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Succession creator Jesse Armstrong will be among the headline speakers at this year’s inaugural cinema programme at the Hay Literary Festival.

Running from May 22nd to June 1st, the longtime literary festival announced its plans earlier this month to expand with a new sidebar dedicated to cinema in collaboration with Mubi.

The full festival programme was announced this morning and Armstrong will feature in the cinema talks programme alongside Normal People and I May Destroy You intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien, director Marc Evans, producer Ed Talfan and screenwriters Tom Bullough and Josh Hyams (Mr Burton).

Rebecca Lenkiewicz will also pass through Hay to discuss her adaptation of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk while novelist Robert Harris discusses the adaptation of his novel Conclave.

The festival’s screening programme, taking place at the newly erected Mubi Cinema, will screen titles from the Mubi catalog including Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island,...

Golden Globe nominee Alma Pöysti, known for “Fallen Leaves,” is now leading “Orenda.”

The film, which premieres at Rotterdam and Göteborg festivals, is directed by Finnish director Pirjo Honkasalo (“Concrete Night”) and written by Pirkko Saisio. It sees Nora (Pöysti), a famous opera singer, escaping to a remote archipelago following the suicide of her husband. “Welcomed” only by prickly priest Natalia (Saisio), the two women immediately butt heads.

The film is produced by Bufo, while the Yellow Affair handles sales.

“They recognize themselves in each other, and they can’t stand it. They’re two forces locked in a battle and when they choose not to speak, it’s extremely powerful. It’s a very Finnish weapon, to use silence this way,” Pöysti tells Variety. Slowly, the frenemies start to heal each other’s wounds.

“I found it enjoyable, the way they challenge each other,” Honkasalo adds.

“When I look back,...

American writer David Vann’s 2008 book “Legend of a Suicide” is a striking, classification-averse work — not quite fiction or memoir, novel or short story collection — that ultimately amounts to an exercise in potent literary catharsis for its author: Vann veils, rewrites or sometimes fabricates events from his own family history in order to accept and understand the untimely death of his father. It’s the kind of singularly subjective writing, steered by a personal perspective bound to no storytelling rules but its own, that presents a challenge to any outside interpreters. So it makes sense that “Sukkwan Island,” French writer-director Vladimir de Fontenay’s handsome, elegiac take on Vann’s tale, specifically adapts the one segment of the book that is told in the third person: a nearly self-contained novella that finds the author standing outside his own experience, but not outside a grief that pervades both memory and imagination.

Luca Guadagnino‘s steamy, intoxicating love triangle “Challengers” between Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, and Zendaya had audiences gripped this past spring. The film became a surprise financial success, earning just shy of $100 million at the worldwide box office. Now, with the Golden Globes nominations just around the corner on Monday, Dec. 9, “Challengers” is once again in the conversation, but there’s one actor we might be underestimating. Here are five reasons why Josh O’Connor will be nominated for Best Film Supporting Actor against the odds.

He’ll be carried along by support for his film

Gold Derby’s odds currently predict that “Challengers” will be nominated in three categories: Best Film Comedy/Musical, Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress (Zendaya), and Best Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). Meanwhile, O’Connor is on the bubble in the Best Film Supporting Actor race. He currently sits in ninth place with the...

The 2025 Golden Globes nominations will be announced shortly, and there are quite a number of international films in contention for other major categories outside of Best Non-English Language Film. This will be the second year of the new voting body, which has expanded by adding 215 international voters, something that was evident in the plethora of foreign-language films represented last year outside of the designated category: “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest,” “Fallen Leaves,” and “Past Lives.”

It is predicted that France’s “Emilia Pérez” will be recognized across the board, but let’s take a look at three international films underneath the surface that can potentially get other Golden Globe bids, in particular “I’m Still Here” from Brazil, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from Germany and “All We Imagine as Light” from France, India, and the Netherlands.

Starting with “All We Imagine As Light,” which has had a great week,...

"It's the ones you love the most who always disappoint you in the end." (A quote from Love Lies Bleeding.) It's always so much fun to find out what John Waters' favorite films are every year! (And then argue about them!) One of the most exciting "best of the year" lists that kicks off this time of the year is from filmmaker John Waters - his Top 10 favorite films in a list that is unlike any other. For 2024, Waters has chosen a less quirky, more sexy selection of mostly LGBTQ films as his best of the year. His previous Top 10 list from 2023 included Beau is Afraid and Master Gardener and Fallen Leaves. One of his most controversial picks for 2024 - he loved Joker 2 (aka Joker: Folie à Deux) and is big on defending it.

