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In 2021, Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi and Alice Rohrwacher made Futura, a documentary in which young Italians discuss their feelings and philosophies, their ambitions and their thoughts about the future. Christina Friedrich’s The Night Is Dark And Colder Than The Day, which premièred at the 2025 Rotterdam International Film Festival, takes a similar approach with younger German children, but is tonally very different. Navigating fears, dreams and dark imaginings, it has a folkloric depth to it even as it seems acutely relevant to the present, to our changing world.

The film was very much driven by the children themselves. Having appeared in her previous work, Zone, they were keen to make something of their own. It’s not clear quite how much fact has been tinged with fiction, but the ideas are the children’s own, and this adds to the sense of strangeness about it. No effort is made to connect.

The Kino Film Collection streaming service is celebrating the annual Sundance Film Festival season with a special January program featuring festival-alum films.

IndieWire can announce that 49 movies that have previously played at Sundance will be part of the Kino Film Collection, including “Prey for Rock and Roll” and “The Disappearance of My Mother” — both new-to-the-platform films begin streaming January 23. “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” will also make its streaming debut later this season.

Highlights from the Kino Film Collection Sundance edition include Todd Haynes’ iconic 1991 film “Poison,” Taika Waititi’s breakout “Boy,” Eliza Hittman’s “It Felt Like Love,” and Chloe Zhao’s “Songs My Brother Taught Me.” Alex Gibney’s documentary “Finding Fela” and Nina Menkes’ acclaimed “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power” are additionally among the selected titles.

The Kino Film Collection similarly launched a Toronto International Film Festival edition in 2024, with Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Alps” and Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden.”

Kino...

James Franco suits up while hitting the red carpet at the 2024 Rome Film Festival held at Auditorium Parco Della Musica on Friday (October 25) in Rome, Italy.

The 46-year-old actor was in attendance to premiere his new movie Hey Joe at the annual event.

James was joined by director Claudio Giovannesi, and co-stars Francesco Di Napoli, Aniello Arena, Giada Savi and Giulia Ercolini.

The day before, James, Claudio, Giada and Francesco attended a photo call for their upcoming movie.

In a recent interview, James opened up about how Hey Joe came to be.

Keep reading to find out more…

“The movie was actually kind of a gift out of the sky. I’ve loved European cinema for a long time, and I’d seen [director Claudio Giovannesi’s] movies before this offer. And I’d met the writer, Maurizio Braucci, through another director named Pietro Marcello [Martin Eden],” James told Variety. “And then out of the blue,...

James Franco had a diverse portfolio of roles and was a part of some of the most highly acclaimed projects in the industry. However, a controversy that stirred up the entire movie industry led to the actor being blacklisted. But while Franco was shunned in Hollywood, like many other actors, he is all set to make a comeback through European cinema.

James Franco in Homefront | Credits: Open Road Films

The actor followed the likes of Hollywood A-listers like Kevin Spacey and Johnny Depp, who faced major backlash when their respective controversies came out in the open. In a recent interview, Franco talked more about the new movie and his role.

James Franco All Set to Make a Comeback With Hey Joe

In recent years, James Franco has been the talk of the town, but mostly for all the wrong reasons. The actor was recently spotted in Rome for the launch...

James Franco is tucked away in the corner of a five-star hotel lobby on Rome’s Via Veneto, sipping an Americano coffee. Wearing a chocolate brown hoodie he proudly says he co-designed, the actor and filmmaker looks relaxed and flashes his signature smile.

He’s in the Eternal City for the Rome Film Festival launch of Italian director Claudio Giovannesi’s “Hey Joe.” In the gritty drama, Franco plays Dean, an alcoholic American WWII vet who winds up back in Naples in the early ’70s in search of a son he fathered there before absconding to New Jersey.

The film is his first to surface on the fest circuit since his career went on hiatus following a now-settled 2019 lawsuit alleging that he sexually exploited young women who took his acting class. As he sips his coffee, Franco and I agree that his character is looking for redemption. Could the same be said of Franco?...

Can’t make it to Toronto International Film Festival next week? Have no fear, Kino Film Collection is here to make you feel less left out. Though the streamer won’t be offering the latest selections from this year’s festival, to celebrate the annual showcase, it has created a program of 87 films that have previously screened there and will be available throughout the month. Below you can find some of the selections with language provided by Kino.

“3 Faces”

Winner of the Best Screenplay Award and nominated for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, “3 Faces” is Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s fourth feature since he was officially banned from filmmaking. Starring Behnaz Jafari as herself, Panahi’s film builds in narrative, thematic, and visual intricacy to put forth a grand expression of community and solidarity under the eye of oppression.

“Alps”

Before “The Favourite”, Academy...

