U.K. broadcaster ITV for “The Masked Singer U.K.” The renewal includes a sixth season currently in production and a seventh 8 x 90′ series. In addition, Bandicoot is set to produce “The After Mask,” a new 8 x 30′ digital companion series for 2025. Hosted by Harriet Rose, the show will be available across on-demand, social, and digital channels including Itvx and YouTube.

“The After Mask” will feature interactions with the celebrity panel, host Joel Dommett, and unmasking interviews with contestants. Rose will also provide behind-the-scenes insights into the show’s production.

“The Masked Singer U.K.” is produced by Bandicoot Scotland, with Derek McLean, Daniel Nettleton, and Claire Horton serving as executive producers. “The After Mask” is executive produced by Nick Johns, Derek McLean, and Daniel Nettleton, in conjunction with Strong Watch Studios.

Fresh Faces

The British Independent Film Awards...

Actors from Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap and Andrea Arnold’s Bird are among the 12 names on the longlist for the breakthrough performance award at the British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

JJ Ó Dochartaigh, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin – members of Irish rap group Kneecap, who play fictionalised versions of themselves in the film of the same name – are all on the list, as are Bird actors Nykiya Adams and Jason Buda.

Scroll down for the full list

Screen 2024 Stars of Tomorrow Saura Lightfoot Leon and Jason Patel are selected for their performances in Luna Carmoon’s Venice...

Season One of Netflix’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez adaptation One Hundred years Of Solitude will debut on the service on December 11.

The adaptation of the Colombian literary giant’s magical realist masterpiece centres on the lives of several generations of the Buendia family in the fictitious town of Macondo.

The show is one of Netflix’s biggest ever productions in Latin America and shot from May to December 2023 across 15 towns. The production employed a cast of mostly emerging actors, a crew of hundreds, and more than 20,000 extras.

Netflix accessed Colombia’s production incentives and partnered with frequent collaborator Dynamo Producciones (Narcos).

Laura Mora,...

The Dinard film festival (2-6 October), traditionally a celebration of all things British, brought its 35th iteration to the seaside city’s screens with a soft relaunch this year, after retitling itself to include Irish films and co-productions. The result was suitably eclectic, with just six films competing for the Hitchcock d’Or, which was voted on by an eight-strong jury of actors and directors. Including The Quiet Girl director Colm Bairéad and House of the Dragon star Phoebe Campbell, the judging panel was headed up by French actress-director-model-singer Arielle Dombasle, a favorite of Claude Lelouch, Éric Rohmer and Alain Robbe-Grillet but more recently seen this summer singing her song “Olympics” to herald the arrival of the Olympic torch in Paris, ahead of the recent games.

Opening with Alice Lowe’s horror-comedy Timestalker and ending with Matt Brown’s psychological drama Freud’s Last Session, the festival — curated by Dominique Green...

Mikko Makela and James Watson’s UK production company Bêtes Sauvages is expanding into Finland, where the firm will work on both Finnish and international projects.

Bêtes Sauvages Finland was launched at last week’s Finnish Film Affair, the industry strand of Helsinki International Film Festival – Love and Anarchy (Hiff).

The company’s inaugural slate includes a TV adaptation of Finnish novelist Pajtim Statovci’s 2019 novel Bolla, a love story about a man fleeing the Kosovan war of the 1990s.

Through its UK base, Bêtes Sauvages produced Makela’s second feature Sebastian, which premiered at Sundance in January, in co-production with Finland’s Helsinki-film,...

San Sebastian — With its awards ceremony Saturday night, the San Sebastian Festival’s 72nd edition is heading into its final straits. Following, 10 takeaways from what looks like its biggest edition ever in star wattage, the caliber of Spanish filmmaking and the number of deals reported by Variety, set in the context of vertiginous change in international independent film and TV landscape.

San Sebastian 2024: The Stars Align

Johnny Depp visited kids in a San Sebastian hospital dressed as Jack Sparrow; Javier Bardem teared up remembering his mother, the exemplary Pilar Bardem; Pedro Almodóvar remembered back 44 years to his first San Sebastian, performing at disco Ku and ending up on the beach at 8 in the morning. Cate Blanchett, accepting her Donostia Award, praised the “uncertainty which drives me.”