Mubi, which recently planted a flag in the U.S. with the wide release of Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance,” has welcomed Zhang Xin to its board of directors, as part of a new chapter for the rapidly expanding company which will also see Zhang’s New York-based film production and financing group Closer Media become an investor in Mubi.

A billionaire entrepreneur, Zhang co-founded Closer Media and previously co-founded Soho China, a construction giant in Beijing and Shanghai known for its iconic projects designed by leading architects from around the world. She left the company in 2022 and partnered with William Horberg, a veteran producer whose credits include “The Queen’s Gambit” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” to break into the media world.

A patron of the arts, Zhang also serves as a Trustee of MoMA, and is a member of both the Harvard Global Advisory Council and Asia Business Council.

And we’re off.

Golden Globe voters have received their ballots and are starting to consider their choices for the best work in film and television. With 15 film categories — six of them split between drama and comedy/musical — the Globes are a bellwether for the Oscars. Under the HFPA, the awards were criticized for favoring star power over quality — evidenced by all the love they showered on the 2010 Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie turkey “The Tourist.” But with a revamped voting body, the Globes have become more discerning, making more globally minded choices. The recognition last year of Alma Pöysti for the Finnish film “Fallen Leaves” signaled this evolution.

What can we expect this time around?

Comedy/Musical

These categories are shaping up to be particularly cutthroat. Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez” and Universal’s “Wicked” are leading the pack. Karla Sofía Gascón, poised to make history as the first transgender...

For those of you tired of the usual holiday movie diet of sleigh bells, snowflakes, and sugarplum fairies, The Hollywood Reporter‘s international team has whipped up a menu of new foreign films, currently available to screen in the U.S., that offer something for a more refined cinema palate.

Whether your taste runs to Irish hip-hop or Mexican musicals, Austrian horror or Danish romance, family-friend Thai comedy, or adult-only Aussie animation, we’ve got you covered for those long winter nights.

Banel & Adama (Stream/Rent On: Apple, Amazon, Fandango) ‘Banel & Adama’

French-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s bold debut illuminates the complexities of love and identity in a Romeo and Juliet-style story set in rural Senegal. Featuring captivating performances by Khady Mane and Mamadou Diallo as the titular couple, Banel & Adama combines rich, humanistic storytelling with stunning visuals to conjure a deeply imagined world. While the director...

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s Oscar hopeful The Seed of the Sacred Fig has won the sixth edition of the Arab Critics‘ Award for European Films, a joint initiative between European Film Promotion (Efp) and the Arab Cinema Center (Acc).

The drama, produced by Germany’s Run Way Pictures in co-production with Parallel45, Arte France Cinéma, was among 22 European-produced films in the running for the award, voted on by 89 critics from 15 Arab countries,

Taking inspiration from Iran’s Woman Life Freedom protests, the film revolves around a devout man who is promoted to the position of investigating judge at the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, just as his daughters become swept up in the pro-equal rights and democracy movement.

The award was announced on the fringes of Egypt’s El Gouna International Film Festival. Rasoulof could not attend in person, but sent greetings via a video message, while producer Mani Tilgner...

An Iranian drama called “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” recently won the top prize at the Arab Critics’ Awards in Egypt. The awards are part of the El Gouna Film Festival and celebrate European films each year. A group of critics from 15 Arab countries choose the winning movies.

The film tells the story of a traditional Iranian family. It shows how they are affected by women’s rights protests happening in their country. Famous director Mohammad Rasoulof made the movie in secret while in Iran. He faced problems from the government for his work.

Rasoulof has taken big risks to make art about modern Iranian society. In the past, authorities imprisoned him for signing a petition about protests. He later escaped from Iran on foot to Germany where he now lives.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” has already won other awards for its storytelling. It received a special...

The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the Iranian drama from exiled director Mohammad Rasoulof has won the top prize for best film at the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films.

The prize was announced at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival. A jury of critics from 15 Arab countries picked Rasoulof’s drama from among 22 European productions. The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a French-German-Iranian production and is Germany’s official entry for the 2025 Academy Awards in the best international feature category.

The film, a depiction of a conservative Iranian family that breaks apart amid the political turmoil of the Women Life Freedom protests, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, where it won a special jury prize, and the Fipresci honor from international film critics.

Rasoulof, a sharp critic of the Iranian regime — Rasoulof had been arrested and imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin jail in July 2022 for...

The independent movie service has become the streaming home to some of the best cinema in the world.