Named after the influential film Platform (2000) by the great “Sixth Generation” master filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke, it’ll soon be a decade since TIFF introduced the Platform section – the fest’s only competition section meant to promote innovative and bold type cinema and comes with a cash award but unfortunately no trophy. Previous winners include Pablo Larraín, Pietro Marcello, Anthony Shim and last year it was Tarsem who won for Dear Jassi (we were there). This year’s batch of ten has a handful of familiar names in Mexico’s Rodrigo Prieto and Spain’s Nacho Vigalondo and Carlos Marqués-Marcet.

Prieto’s Pedro Paramo is the cinematographer directorial debut.…...

At long last, Kathryn Bigelow is returning to filmmaking. After 2017’s Detroit, she was developing the David Koepp-scripted thriller Aurora for Netflix but has now moved on to another project for the company. The untitled thriller will unfold in real-time at the White House as a missile attack threatens the United States. THR reports former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim, who also wrote Jackie, scripted the project based on Bigelow’s idea. No additional details were revealed but with Netflix now greenlighting the project, here’s hoping it kicks off before the end of the year.

Juliette Binoche will make her directorial and writing debut in a new anthology film Bike Me Up. Joining directors Sally El Hosaini, Isabel Coixet, Matthias Schweighöfer, Asger Leth, and Frédéric Auburtin, each section will be set in a different European city and explore the locales’ relationship with cycling. Binoche’s film will be...

Italian auteur Pietro Marcello – whose 2019 film “Martin Eden” made a splash on the international art-house scene – is shooting “Duse,” a movie about legendary Italian stage diva Eleonora Duse. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi stars as Duse and Noémie Merlant (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) plays her daughter.

The Match Factory has acquired international rights to “Duse” and is kicking off sales on this buzzy biopic in Cannes. See an exclusive first-look image above.

Duse, who lived between 1858 and 1924, was considered by many the greatest actress of her time. She performed in many countries, most notably in plays by Gabriele D’Annunzio and Henrik Ibsen.

Marcello’s “Duse” will look at the latter part of her life when she is 60 “and her legendary career is now long over,” says the provided synopsis.

“But in the brutal years between the First World War and the rise of fascism, the Divina chooses to return to...

Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated drama Io Capitano triumphed in Italy’s David di Donatello film awards on Friday evening, winning best film and best director.

The film about the trials and tribulations of two Senegalese teenagers as they try to make it to Europe via the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea, also won best producer for companies Archimede, Rai cinema, Pathé and Tarantula as well as best sound, special effects, cinematography and editing.

Io Capitano premiered at the Venice Film Festival last September, where it won best director for Garrone and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor for Seydou Sarr.

The movie went on to enjoy a buzzy awards season, securing a Golden Globe nomination for best non-English language film and an Academy Award nomination for best international film.

“This film tells the stories of those who are not listened to,” said Garrone, on receiving the best director award.

Mubi has unveiled their February 2024 lineup, featuring Roy Andersson’s little-seen 1991 short World of Glory, Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely & Amazing starring Catherine Keener with an early Jake Gyllenhaal performance, and special Black History Month selections: Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer, Kasi Lemmon’s Eve’s Bayou, Carl Franklin’s One False Move, and more.

Check out the lineup below, including recently added January titles, and get 30 days free here.

Just-Added

American Movie, directed by Christopher Smith | Festival Focus: Sundance

Pieces of April, directed by Peter Hedges | Festival Focus: Sundance

The Blair Witch Project, directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez | Festival Focus: Sundance

But I’m a Cheerleader, directed by Jamie Babbit | Festival Focus: Sundance

Secretary, directed by Steven Shainberg | Festival Focus: Sundance

Medicine for Melancholy directed by Barry Jenkins | First Films First

Antiviral, directed by Brandon Cronenberg | First Films First

Shithouse, directed by Cooper Raiff | First Films First

Age of Panic,...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Asteroid City (Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson has done it all: India by train, Rhode Island by foot, the Mediterranean by sub, France by bike, faux-Germany by hotel, apple-orchard America by fox, animated Japan by dog, motel Texas by friends, New York City by family. But––despite the feeling that this couldn’t possibly be true––he’s never told a story in western America. In setting he hasn’t gone further west than Houston. Until Asteroid City: Arizona desert by quarantine. – Luke H. (full review)

Where to Stream: Peacock

Beatrix (Lilith Kraxner & Milena Czernovsky)

One of the best films in recent years––still without U.S. distribution––is streaming for free the next two weeks on Le Cinéma Club. It...

