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The Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival kicks off its 67th edition this week with an eclectic lineup of festival favorites, Oscar hopefuls and homegrown films that showcase the range and dynamism of the Greek industry. But on the eve of this year’s event, artistic director Orestis Andreadakis admits that it’s far from business as usual at […]
It’s been almost two decades since Thanos Stavropoulos, the Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival’s incoming industry head, was hired by the long-running Greek fest as a programming assistant, assuming a variety of roles before taking the reins of its widely respected industry program this spring. That continuity is a hallmark of both the festival and its […]
“Imposters,” the SXSW 2026 sci-fi thriller from first-time feature director Caleb Phillips, has landed U.S. distribution with Brainstorm Media, which plans to open the film theatrically in early 2027. Jessica Rothe (“River”), Barnett (“Russian Doll”) and Vazquez (“Severance”) lead the cast. Phillips also wrote the screenplay. His short “Other Side of the Box” won awards […]
“Tristes Tropiques,” the latest genre outing from “New World” and “The Witch” director Park Hoon-jung, has been picked up for North America by Well Go USA as Finecut, which is carrying the film in its AFM line-up, closes a fresh round of deals ahead of the film’s Nov. 25 theatrical release in Korea. Swift Distribution, […]
Weta FX, the New Zealand visual effects house behind “The Lord of the Rings” and “Avatar,” is teaming with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) on a plan to turn Taiwan into a center for AI-driven screen production in Asia. The partnership will be formally launched on Nov. 6 at Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) […]
Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “La Bola Negra” has become the third highest-grossing Spanish film of all time at Spain’s domestic box office, earning an estimated €36.7 million ($41.0 million) through Nov. 1, according to Rentrak figures. Only Emilio Martínez-Lázaro’s blockbuster comedy “Ocho apellidos vascos” (“Spanish Affair,” $61.8 million) and J.A. Bayona’s disaster survival drama […]
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival – also known as PÖFF – marks a milestone this year as the festival celebrates its 30th anniversary and the first under the helm of artistic director Triin Tramberg as festival founder Tiina Lokk moves sideways to a strategic role within PÖFF. Tramberg’s own imprint on the festival as […]
Simón and Raimundo Bucher’s “L4IK4,” Roberto’s San Sebastián’s “The Hostess” and Javier Attridge’s “Beneath the Flesh” weigh in as potential standouts at the 7th edition of the Sanfic Mórbido Lab, now a fixture on Latin America’s genre scene, part of Sanfic Industria, which runs Nov. 2-8 in Santiago de Chile. In its totality, however, with […]
Invercine, Gema Films and Gaman Cine, top producers on Latin America’s film-TV scene, will bring to market their latest productions at Sanfic Industria in its industry centerpiece, WIP Iberoamericana. Turning on Alejandro Zambra, one of Latin America’s most-read novelists whose “Poeta Chileno” is currently being adapted by Oscar winning Sebastián Lelio (“A Fantastic Woman”), “Zambra,” […]
Spain’s indie film distributors are flexing growing box office muscle — and attracting a broader range of buyers to Valladolid’s Merci market. Presented at Merci, Rentrak figures showed that members of Adicine, Spain’s leading association of independent film distributors, saw box office receipts rise 45% through September. Elastica Films’ “La Bola Negra,” released Sept. 25, […]
Karim Akalay’s “6TM” won the New Visions Award for the most promising European project at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival. Variety spoke to Akalay at the festival. Set during a scorching summer at Brussels’ largest housing estate, Cité Modèle, the story follows three intertwining narratives within one family. Two kids chase a magic key to prevent […]
Sanfic Industria, the industry section of the Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic), is turbocharged for an even stronger edition this year. Running concurrently with the festival, which runs Nov. 2 – 8, Sanfic Industria unspools Nov. 2-6 with Sanfic co-founder Gabriela Sandoval at the helm. Now on its 15th year, Sanfic Industria has several new […]
A man conceived through sperm donation, unsure of his place in the world, sets out on a journey to Korea in “The Blue Breaks,” an adaptation of Machiya Ryohei’s 2016 novel by Japanese filmmaker Uchiyama Takuya (“Numb”). The Japan-Italy co-production was among the projects at this year’s Tokyo Gap-Financing Market. The protagonist, Shukichi, is a […]
Double Oscar nominee James Longley, who won the top award at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival on Saturday with “Mohabat,” will focus next on the Rohingya genocide. Longley – who was Oscar nominated for “Iraq in Fragments” and “Sari’s Mother” – tells Variety at the Czech event, “I’ve already filmed act one of this project, working […]