Never before have so many stars descended on San Sebastian. Why? “I think two factors are at play,” San Sebastian Film Festival director José Luis Rebordinos told Variety.

Hello Insiders. Jesse Whittock here to take you through a week in international TV and film that comes from as far and wide apart as Spain and Indonesia. Read on.

San Sebastian Spotlight

Johnny Depp at the San Sebastian Film Festival

In-Depp analysis: Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival closes tomorrow, ending what many people on the ground described as one of the event’s strongest lineups in recent years. The festival opened with a bang with Audrey Diwan’s erotic remake Emmanuelle, but that film received mediocre reviews in Spain. Deadline’s Stephanie Bunbury was a little more generous, and described the flick as a “brave attempt.” There was a lot more love for the other big world premiere in San Sebastian — Johnny Depp’s second directorial effort, Modi — Three Days On The Wing Of Madness. The period flick debuted out of competition here in San Sebastian, where Depp...

Twice nominated for the Academy’s Best Documentary Feature gong, Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi is one of nonfiction cinema’s best-known contemporary voices.

On Monday evening in San Sebastian, however, Alberdi launches her first departure from the factual world with In Her Place (El Lugar de la Otra), a cunning and deceptively ambitious crime romp she has directed for Netflix.

Penned by Uruguayan writer Inés Bortagaray and Chilean comedian Paloma Salas, In Her Place debuts in competition at San Sebastian. The film’s story is based on the true tale of Chilean writer María Carolina Geel who, in 1955, killed her lover at a high-class hotel in the center of Santiago. But the story isn’t explored through the eyes of Geel. We barely see her. Alberdi’s camera is instead focused on Mercedes, a fictional character who works in the prosecutor’s office and develops a charged fascination with Geel’s life.

It’s been a good while since we had a proper Marvel team-up movie. Post-Endgame, we’ve had a few dysfunctional families of galactic oddbods in Eternals and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. But there hasn’t been anything close to an Avengers-level event – a clash of egos, a group brought together to try and make something better than themselves. But the first trailer for Thunderbolts* has arrived, and teases something of an Avengers-style gathering – though rather than a group of primary-coloured do-gooders, these are all depressed antiheroes with shady pasts, each in desperate need of a second chance. Check out the extended teaser here:

There’s plenty to unpack here – notably, the first half of the trailer positioning this as something of a Yelena Belova movie, placing Florence Pugh’s Black Widow-adjacent character at the forefront. That makes sense, since her father-figure Alexei (aka David Harbour’s...

The 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival is underway after the world premiere of Audrey Diwan’s racy flick Emmanuelle kicked off the festivities in Spain.

The film, which boasts stars such as Noémie Merlant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Naomi Watts (Mullholland Drive, Birdman), Will Sharpe (The White Lotus) and Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things), is inspired by Emmanuelle Arsan’s erotic novel. Chacha Huang and Anthony Wong round out the cast, all of whom, barring Watts, appeared briefly onstage before the showing at the city’s Kursaal Theater.

The director’s project centers around a woman, Emmanuelle (Merlant), on a business trip to Hong Kong working with a luxury hotel group. Searching for a lost pleasure, she seeks her arousal in experiences with some of the hotel’s guests. One of them, Kei (Sharpe), seems to constantly elude her. Diwan has said the script was conceived as an...

It is an election year and the race has seen some bizarre turn of events with changing candidates and assassination attempts. However, the one thing that seems to be sure is that the Donald Trump biopic starring Sebastian Stan will be an unhinged portrayal of the former Potus.

The film The Apprentice has been at the center of controversy due to the timing of the release and the depiction of Trump. While the film struggled to find distributors in North America, it has finally been reportedly granted an R-rating, leading fans to believe that the film will not be sugarcoating Trump’s journey.

Sebastian Stan’s Donald Trump Biopic The Apprentice Gets An R-Rating Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump in The Apprentice | Credits: Briarcliff Entertainment

The MCU’s Winter Soldier seems to have moved on from being a political pawn to being the man in charge of The Apprentice. Sebastian...