Nicola Maccanico with Anne-Katrin Titze on current Cinecittà productions: “Joe Wright, Roland Emmerich and Luca Guadagnino.” Photo: Sally Fischer

I met with Nicola Maccanico to discuss the significant expansion of Cinecittà Studios under his leadership on the morning of the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema luncheon at The Leopard at des Artistes, attended by The Hummingbird (Il Colibrì) director Francesca Archibugi, Tommaso Ragno, Margherita Mazzucco (star of Susanna Nicchiarelli's Chiara and Saverio Costanzo’s My Brilliant Friend), directors Michele Vannucci (Delta), Niccolo Falsetti (Margins), Monica Dugo, and Fireworks (Stranizza d’Amuri)) director Giuseppe Fiorello with his stars Gabriele Pizzurro and Samuele Segreto.

Nicola Maccanico on Luca Guadagnino: “Bones and All! His last movie, I think is a masterpiece.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Inside Film at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, Nicola joined me for a conversation on the robust state of Italian cinema and the current international productions going on at Cinecittà,...

by Cláudio Alves

Whether documentary or fiction, Pietro Marcello's films always convey the quality of artworks lost somewhere between modernity and an undefined past. 2019's much-lauded Martin Eden took this aspect to its peak, evoking the palpable authenticity of Neorealist cinema while playing fast and loose with history in its design. That film's relationship with the past circumvents reactionary nostalgia. The anachronistic scenography suggests an atemporal milieu, breaching the porous membrane separating the narrative's period and the viewer's sense of now. This further underlined the piece's political gestures, turning retrospective into a direct address. In comparison, Scarlet represents a more conventional object though it shares many qualities with its predecessor.

Like Martin Eden, Scarlet is a literary adaptation looking back to Europe in the first half of the 20th century. The raw material is Alexander Grin's 1923 novella Scarlet Sails, once brought to the big screen by Soviet filmmaker Alexandr Ptushko.

Utopia’s Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) grossed an estimated $10k from one engagement at NYC’s Film Forum, where it was the top-ranking pic. Celebrated filmmaker and photographer Anton Corbijn’s first feature documentary is the story of Hipgnosis, the iconic album art design studio that was a force in the music industry behind some of the most recognizable covers of all time. It features new interviews with Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Noel Gallagher and others.

Turnout was backed by a multi-generational crowd of music, design and cinema enthusiasts, Utopia said, with multiple sold-out shows and in-person appearances by Corbijn along with Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey “Po” Powell. Head of marketing and distribution Kyle Greenberg said the doc drew drom the distributor’s traditional Gen Z fans, along with older demos “that grew up with that music and those albums.”

“Kids are discovering new music all the time.

Hulu's original series The Great, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, recently released its third season. The dramedy, loosely based on the story of historical figures, Russian Emperor Peter III and his wife Empress Catherine (also known as Catherine the Great), has been widely popular and well-received. Now that season three has concluded, however, many fans are left wondering if there will be more to the series.

Besides the possibility of a renewal, there is also the question regarding the season finale. Now that a main character is dead, what is left to tell in the story of Catherine the Great? Does the season three finale sets up events for a fourth season? What could be in store for the remainder of the show? Or has the series, which began in 2020, finally come to a natural conclusion?

Related: Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer: What to Expect, Based on the...

Come Sail Away: Marcello Runs Aground in Muddled Adaptation

Pietro Marcello returns to literature for inspiration in his third narrative feature (and French language debut), Scarlet (L’Envol), based on the 1923 novel Scarlet Sails by beloved Russian novelist Alexander Grin. Much like he did with Jack London’s Martin Eden (2019), utilizing the text loosely for his own unique vision, this is far removed from more traditional takes on Grin’s novel, like the 1961 Russian language version which hewed close to the original romantic fairy tale. Unfortunately, the liberties transposed upon the simplicity of Grin’s text results in an oddly disjointed take.…...

Two from Magnolia Pictures, the story of an iconic record album design firm back and a sighting of Brian Cox usher in a specialty weekend with smoke clearing over New York City. Acrid plumes from Canadian wildfires have smothered the key arthouse market over the past few days in an unusual air quality event that had Mayor Eric Adams urging people to home.

Friday the sky was visible and air fresher, a boon for all — including the ongoing Tribeca Festival, which opened Wednesday night and will be unspooling 100+ features and events through June 17.

New openings: From Magnolia, Dalíland by Mary Harron starring Ben Kingsley as the iconic artist in 20 markets (including Quad in NYC and Nuart in LA) and on VOD. Written by John C. Walsh. With Christopher Briney, Barbara Sukowa, Ezra Miller, Andreja Pejic. Premiered as TIFF’s closing night film, see Deadline review here. Follows the later years...

Editors note: This review originally was originally published on May 18, 2022 after its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival. Kino Lorber releases it in theaters Friday.