After just over a month in theaters, Coralie Fargeat’s acclaimed and outrageous body horror film “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, will make its exclusive streaming debut this Halloween on the global film streamer Mubi, and to prepare from the switch, it’s time to countdown some of the platform’s best films!

Whether you’re activating or stabilizing your Mubi subscription to watch the must-see new release, the arthouse movie streamer is not only housed with classics like “In the Mood for Love,” “All About My Mother,” and more, it’s also packed with its own collection of Mubi-exclusive releases. From black comedies to neo-noir love stories, here are some of the best movies available to stream right now exclusively on Mubi!

7-Day Trial via amazon.com Mubi...

Jon Blåhed found a timely story in 1930s period drama “Raptures.”

“Some of these things happen today as well,” he says.

Inspired by the so-called “Korpela Movement” – a controversial religious sect that first emerged in Northern Sweden and was later known for its apocalyptic beliefs and unorthodox rituals, as well as sexual practices – he wasn’t looking to spread gossip.

“It wasn’t just about taking the juiciest stories, but staying true to what I thought was important. I grew up in that region. I’m a son of the village preacher and I’ve heard whispers about this movement when I was a kid. It always felt a bit wrong, like something you weren’t supposed to discuss.”

Later in life, Blåhed found himself questioning religious dogmas.

“I was forced to go to church as a kid, and I didn’t like it. It was weird, hearing your own...

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...

Finland has picked the dramedy Family Time to represent the country for the 2025 Oscars in the best international feature category.

The film, by writer/director Tia Kouvo, is a sharp look at the familial ties that bind, following three dysfunctional generations as they come together at their grandparents’ house over the holidays. Ria Kataja, Elina Knihtilä, Leena Uotila, Tom Wentzel and Jarkko Pajunen star in the dark comedy which puts the cringe back in Christmas.

Jussi Rantamäki and Emilia Haukka produced the feature for Aamu Film Company together with Vilda Bomben Film. The film is a feature adaptation of Kouvo’s 2018 short of the same name.

Family Time premiered in Berlinale’s Encounters section last year and bowed in Finland last November. It went on to sweep Finland’s Academy Awards, the Jussis, taking best film, best director and best screenplay. The Match Factory is handling international sales.

Finland has...

Exclusive: TV industry veteran Katharina Feistauer has joined film service Mubi.

She has taken on a VP of Global Programming role at the film distributor, producer and streamer, having exited Paramount Global’s PlutoTV recently. Feistauer will report to Jason Ropell, Mubi’s Chief Content Officer.

Based in Mubi’s London office, she will lead Mubi’s programming team across all markets, driving the overall strategy of the streaming service and managing the pipeline of indie and filmmaker-driven content.

Mubi’s upcoming releases include Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, the Demi Moore-starring horror that was acquired for north of $10M in Cannes and will release wide in theaters on September 20.

Other films on the slate include Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Ira Sachs’ Passages, Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life, Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Kevin Macdonald’s documentary High & Low...

Saudi Arabian film industry pioneer Faisal Baltyuor is opening the first arthouse cinema in Riyadh in what amounts to a milestone in the kingdom’s moviegoing trajectory ever since Saudi lifted its 35-year ban on cinema in late 2017.

The plush state-of-the-art 80-seat venue, called Cinehouse, is set to open in the Saudi capital later this month. The symbolic opening film will be a 1975 documentary titled “Development of Riyadh City” by Saudi helmer Abdullah Al-Muheisen. Before the religion-related Saudi ban on cinema went into effect, Al-Muheisen had been instrumental in laying the groundwork for the embryonic Saudi film industry. His vast body of work delved into social and humanitarian issues.

A curated program comprising local and international films at Cinehouse will follow after the “Development of Riyadh City” doc.

“For our opening film we actually went back to our Saudi film industry legacy,” said Baltyuor, a former CEO of the Saudi...

Luis Ortega’s slow, unpredictable dramedy set in the world of mob-run racing in Buenos Aires, “Kill the Jockey,” plays its cards close to its chest. If surprising shifts into magical realism and existential rumination mean we are kept guessing about the film’s ambitions, there is also a sense that Ortega has let the material get away from him like a runaway horse.

Someone bested by a beast before the title even has a chance to flash up on screen is our titular jockey. We are first introduced to Remo Manfredini (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) catatonic in a bar before he is found by a menacing male search party. They revive him by the uncharming method of inserting a riding crop into his mouth and drive him to a race track. Here he pre-games with horse drugs mixed with booze and cigarettes and then takes a slow walk through a...