Entries for the 2025 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 97th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 3, 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between November 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 2, 2024.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is scheduled to...

The 2024 US Presidential elections have witnessed an unprecedented level of celebrity involvement. Several A-listers are boldly speaking out on their political affiliations and endorsing their preferred candidates.

This year’s elections have seen a significant shift in Hollywood’s approach to politics, with many stars shedding their traditional reluctance to discuss sensitive topics. Well-known public figures like Taylor Swift, Matt Damon, John Legend, and many more have revealed their preference. Fans are wondering who might gain the upper hand in the upcoming elections, based on the most influence.

The Celebrity Effect: Can endorsements tip the scales? Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All At Once | Credits: A24

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, have both secured high-profile endorsements and fundraisers. While celebrities haven’t directly urged their fans to vote for a specific candidate, their influence is undeniable.

Related“How people in power actually instigate social unrest...

Sergio Martino’s Torso may not achieve the sustained delirium of Mario Bava and Dario Argento’s best work, but it’s still a top-shelf giallo. Martino directs with panache, deploying lots of slow zooms, putting the camera in odd positions, and cheekily toying with Pov shots. What’s more, Torso foregrounds a motif that recurs throughout the giallo: the interpenetration of sex, violence, and art.

In the opening scene, a professor lectures his distracted students on Pietro Perugino’s portrait of an arrow-pierced Saint Sebastian. While the professor drones on, the camera slinks around the ornate auditorium, catching the students’ exchanged glances and longing looks, hinting at the erotic appeal that can be unleashed by visual depictions of violence. Later, the evidence from a murder scene will be projected before the students in the same manner as the Perugino: art as murder, murder as art. As it turns out,...

The first trailer for “The Apprentice” has finally arrived, showing exactly how Trump became the person he is today.

As the footage kicks off, we see a young Trump (Sebastian Stan) headed to Roy Cohn’s (Jeremy Strong) home for what appears to be the first time. He’s still an unknown, as the voice over Cohn’s speakerbox irritatedly asks “Donald who?”

From there, we see the two develop a relationship, as Cohn lays out the rules for Trump’s success: “attack, attack, attack,” “admit nothing, deny everything,” and finally, “never admit defeat” even if you’ve lost.

Watch the footage below:

“You have to be willing to do anything to anyone to win,” Cohn ominously tells him.

The trailer also hints at Trump’s first marriage, and even shows a snippet of an interview where he drops the idea of running for president, if he were to lose his fortune.

Sebastian Stan plays a young Donald Trump in the upcoming film “The Apprentice,” and on Wednesday night, “Late Night” host Seth Meyers simply had to, uh, marvel at that.

During his monologue, Meyers highlighted the fact that an official clip from the film, written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi, was released on Wednesday morning, in which Stan channels Trump’s braggy side.

“I’m sorry. Sebastian Stan plays Donald Trump?” Meyers said incredulously. “This is the nicest thing anyone’s done for Trump since McDonald’s all-day breakfast.”

That said, Stan’s voice in the clip doesn’t really sound like Trump’s voice does now, though it’s possible that’ll change as the story progresses. You can watch Seth Meyers’ full monologue in the video above.

“The Apprentice” — which is currently making the festival rounds, playing at Telluride Film Festival this weekend after premiering at Cannes...

In keeping with annual tradition, The Hollywood Reporter’s executive editor (awards) Scott Feinberg and senior editor (film) Rebecca Keegan huddled at the end of this year’s Telluride Film Festival to discuss their Labor Day weekend in the Rockies. (Please note: THR will now be posting a written back-and-forth of this sort every month under the banner of ‘The Awards Pundits,’ with Feinberg, Keegan, deputy awards editor Beatrice Verhoeven and senior awards editor Steven Zeitchik all participating.)

Feinberg Not to sound like Saturday Night Live’s Stefon, but the 2024 edition of Telluride seemingly had everything — or, at least, everyone. There was fake Donald Trump (The Apprentice’s Sebastian Stan) and real Jack Smith (flanked by three Secret Service agents, the special counsel investigating Trump was here to support wife Katy Chevigny’s film The Easy Kind); a guy who made a movie about SNL (Saturday Night’s director Jason Reitman...