Italian director Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden) shifts his focus to France in Scarlet (L’Envol), a period drama in Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Set in the rural north after the First World War, it’s a decade-spanning story of family, small-town politics and — ultimately — romance.

When Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry) returns from war, his wife has died, leaving their baby daughter, Juliette, in the care of farmer Adeline (Noémie Lvovsky). Adeline gives Raphaël lodgings and helps him gain work as a carpenter. Juliette grows up close to her father, but this unconventional family is ostracized by many in the community, sealing Juliette’s fate as something of a loner. But she’s also a happy dreamer. The...

So many films emerge from the Cannes Film Festival and we're all the better for it. Back in 2020, Italian filmmaker Pietro Marcello wowed audiences and critics with his prize-winning Martin Eden. He’s bound to do the same with Scarlet, a powerful and oftentimes ethereal story that had its world premiere as the Opening Film of the 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. His moving new work hits New York’s Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center on Friday, June 9, expanding to other major cities nationwide in June and July.

Much like Johnny Depp's new Cannes film swept audiences away this year, Scarlet generated buzz last year. It stars Raphaël Thiéry, Louis Garrel and newcomer Juliette Jouan. The story revolves around WWI vet Raphaël (Thiéry), who returns from the frontlines only to find himself a widower, and father to an infant daughter. He raises the child, Juliette (Jouan), in Normandy, but her loneliness seems all-encompassing.

Pietro Marcello with Anne-Katrin Titze on his Scarlet end credit thanks: “Renato Berta, in addition to being a friend, he is also a teacher. Thanks to Caroline Champetier we were able to shoot in 35mm. And finally Gianfranco Rosi, he’s an old friend.”

In the second instalment with Pietro Marcello on Scarlet (L'envol), his adaptation with Maurizio Braucci and Maud Ameline (Mikhaël Hers’ Amanda), in collaboration with Geneviève Brisac of the 1923 novel Scarlet Sails by Russian author Alexander Grin, we discuss the influence of Vittorio De Sica’s Miracle In Milan, the chance discovery of Louise Michel’s poetry, fathers as mothers, dethroning princes and knights in shining armour, being an archivist, Louis Garrel’s crocodile entrance, Pietro’s new project on the question what is war, and the end credit thanks in Scarlet to Renato Berta, Caroline Champetier and Gianfranco Rosi.

Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry) with his daughter Juliette...

The Match Factory announces key sales for tomb robber drama.

The Match Factory has agreed multiple sales for Alice Rohrwacher’s Cannes Competition film La Chimera.

The tomb robber drama starring Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini, Alba Rohrwacher and Carol Duarte was well received by critics and ranked in joint fourth place on Screen’s Cannes jury grid.

Neon acquired North America rights for La Chimera last year. Since then The Match Factory has inked deals for the film in the UK and Ireland (Curzon), Australia and New Zealand (Palace Entertainment), Benelux (September Film), Germany (Piffl Medien), Hong Kong (Edko), Spain...

As filmmaking gets further relegated to smaller screens, it’s a breath of fresh air to have a director like Pietro Marcello crafting cinema that is best experienced on a vast canvas. While the release of his stunning 2019 drama Martin Eden was unfortunately dampened by the pandemic, he’s now returned with the gorgeous fable Scarlet (aka L’Envol). Premiering just about a year ago at Cannes, the tale of a woman’s family and romantic journey in post-wwi France will now arrive in U.S. theaters starting this Friday. Starring Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thierry, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, Ernst Umhauer, François Négret, and Yolande Moreau.

While he stopped by NYC for last fall’s New York Film Festival premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Marcello about his experience working in France, the silent film connections to Scarlet, how his latest work marked a transitional point for his career,...

BAFTA-winning “Sex Education” star Aimee Lou Wood and Oscar-nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”) have been tapped to star as Anna and Fyodor Dostoyevsky in “The Gambler Wife,” a dark comedy about one of world literature’s most towering figures, by two-time Berlinale prize winner Małgorzata Szumowska.

“The Gambler Wife” follows the Russian novelist and his much younger, pregnant wife, Anna, as they travel to Switzerland for their honeymoon. Anna tolerates her husband’s gambling addiction, which will serve as inspiration for his burgeoning literary career. However, Fyodor’s compulsive roulette playing continues to cause problems for the couple until they are forced to return to a Russia that is not quite as they remember.

“This dark comedy explores the patriarchal, nationalistic Russian identity which keeps on waging war between the West and the East, which is as relevant today as it was two hundred years ago,” said Szumowska.

Pic is produced...

“No one believes in magic anymore:” In the devastating aftermath of World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry) returns home and discovers that not only has he been widowed, but he is the father to an infant girl, Juliette (Juliette Jouan). In the years that follow, Juliette is raised by her father in rural Normandy, growing into a lonely young girl who seeks refuge in her passion for singing.