Announced as the big comeback of veteran Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki, Cannes Jury Prize winner 2023 “Fallen Leaves” was one of the biggest Nordic successes worldwide between 2020-2023 with over one million admissions.

So what inspired release campaigns were used by arthouse banners in territories as diverse as Taiwan, Norway and the Czech Republic to widen Kaurismäki’s core audience and make him a cool name on social media?

The topic was explored Aug. 22 at the Europa Distribution panel, Around the World in 80 Minutes: The Distribution and Promotion of Nordic Films Internationally, hosted by New Nordic Films in Haugesund, Norway.

One of the highlights of the three-day Nordic market, the Europa Distribution panel was moderated by seasoned industryite Petri Kemppinen, founder of Good Hand Production, a consultant at Finland’s post-production house Totalpost and co-head of Baltic Event’s TV Beats Forum.

First, outlining his domestic release strategy for Kaurismäki’s Helsinki-set love story,...

Finnish director Ulla Heikkilä chose the “best actors she could think of” for sophomore feature “Summer is Crazy,” featuring “Fallen Leaves” star Jussi Vatanen, Aamu Milonoff (“Girl Picture”), Jani Volanen (“Hatching”), Pirjo Lonka and Bruno Baer (“Light Light Light”).

“They brought their general ‘bestness’. It’s simply a luxury to work with such intelligent, skillful and charismatic actors. They are all very good at showing human condition in a bold and ‘naked’ manner,” she told Variety.

In the upcoming “Summer is Crazy,” set in the Finnish archipelago during the Midsummer week, one family – as well as their friends and lovers – deal with disappointments and dream of a better tomorrow.

After the bankruptcy of their fine-dining restaurant, the Eerolas are stuck in a seaside village. In the shadow of the father’s depression, both the mother and the teenaged daughter rebel against their stagnant life – each in their own way.

“I...

Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian title Sex and Levan Akin’s Crossing are among six nominees for the 2024 Nordic Council Film Prize, awarded by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

The six nominees were announced during the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund.

Scroll down for the full list of nominees

Both Sex and Crossing debuted in Panorama at this year’s Berlin film festival, with Swedish production Crossing opening the strand.

The other titles include Baltasar Kormakur’s romantic drama Touch from Iceland and Aki Kaurismaki’s Golden Globes-nominated Fallen Leaves from Finland. Two documentaries round out the selection:...

Forget about “The Magnificent Seven”: It’s time for The Magnificent Six, competing for the Nordic Council Film Prize this year.

The nominees – consisting of four fiction and two documentary feature films and each representing one of the Nordic countries – were announced by Nordisk Film & TV Fond at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund.

Denmark is represented by “The Son and the Moon,” directed by Roja Pakari and Emilie Adelina Monies. Written by Pakari – documenting her own struggle with cancer – and Denniz Göl Bertelsen, it’s produced by Sara Stockmann for Sonntag Pictures.

“Twice Colonized” by Lin Alluna, hailing from Greenland, was written by Aaju Peter and Alluna. Pic is produced by Emile Hertling Péronard for Ánorâk Film, Red Marrow Media and EyeSteelFilm.

“I’m extremely happy about the nomination and the fact that Greenland is now, for only the second time, represented at the Nordic Council Film Prize.

A drama about an Iranian human rights activist and a documentary about the hacking of queer indie pop duo Tegan and Sara are among the films that have been added to the lineup of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, which unveiled its Centrepiece section on Tuesday to kick off a second week of programming announcements.

The 43 films come from filmmakers representing 41 countries, with 18 of the titles receiving their world premieres at TIFF. Those premieres include “Seven Days,” a film about an imprisoned Iranian activist directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi and written by Mohammad Rasoulof, a filmmaker who was himself sentenced to flogging and prison by Iranian authorities; “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” a romantic comedy from French writer-director Laura Piani; “The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos,” a debut from the Nigerian filmmaking group known as the Agbajowo Collective; and Erin Lee Carr’s “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara,...

Art house distributor and streamer Mubi and the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland are partnering to offer a new prize at the film festival given to first-time filmmakers.

The Mubi Award — Debut Feature will be awarded to an outstanding debut feature playing in Locarno’s official program, and the award intends to celebrate “boldly distinctive visions for storytelling and the aesthetic possibilities of the medium, spotlighting the new films that will shape the future of cinema,” according to a statement from the festival.