The San Sebastian film festival has cherry-picked the best of Cannes’ competition lineup for its Perlak section this year.

Virtually every film that scooped up an award in Cannes, from Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light (grand prize), Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig (special jury prize) and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (best screenplay) to Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora, will screen in the Spanish festival’s sidebar, and compete for San Sebastian’s audience awards.

Jacques Audiard’s transgender crime musical Emilia Pérez, which won Cannes’ jury prize and the best actress honors for its ensemble cast, will open the Perlak section on Sept. 20.

Other Cannes titles, including Andrea Arnold’s Bird, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, Parthenope from Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, and Francis Ford Coppola’s divisive opus Megalopolis, will also screen in the Perlak section. As will...

Emilia Pérez will open San Sebastian's Pearls Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival San Sebastian Film Festival has announced the 16 films that will make up its Pearls sidebar at this year's festival, which runs from September 20 to 28. The section, which will include three films out of competition, celebrates work that has been celebrated at other festivals.

The section will open with Jacques Audiard's Cannes jury prize-winning Emilia Pérez, about a cartel boss who starts a new life, and close with Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño's latest collaboration Marco, which explores the story of a concentration camp deportee, whose claims turned out to be fabricated.

Pearls 2024 poster Other films from Cannes include Sean Baker's Palme d'Or-winning Anora, Cannes Grand Prix-winner All We Imagine As Light, Best Script winner The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat and Special Jury Prize-winner The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof.

The British Film Institute (BFI) has issued a further 11 awards through the UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf), including Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebushpruning, Irish football story Saipan, starring Steve Coogan, and The Bureau-produced Moroccan co-production Behind The Palm Trees.

Rosebushpruning is the next feature from Brazilian director Aïnouz. It is a contemporary adaptation of Marco Bellocchio’s Fists In The Pocket, with Elle Fanning attached to star.

Producers are Kavac Film, The Match Factory and Surfilm, with CryBaby the minority UK producer on the project. Fremantle’s Italy-based The Apartment is on board as a co-producer, and Mubi is one of the backers.

More than 250 international guests, including 53 buyers from 18 countries, have signed up for the Norwegian International Film Festival’s three-day industry event New Nordic Films in Haugesund, which will fête its 30th anniversary and kickoff with Charlotte Sieling’s drama “Way Home”, Aug. 20.

Some of the strongest filmmakers from the region and beyond – including Erik Poppe, Dag Johan Haugerud, Selma Vilhunen, Zaida Bergroth, Rúnar Rúnarsson – will be screening or pitching their next projects, next to scores of rising talents.

“Our DNA hasn’t changed,” said Line Halvorsen, who joined New Nordic Films four years ago and is serving as acting director, temporarily filling in for Gyda Velvin Myklebust.

“Our core is to gather Nordic filmmakers and industryites interested in Nordic films, to serve as a launching pad for new talents, and to spotlight latest industry trends. Together with our twin event in the Göteborg Nordic Film Market, we are here to support our Nordic industry,...

From Aug. 17-23, the charming coastal town of Haugesund, Norway, will showcase 76 films and 21 shorts in the newly renovated Edda film hub, offering two extra screening rooms, bringing the total halls to seven.

“We are looking forward to using the two new luxury halls and giving both the films and the audience a quality experience,” said festival honcho Tonje Hardersen.

Many of the high-quality features will screen in the festival’s main program, including several Cannes entries making their Norwegian premiere, such as “All We Imagine as Light,” “The Substance,” “Wild Diamond,” “The Girl with the Needle” and “When the Light Breaks.”

Among the four world premieres, three hail from Norway, a nation that boasts an enviable list of 2024 fest winners, such as Sundance’s “A New Kind of Wilderness,” “Handling the Undead,” Berlin’s “Sex” and Karlovy Vary’s “Loveable,” all lined up for Haugesund as well.

“Once again,...