Continue reading ‘Scarlet’ Trailer: Lyrical Interwar Fable From Pietro Marcello Sails Into Theaters This Summer at The Playlist.

Coming-of-age films are a dime a dozen. We see them all of the time. But rarely do they come with such style and skill, such as with the upcoming film, “Scarlet.”

As seen in the trailer, there’s so much style and beauty in the way “Scarlet” is shot. The film feels like a throwback to the films of decades ago. The story follows a young girl, Juliette, who is trying to find her place in the world.

Continue reading ‘Scarlet’ Trailer: Juliette Jouan & Louis Garrel Star In Pietro Marcello’s New Drama About A Young Girl Dreaming Of A Better Life at The Playlist.

"No one believes in magic anymore. No one sings anymore, except you." Ah yes, the romance of old... Kino Lorber has unveiled the official US trailer for an indie romantic fable titled Scarlet, opening in the US this June after first premiering last year. The film (shot on 35mm film in the 1.5:1 aspect ratio) is an enchanting period fable set in France and directed by Italian filmmaker Pietro Marcello, whose prize-winning Martin Eden was a festival hit in 2020. With a talented cast that includes Raphaël Thiéry, Louis Garrel, and newcomer Juliette Jouan, Scarlet will play in US art house theaters (starting in New York City) this June before expanding wide. Based on a novel by Russian author Alexander Grin, it tells of the emancipation of a woman over twenty years, between 1919 and 1939, a time of great inventions and great dreams between the wars. A story "filled with lyrical beauty,...

Almost exactly a year after it made its world premiere as the Opening Film of the 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, the trailer arrives for Italian director Pietro Marcello’s Scarlet (L’Envol). Marcello’s French-language debut follows his previous effort Martin Eden, which made waves on the festival circuit in 2020 (despite the pandemic). Kino Lorber will release Scarlet in New York theaters next month. An official synopsis reads: Shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry) returns home from the frontlines to find himself a widower, and father to an infant daughter. Raised by her father in rural Normandy, the child […]

The post Trailer Watch: Pietro Marcello’s Scarlet first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Almost exactly a year after it made its world premiere as the Opening Film of the 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, the trailer arrives for Italian director Pietro Marcello’s Scarlet (L’Envol). Marcello’s French-language debut follows his previous effort Martin Eden, which made waves on the festival circuit in 2020 (despite the pandemic). Kino Lorber will release Scarlet in New York theaters next month. An official synopsis reads: Shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry) returns home from the frontlines to find himself a widower, and father to an infant daughter. Raised by her father in rural Normandy, the child […]

The post Trailer Watch: Pietro Marcello’s Scarlet first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Unless you were lucky enough to catch it on the 2019 festival circuit, the pandemic unfortunately led to most viewers seeing Pietro Marcello’s stunning drama Martin Eden at home. Thankfully his next feature, the gorgeous fable Scarlet (aka L’Envol), will be primed for theatrical viewing. The Cannes selection will get a U.S. release from Kino Lorber on June 9. An adaptation of Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin, the tale of a woman’s family and romantic journey stars Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thierry, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, Ernst Umhauer, François Négret, and Yolande Moreau.

As David Katz said in his review, “In his previous film Martin Eden, and now with Scarlet, Pietro Marcello has found a novel way to depict artistic striving, closely tying it with the concept of labor. It’s also something that runs through Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, about the poetry-penning bus driver of the same name:...

Italian director Pietro Marcello made a splash at the 2019 Venice Film Festival with the Jack London adaptation “Martin Eden.” That film about an idealistic man’s sentimental and moral education at the turn of the 20th century, distributed in the U.S. by Kino Lorber, more or less introduced the talents of heartthrob Luca Marinelli to Western audiences. Now, Marcello is partnering with the U.S. distributor once more, this time turning his camera on the story of a woman’s coming of age, with “Scarlet.” The cast includes Raphaël Thiéry, Louis Garrel, and newcomer Juliette Jouan. IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for the film, which premiered at the 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, below.

Per the official synopsis, shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry) returns home from the frontlines to find himself a widower and father to an infant daughter. Raised by her father in rural Normandy, the...

Having won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for “Le Meraviglie” (The Wonders) in 2014, and the screenplay award there for “Lazzaro Felice” (Happy as Lazzaro) in 2018, Alice Rohrwacher is very pleased that her latest feature, “La Chimera,” starring Isabella Rossellini, Josh O’Connor and her sister Alba Rohrwacher, will also compete at the festival.

“I am very attached to the Cannes festival, both as a spectator and as a director. It is always a dream and always a surprise to be nominated. The emotion is the same as the first time,” the Italian director tells Variety at Visions du Réel film festival, in Nyon, Switzerland, where she is a special guest.