The Locarno Film Festival is now in its 77th year and this year runs between August 7-17. The festival’s First Feature jury will award the prize, and this year the jury includes Moroccan director-producer Khalil Benkirane (Doha Film Institute), Finnish actor Alma Pöysti, who starred in Aki Kaurismäki’s film “Fallen Leaves” that Mubi released last year, and make-up designer Esmé Sciaroni, who worked on Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera.

The Locarno Film Festival is partnering with Mubi on an award for first-time directors.

The Mubi award – debut feature is a cross-section prize given to a first-time director showing their film as a world or international premiere in the festival’s official selection.

The prize is worth 10,000 Swiss Francs to be shared equally between the director and the producer, given to an outstanding debut in the official programme.

The award will be given by the Locarno Film Festival’s first feature jury, composed of Moroccan director-producer Khalil Benkirane of the Doha Film Institute, Finnish actor Alma Pöysti who starred in...

Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi and the Locarno Film Festival are teaming up on a new award given to a first feature in the official selection of the Swiss fest.

The prize, called the Mubi Award – Debut Feature, “celebrates boldly distinctive visions for storytelling and the aesthetic possibilities of the medium, spotlighting the new films that will shape the future of cinema,” according to a Locarno statement.

It will provide the winning film with 10,000 Swiss francs to be shared equally between its director and producer. A Mubi deal may or may not ensue, but is certainly within the realm of possibilities.

The Mubi Award – Debut Feature at Locarno will be decided by a jury made up of Moroccan director-producer Khalil Benkirane, who is head of grants at the Doha Film Institute; Finnish actor Alma Pöysti, star of Aki Kaurismäki’s Mubi-distributed hit “Fallen Leaves”; and prominent Swiss makeup designer Esmé Sciaroni,...

"Opposites attract" is a line often thrown in the face of romance. But what if true romance is actually between birds of a feather, despite their circumstances? In Fallen Leaves, a 2023 Finnish rom-com with a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it's the quirky love between two kindred spirits both down on their luck and a little worse for wear that carries the day. Like broken pieces fitting together, the protagonists in this flick directed by the Finnish master of melancholy Aki Kaurismki (who canceled his retirement to make the movie), find solace in their shared struggles. Fallen Leaves isn't a shiny rom-com about grand gestures, but one that is laden with dark themes like alcoholism, joblessness, and devastation, yet its unlikely romance is surprisingly uplifting. To achieve this feel-good effect, Fallen Leaves uses humor to offer reprieve, with clever writing that maximizes its minimal dialogue and absurd situations created by its bizarre characters.

Alma Pöysti stands out as a feminist politician in this irritatingly cosy portrait of a very complicated relationship worked out all too easily

A rosy glow of self-satisfied emotional intelligence emanates from this film about polyamory from Finland. Alma Pöysti (from Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves) plays Juulia, a progressive feminist politician married to Christian pastor Matias (Eero Milonoff); they have one child. When Matias, in anguish, admits he is in love with single-mum parishioner Enni (Oona Airola), but still loves Juulia, she is deeply hurt but boldly suggests an open marriage as a solution. Soon she too begins a relationship with queer nurse Miska (Pietu Wikström) who is together with a maths teacher in Sweden.

Having accepted the validity of polyamory, the movie naturally denies itself and us the vulgar sexy thrill of infidelity and guilty secrets. This makes it much more mature and much less exciting. Pöysti is good as Juulia,...

The Cannes 2024 market saw a thrilling revival with nine movies — including four movies in the main competition — selling to specialized distributors in domestic deals. However, this wasn’t exactly a return to business as normal: The buyers weren’t stalwarts like A24, or Focus, or IFC. Instead Mubi, Metrograph Pictures, and Sideshow (in partnership with Janus Films) established themselves as major buyers.

Mubi bought three titles in the main competition: “The Girl With the Needle,” “The Substance,” and added North American rights on Andrea Arnold’s “Bird.” (It came to the festival with UK rights.) “The Substance” starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley represents a major swing for the upstart, with one source placing the deal in the low-eight figures.

Sideshow picked up Indian drama “All We Imagine As Light” in the main competition, the animated “Flow” from Un Certain Regard, and “Misericordia” and Leos Carax’s “It’s Not Me,...

The Seed Of The Sacred Fig from Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has swooped to a late victory on Screen’s 2024 Cannes jury grid with an average score of 3.4.

See the final jury grid below.

The Seed Of The Sacred Fig and Michel Hazanavicius’ The Most Precious Of Cargoes were the final two titles to land on the grid, with the latter scoring 1.2, the lowest score this year.