In a summer of sparkling indie releases, may we suggest you take a detour to chilly London and Mikko Mäkelä’s “Sebastian”? Debuting at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, this stylish drama centers on Max (Ruaridh Mollica), a young writer on the verge of landing a deal for his first full-length novel. The project centers on a fictional young sex worker who specializes in hookups with much older men.

Continue reading ‘Sebastian’: Mikko Mäkelä & Ruaridh Mollica Revisit Their “Sex-Positive Sex Worker” Drama [Interview] at The Playlist.

Write what you know, as the saying goes — so if you don’t know it, do the research. A young Londoner takes on that task and goes through the digital looking glass in Finnish-British writer-director Mikko Mäkelä’s “Sebastian,” now in limited release from Kino Lorber after premiering at Sundance earlier this year. Titled after the pseudonym that aspiring novelist Max (Ruaridh Mollica) employs when propositioning himself for other men, this adamantly morose drama keeps a close eye on its lead as he navigates his intimacy issues. But despite the film’s confident naturalism, it seems less intimate as it goes on, with Max somehow growing more distant and generic as he becomes more comfortable in his own skin.

By day, Max makes his way as a freelance writer, turning in half-hearted features for a culture magazine. He tinkers away at short stories and idolizes Bret Easton Ellis (whose own...

“Max leaps into someone’s eyes as they are jerking off whilst Max thrusts into him.”

Ok, maybe that’s not verbatim a line from Finnish writer/director Mikko Mäkelä’s “Sebastian” screenplay. That’s Mäkelä demonstrating how specific his script was about the gay sex he wanted to make happen onscreen. This provocative drama, a Sundance 2024 premiere, stars newcomer Ruaridh Mollica as Max, a 25-year-old writer who submerges himself in London’s underground world of escort services in order to research a novel about a sex worker. Posing as his protagonist, Max accepts money, travel, and more from older men in exchange for on-demand sex in cold hotel beds and elsewhere, sending Max in a spiral the movie shows in explicit terms, and while not shying from the twinky beauty of its lead.

“I don’t think I approached it so much from the point of view of thinking about sexiness,...

New films from directors Mike Leigh, François Ozon, Edward Berger, Joshua Oppenheimer, and Costa-Gavras will vie for the Golden Shell at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival. Organizers on Tuesday announced the competition line-up for the 72nd edition of San Sebastian, which runs from September 20-28.

Highlights include Leigh’s hotly-anticipated new film Hard Truths, which will see the iconoclastic British director reunite with his Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste; and Conclave, Berger’s follow-up to his multiple-Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front. The Vatican thriller stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal tasked with supervising a conclave following the sudden death of the Pope to choose a successor.

Veteran political filmmaker Costa-Gavras (Missing, Z) returns to San Sebastian with Last Breath, a drama about a palliative care doctor. Ozon will make his sixth appearance in the festival’s official selection with When Fall Is Coming, a French drama starring Hélène Vincent,...

The legendary actor, Donald Sutherland, has passed on and even though his passing is something to mourn, his legacy will live on and that is something to be most grateful for. Early life Donald McNichol Sutherland was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada in 1935. Sutherland worked in several different jobs before beginning his acting career, one of them being a radio DJ in his youth. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in engineering and was almost set on becoming an engineer. However, he also graduated with a degree in drama, and he chose arts over applied science. And aren’t we all so glad that he did? 1960s: Career starter Sutherland's first roles were very small parts in films such as the 1965 horror film ‘Dr. Terror's House of Horrors’, starring Christopher Lee. He also appeared on the small screen doing episodes of shows such as...

Pleasure Products

DocuBay, the Indian documentary streaming platform under IN10 Media Network, is set to release “Bad Toys Inc.,” a 45-minute original film exploring India’s burgeoning sex toy industry. The doc, slated for a July 26 debut, offers a peek into the country’s evolving attitudes towards pleasure products.

The film delves into regional preferences, consumer stories and industry insights, featuring interviews with sexologist Dr. Prakash Kothari and founders of emerging sex toy startups. It also touches on legal aspects and historical context of pleasure accessories in India.