Rohrwacher describes “La Chimera” as “a film that, in a very special way, talks about our relationship with the afterlife by following the story of a man who belongs to a gang of archaeological thieves.”

Working with Alba Rohrwacher,...

Hong Kong High

Already the highest grossing local film in its home market, courtroom drama, “A Guilty Conscience” has broken into Hong Kong’s all-time top ten box office ranking with a cumulative of Hk$107 million ($13.7 million). Data from Hong Kong Box Office Ltd. shows the film achieving the feat after just 41 days in cinemas and coming within Hk$1 million of overtaking “Top Gun: Maverick.” The data firm noted that the last time a Hong Kong film got this far was with fantasy-action-comedy “Kung Fu Hustle” in 2004. Since then, it has been overtaken by a fleet of Hollywood titles. Hong Hong’s current top ten is headed by “Avengers: Endgame” and includes six Marvel movies, the two “Avatar” titles and “Titanic.”

Streamer Encourages Churn

With its shares buoyed by recent more positive results, Chinese video streamer iQiyi is returning to the capital markets – again. The Nasdaq-listed company is issuing $600 million...

Cologne-based sales company The Match Factory has expanded and restructured its acquisition and development team.

Former head of sales, Thania Dimitrakopoulou, has been promoted to vice president of acquisitions and sales. Claudia Solano comes on board as senior manager of acquisitions, and Cécile Tollu-Polonowski, a long-time partner with the company, has been appointed as head of development.

Dimitrakopoulou, who joined The Match Factory in 2007, will now be heading up all acquisitions activities and manage the sales team, reporting to Michael Weber, managing director.

Solano joins The Match Factory from the distributor Koch Media in Italy where she worked as sales and acquisitions manager. Solano has held various positions in acquisitions in companies such as Videa and Good Films. During her career, she has introduced several high profile directors to the Italian market, including Xavier Dolan and Yorgos Lanthimos.

The Match Factory has appointed long-standing partner Tollu-Polonowski to lead the development team for the company.

Les Films du Losange has boarded “Un silence,” the new thought-provoking film by Belgian filmmaker Joachim Lafosse (“The Restless”) starring Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Devos. The company has unveiled an exclusive first still of the timely drama on the eve of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous market in Paris which kicks off this week.

The plot remains enigmatic but Les Films du Losange said it will revolve around Astrid (Devos), the wife of an acclaimed lawyer (Auteuil). Silenced for 25 years, her family balance suddenly collapses when her children initiate their search for justice.

Auteuil and Devos are among France’s best known actors. Auteuil previously won Cesar and BAFTA awards. His credits include “La belle époque” by Nicolas Bedos, and “Hidden” by Michael Haneke, while Devos, who also won a Cesar award, previously starred in Jacques Audiard’s “Read My Lips” and Arnaud Desplechin’s movies including “A Christmas tale” and “Kings & Queen.

Kino Lorber hired former AMC Networks execs Ed Carroll and Lisa Schwartz to bolster its executive suite.

Carroll becomes chief strategy officer at the New York-based arthouse film group after three decades at AMC Networks, which included a stint as COO and overseeing series like The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Schwartz, who worked for two decades at the premium cable channel, most recently ran IFC Films and becomes chief revenue officer at Kino Lorber.

The departures of Carroll and Schwartz from AMC Networks coincided with the recent exit of CEO Christina Spade and company-wife layoffs as chairman James Dolan assumed control of the restructuring media player on an interim basis.

In their new roles, Carroll and Schwartz will work with Kino Lorber chairman and CEO Richard Lorber and COO Martha Benyam to shape the film group’s content and distribution strategies and push further into digital spaces.

French groups combine in effort to challenge US streaming giants.

Vivendi-owned Canal+ has finalised a deal to buy Orange’s film production arm Orange Studio and pay TV division Ocs.

In a joint statement today (January 9) both groups said they have signed a memorandum of understanding and that “Canal+ will become the sole shareholder of both companies following this transaction.”

Several months of talks between the two French groups accelerated in December and the two groups have now joined forces in an effort to challenge US streaming giants such as Netflix in the territory.

Canal+ already holds a 34 stake...

When journalists, sales agents and acquisition execs from key territories take to Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris, which runs Jan. 10-17, international growth will be on everyone’s mind. If Gallic exports never did reach pre-pandemic highs in 2022 — the first year, we should note, that many theatrical markets operated without interruption — the local industry hung on all the same.

At home and abroad, franchises and feel-good fare drove theatrical returns. The comedy “Serial (Bad) Weddings 3” banked 2.4 million local admissions, ending the year as France’s top-grossing domestic title and landed an additional 1.3 million ticket sales in neighboring countries, while the Studiocanal family title “The Wolf and the Lion” opened in more than 50 territories.