Girish Dwibhashyam, COO of DocuBay, touted the film as a “novel viewing experience” that uncovers surprising facts about the Indian market. Producer Richa Sahai of Black Iris noted the challenges and excitement of creating content on this taboo topic.

With India’s sex toy market projected to reach $200 million in five years, “Bad Toys Inc.” aims to shed light on a rapidly...

Andrea Arnold’s Bird, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and Karan Kandhari’s Sister Midnight are among the films to receive backing from the latest round of UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf) awards.

The BFI has made 19 additional awards totalling £527,563 through the £7m Ukgsf, which is financed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms).

Cannes premieres Bird, Santosh and Sister Midnight all received international distribution awards via the festival launch track, which supports festival runs for UK films to reach global audiences.

The only film to receive an international distribution award via the prints and advertising support track in...

Andrea Arnold’s Bird, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and Karan Kandhari’s Sister Midnight are among the films to receive backing from the latest round of UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf) awards.

The BFI has made 19 additional awards totalling £527,563 through the £7m Ukgsf, which is financed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms).

Cannes premieres Bird, Santosh and Sister Midnight all received international distribution awards via the festival launch track, which supports festival runs for UK films to reach global audiences.

The only film to receive an international distribution award via the prints and advertising support track in...

The San Sebastian Film Festival, the biggest film event in the Spanish-speaking world, has unveiled a packed lineup of Spanish titles that is strong on women auteurs, led by Iciar Bollaín, Pilar Palomero, Paula Ortiz and Alauda Ruiz de Azua, who are now stepping up in scale or industry backing as big SVOD players – Movistar Plus+, Prime Video – move into the production of Spanish movies aimed at theatrical release or back their original series.

Vying in main competition, Bollaín’s “I Am Nevenka” looks like the first film to see the light of day from six auteur event movies co-produced by Movistar Plus+ and directed by leading cinematographic talent such as Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Alberto Fernández.

Also selected are two leading lights of a younger generation of women directors which have galvanised Spanish arthouse but are now looking for broader audiences.

Goya and San Sebastian winner Pilar Palomero competes in main competition with “Glimmers,...

Composer Nomi Abadi is suing “Batman” and “Beetlejuice” composer Danny Elfman for defamation stemming from statements he made to Rolling Stone last year that were included in an investigative piece about a settlement he made with his one-time protégé after she accused him of repeated sexual harassment and misconduct.

Abadi’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Elfman “peddled appalling lies for publication to Rolling Stone about Nomi.” The list of alleged lies covers statements made by the “Simpsons” composer and his representatives that claimed he did not engage in sexual misconduct toward Abadi, never masturbated in front of her, never touched her inappropriately and “never placed his bodily fluids in a martini glass he presented to Nomi,” as she alleged. The complaint also slammed Elfman and his team for depicting Abadi as “a scorned woman seeking revenge and money to make Elfman “pay for having...

On Tuesday July 9 2024, MTV broadcasts Catfish: The TV Show!

Sebastian & Allison Season 9 Episode 10 Episode Summary

In this episode of “Catfish: The TV Show,” viewers will be introduced to Sebastian and Allison’s complicated online relationship. Sebastian has been talking to Allison for more than three years, but there’s a catch – Allison has always avoided video chatting with him. When Sebastian mentions his plans to move closer to her, Allison starts to distance herself, raising suspicions about what she might be hiding.

Nev and Kamie, the hosts of the show, step in to unravel the mystery behind Allison’s reluctance to video chat and her sudden change in behavior. As they dig deeper into the situation, they uncover potential red flags that suggest Allison may not be who she claims to be. The tension rises as Sebastian grapples with the truth about his online connection and the possibility that Allison...

Exclusive: Philippa Nicholl is joining Creativity Capital from Great Point Media where she spent the past two years as an associate in their investments team.

At Great Point Media, she worked in project management, tax credit administration, and creative financing solutions including on film and TV projects such as Channel 5’s Finder’s Keepers, Mikko Mäkelä’s Sebastian (pictured above) which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Peter Glanz’s upcoming Savage House starring Claire Foy and Richard E Grant, Prime Video UK’s Deep Cover, and Netflix’s true crime series When Missing Turns to Murder.