In the U.S., arthouse stalwarts Kino Lorber, Cohen Media Group and Sony Pictures Classics pulled jewels from festival slates, with Kino Lorber set to open Pietro Marcello’s Directors’ Fortnight opener “Scarlet” and Sony Pictures Classics to release the Cannes-acclaimed,...

Unless you were lucky enough to catch it on the 2019 festival circuit, the pandemic unfortunately led to most viewers seeing Pietro Marcello’s stunning drama Martin Eden at home. Thankfully, when it comes to his next feature, the gorgeous fable Scarlet (aka L’Envol), there will be ample opportunity for a theatrical viewing. The Cannes selection will arrive in France this January, and the first trailer has now arrived, followed by a U.S. release from Kino Lorber in 2023. An adaptation of Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin, the tale of a woman’s family and romantic journey stars Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thierry, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, Ernst Umhauer, François Négret, and Yolande Moreau.

David Katz said in his review, “In his previous film Martin Eden, and now with Scarlet, Pietro Marcello has found a novel way to depict artistic striving, closely tying it with the concept of labor. It’s...

Tfl Meeting, a TorinoFilmLab-organized initiative, has awarded 18 cash prizes, worth a total of €315,000, to support the development and production of feature-length projects.

Of the 30 projects presented during the program’s 15th edition, 20 were part of the ScriptLab program, and 10 were showcased in the FeatureLab program. The participants presented them to an audience of 260 professionals, attending over 600 meetings with potential partners and co-producers.

This year’s FeatureLab jury, which included Florence Almozini, Dyveke Bjørkly Graver, Philippe Bober and Donsaron Kovitvanitcha, awarded four debut projects with a grant of €40,000 each.

The first is Inbar Horesh’s “Birth Right.” Staged by Alona Refua, of Tel Aviv-based Green Productions, the picture aims to capture “the point of view of young tourists experiencing Israel for the first time.” The plot centers on Nieszka who, after mourning her father’s death, joins a tour to Israel that turns out to be a sex-filled Zionist propaganda trip.

Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” Roman Polanski’s “The Palace,” “The Son” with Anthony Hopkins, and “Golda” with Helen Mirren are among the theatrical releases lined up for the rest of this year and next year for Italy’s 01 Distribution. Paolo Del Brocco, CEO of the distributor’s parent company, Rai Cinema, presented the lineup at the Torino Film Festival on Friday, and discussed an adjustment in his company’s production strategy in favor of bigger budget Italian films.

As well as the stellar international titles, there is also a strong Italian contingent on the 01 Distribution slate, including Marco Bellocchio’s “La Conversione,” Matteo Garrone’s “Io capitano,” “Il ritorno de Casanova,” starring Toni Servillo, and Saverio Costanzo’s “Finalmente l’alba,” starring Lily James.

“It is a luminous list because cinema in theaters illuminates cities, urban spaces,...

Deal would bolster French pay-tv firm as it takes on US streamers.

Canal+ Group is in exclusive talks to buy French telco Orange’s film and pay TV operations, in a deal that could help it to challenge US streaming giants in the territory.

Orange’s pay TV arm Ocs (Orange Cinema Series) and production, distribution and sales division Orange Studio have been on the market for nearly two years.

Talks between Canal+ and Orange have been taking place for several months, but have now accelerated. Local media is reporting an expected transaction in the next few days.

Canal+ already...

Georgia Oakley’s ‘Blue Jean’ won the audience award.

French cinema is this year the true winner at Seville European Film Festival (Seff), as France’s production companies are involved in the production of the eight main prizes at the Seville’s event which wrapped on Saturday.

Alice Diop’s first fiction feature Saint Omer adds Seville’s best feature award, the Golden Giraldillo to its brilliant career kicking off at Venice where it took the Silver Lion award.

The film has also been nomimated for France’s prestigiousLouis Delluc prize in both best feature and best debut categories and...

Emphasizing its consolidated position as an important bridge between European creators and cinemagoers, the Seville Festival is expanding its reach with an ambitious sidebar, Essential Voices, to bring together decisive European filmmakers for a discussion forum.

At the same time, the Seff continues strengthening its industrial heft with the announcement of Sevilla Cinema Lab, an initiative which, kicking-off in 2023, aims to promote high-level training for film professionals, as well as the development of film projects in international co-productions. It is supported by Spain’s Icaa film institute and Europe’s Next Generation Funds.

Juan Antonio Bayona and Álex de la Iglesia, two of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers, will take part in the Essential Voices section together with revered Russian director Alexandr Sokurov and two animation auteurs, France’s Michel Ocelot (“Kirikou and the Sorceress”) and Latvia’s Signe Baumane (“Rocks in My Pockets”).

In addition to the joint presence of two European emerging talents,...

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New York-based arthouse distributor Kino Lorber has acquired MHz Networks, the parent company of MHz Choice, an online streaming service dedicated to international television series.

Under the deal, announced Thursday, Kino Lorber will add its library of more than 5,000 titles to MHz Choice, which specializes in non-u.S. TV series, streaming such shows as Scandinavian crime dramas Wallander and Beck, or French period procedural Paris Police 1900. The entire staff of both MHz Networks and Kino Lorber will remain in place, with CEO Frederick Thomas and SVP of Content Strategy Lance Schwulst continuing to lead MHz Networks within Kino Lorber Media Group.

“MHz’s track record of curating best-in-class series from around the world has helped it build one of the most loyal subscriber audiences in streaming,” said Kino Lorber president and CEO Richard Lorber in a statement. “At a time when Hollywood...

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The European Works in Progress Cologne (Ewip) couldn’t have come at a better time.

For a European art house industry in crisis — box office revenues for specialty films remain well below pre-pandemic levels while the cost of producing films has only gone up —the need for exciting new “content” in the form of films that will draw audiences back to the theatres, has arguably never been greater.

For the past three days, some of Europe’s top festival programmers and international sales agents have gathered in the western German city to check out arthouse productions at various stages of development that promise to be the breakout projects of the coming months.

Programmers from the Cannes, Berlin, Venice and San Sebastián festivals, as well as from Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Tribeca and elsewhere, as well as sales heavyweights including mk2, The Match Factory, Charades...

August Diehl (“A Hidden Life”) is set to star in Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov‘s film adaptation of the best-selling French novel “The Disappearance of Josef Mengele” which will start shooting in early June.

Produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema (“Annette”) and Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios (“Tchaikovsky’s Wife”), the film will star Diehl as Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor who found refuge in South America at the end of WWII and was never captured. He died in Brazil in 1979 without having been judged for his crimes. The novel, penned by Olivier Guez, won the prestigious Renaudot Prize in 2017 in France and was published in more than 30 countries.

The long-gestating project will mark Serebrennikov‘s follow up to his upcoming movie “Limonov,” as well as “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” and “Leto,” both of which competed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and 2018.

A popular German actor, Diehl previously worked...

Italian actor Luca Marinelli, who was seen recently in Cannes Jury Prize winner The Eight Mountains, will play Benito Mussolini in Joe Wright’s upcoming series M. Son Of The Century.

The eight-part drama, based on Italian historian and writer Antonio Scurati’s bestselling book M charting the rise of the fascist dictator, starts filming in Rome’s Cinecittà studios this week.

The casting was announced at a presentation of the drama at the Rome Film Festival on Tuesday.

A former Berlinale European Shooting Star, Marinelli won Venice’s Coppa Volpi for best actor in 2020 for his performance in Pietro Marcello’s Jack London adaptation Martin Eden. Other notable credits include They Call Me Jeeg for which he won Italy’s Davide Di Donatello in 2016.

His most recent role was in Belgian director Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandemeersch’s Italian-language drama The Eight Mountains, about the life-long friendship of...

Festival runs November 9-20.

The Stockholm International Film Festival will present 130 films from 50 countries, opening on November 9 with Sweden’s international Oscar submission, Boy From Heaven by Tarik Saleh.

Political thriller Boy From Heaven premiered in competition at Cannes where it was awarded best screenplay.

Actor Fares Fares will receive the Stockholm Achievement Award on opening night. His credits include Easy Money, Safe House, Westworld and Chernobyl.

The Stockholm Visionary Award will go to Sam Mendes who will present the Nordic premiere of Empire Of Light.

Other notable selections include Luca Guadagnino’s Bones And All; Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King...

Scarlet (L'envol) director Pietro Marcello with Anne-Katrin Titze (in scarlet Haider Ackermann) on Gabriel Yared: “He was both a guide and for me it was a new experience to be flanked and to be working alongside a composer of that high level.” Photo: Kate Patterson

Pietro Marcello’s Scarlet (L'envol), which is an adaptation by the director with Maurizio Braucci and Maud Ameline (Mikhaël Hers’ Amanda), in collaboration with Geneviève Brisac of the 1923 novel Scarlet Sails by Russian author Alexander Grin stars Raphaël Thiéry, Juliette Jouan, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, and Yolande Moreau.

Pietro Marcello on costume designer Pascaline Chavanne (pictured Juliette Jouan as Juliette in Scarlet): “For me it was a privilege to work not only with her but with the many masters of their crafts that I worked with.”

The film is a celebration of craft, both on screen and in the making, Pascaline Chavanne’s...