Before her time at Great Point Media, Nicholl began her entertainment career in business affairs at Bizable Media, a Toronto-based production financing and business affairs consulting firm. Over four years there, she supported independent producers as a coordinator and later as a production finance executive.

Creativity Capital’s recent investments...

"You need to carry on and finish it." Kino Lorber has revealed an official trailer for an indie LGBTQ drama titled Sebastian, made by a Finnish-British filmmaker named Mikko Mäkelä. This originally premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it also played at the Provincetown & Frameline Film Festivals. Sebastian follows a burgeoning young journalist who turns to sex work to research his first novel. But where will this lead him? What will he discover? Another intimate, hypnotic exploration of repressed sexuality through cinema. Posing tantalizing questions about the creative process and the recurring cultural conversations about authenticity in art and who can / should tell certain stories, the film stars Ruaridh Mollica as Max, aka Sebastian, whose "fearless lead performance should elevate him to rising star status", and who has already been cast based on his work here in the upcoming HBO series from Armando Iannucci called "The Franchise...

Black Bear’s management arm has signed Mikko Mäkelä, the Finnish-British writer and director of “Sebastian.” Mäkelä is a rising force in international queer cinema having made movies that explore sexuality and identity.

Mäkelä’s directorial debut “A Moment in the Reeds” premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and screened at nearly a hundred festivals worldwide, including Göteborg Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival and Frameline in San Francisco. The film was nominated for the “Discovery Award” at the 2018 British Independent Film Awards.

Mäkelä’s sophomore feature, “Sebastian,” premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2024 and was embraced by critics. The film will be distributed by Kino Lorber and will be released on Aug. 2, 2024.

Mäkelä was named by IndieWire as an “LGBTQ Filmmaker on the Rise.” In its review out of Sundance, the site went on to praise “Sebastian” as a “provocative, explicit, and ultimately tender drama.

Can a novelist balance two different identities? The new film “Sebastian” sees a young writer become a sex worker while pursuing his dreams at a literary magazine. His time as a male escort reveals feelings that blur the lines between reality and fiction. The project hails from writer and director Mikko Mäkelä, who was named an LGBTQ filmmaker on the Rise by Indiewire. Mäkelä is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and participated in the inaugural BIFA Springboard Programme sponsored by Netflix.

Continue reading ‘Sebastian’ Trailer: Celebrated Sundance Sex Worker Drama Opens In August Limited Release at The Playlist.

Premiering earlier this year at Sundance Film Festival, Sebastian marks the sophomore feature from writer/director Mikko Mäkelä (whose debut was the 2017 gay romance A Moment in the Reeds). Following a burgeoning young journalist who turns to sex work to research his first novel, the film was picked up by Kino Lorber for an August 2 release and the first trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “Max (Ruaridh Mollica) is a 25-year-old aspiring novelist, living in London and paying his dues working at a literary magazine. Frustrated by his own ambitions and the pressures to succeed, Max begins moonlighting as a sex worker with the pseudonym Sebastian, secretly meeting men via an escorting platform and using his experiences to fuel his stories. What begins as a few furtive meetings soon becomes a hidden nocturnal life, and the debut novel that he has been longing to write finally seems within reach.

A 25-year-old aspiring novelist dives into the deep end of niche sexuality in “Sebastian,” a sexy and provocative queer drama from writer/director Mikko Mäkelä. The Finnish filmmaker first brought the movie, featuring a breakout performance from Ruaridh Mollica as writer turned sex worker Max, to the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Kino Lorber picked up distribution rights to the film and will now release it starting August 2 in select theaters. Watch the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Max (Ruaridh Mollica) is a 25-year-old aspiring novelist, living in London and paying his dues working at a literary magazine. Frustrated by his own ambitions and the pressures to succeed, Max begins moonlighting as a sex worker with the pseudonym Sebastian, secretly meeting men via an escorting platform and using his experiences to fuel his stories. What begins as a few furtive meetings soon becomes a hidden nocturnal life,...