Rasoulof attended last night’s (May 24) Cannes premiere after fleeing his country following an eight-year prison sentence from Iranian authorities. The family drama follows a judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court grappling...

Sean Baker’s Anora has stormed to the top of Screen’s Cannes jury while Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope divided critics and Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio scored the lowest of this year’s festival so far.

Baker’s latest feature received a solid 3.3 - the first film this year to score an average above three stars, overtaking last year’s jury grid winner, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (3.2).

The US comedy-drama about a sex worker received six scores of four stars (excellent) and four marks of three stars (good). Critics Katja Nicodemus (Germany’s Die Zeit) and Anton Dolin (Meduza) were less convinced,...

Arthouse streamer Mubi has snatched up Andrea Arnold’s Bird for the U.K. and Ireland ahead of the film’s world premiere in competition in Cannes.

Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, Nykiya Adams, and Jason Buda co-star in the new drama from the American Honey and Red Road director. The film follows a 12-year-old who lives with her brother and single dad in a squat in North Kent. As she approaches puberty she seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.

Bird was produced by Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Lee Groombridge for House Productions (The Iron Claw, The Wonder).

Cornerstone is handling international sales for Bird and is co-repping U.S. rights with CAA Media Finance.

Recent Mubi releases include Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Wim Wender’s Perfect Days, Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex, and Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, all festival hits. The streamer’s upcoming slate includes Levan Akin’s Crossing,...

Screen International can reveal the critics participating in this year’s jury grid at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).

Joining Screen’s reviewing team will be critics from 11 international outlets to give their verdict on the 22 films in Competition this year for the Palme d’Or.

This year’s critics are all returners to the jury grid with the exception of Nt Binh who replaces Michel Ciment for France’s Positif. Ciment passed away in November last year at 85 and was a long-time contributor to the jury grid.

The selection also includes Justin Chang for The New Yorker who...

Exclusive: Mubi has tapped Amazon MGM Studios and IFC distribution vet Mark Boxer as their U.S. Head of Distribution. Boxer will be on the Croisette during the run of this year’s Cannes Film Festival scoping out product for Mubi. In the new job, Boxer will be based in the New York office, and he’ll report to Mubi Chief Content Officer Jason Ropell.

The two decades-plus theatrical distribution vet, who first cut his teeth at Savoy Pictures, is known for building out distribution ops and tailoring myriad distribution plans for an array of movies. With Boxer, Mubi gets an internal distribution executive who’ll champion their slate to the fullest, giving their pics the best possible exposure across theaters coast to coast. The hire puts Mubi on a new level of distribution stateside as they make larger investments in features and expand their executive ranks.

Mubi’s upcoming slate,...

The German co-producers of 68 films including John Wick: Chapter 4, and Fallen Leaves have received a total of €9.3m in annual ‘reference’ funding from the German Federal Film Board (Ffa).

The amount for each film is calculated according to its performance at the German box office during 2023. The award can be increased if a film screens in competition at certain international festivals and wins one of their top awards, or has success at the European Film Awards, Golden Globes or Oscars.

John Wick: Chapter 4’s German co-producer Studio Babelsberg has been awarded €621,600 in reference funding based solely on its admissions of over 1.7m,...

German director Ilker Çatak’s The Teachers’ Lounge has won the 2024 Lux European Audience Film Award.

The Teachers’ Lounge was one of five films shortlisted for the award alongside Spanish director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s 20,000 Species Of Bees, Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, French director Nicolas Philibert’s On The Adamant and Estonian director Anna Hints’ Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.

Organised by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinema since 2020, the Lux Audience Award combines the ratings of the European public with the ratings of MEPs, each accounting for 50% of the final result.

Clockwise from top left: The Taste Of Things, Asteroid City, Fallen Leaves and Four Daughters With much of the Cannes programme now announced for 2024, including heavy hitters Francis Ford Coppola, Andrea Arnold and David Cronenberg, we're taking a look back at last year's Class of Cannes 2023 for our Streaming Spotlight last week - which ended up being a bumper year in terms of dominating the following awards season. This year's Cannes runs from May 14 to 25 and you can read all our coverage as it comes in here.

Anatomy Of A Fall, free to stream with Amazon Prime

Justine Triet's slowburn courtroom drama - written with her partner - Arthur Harari won the top prize Palme d'Or before heading on a statuette-winning spree around the awards circuit, culminating in an Oscar for Best Screenplay. Sandra Hüller could also easily have won for her performance as writer Sandra Voyter, who stands...

The Berlin-based German Federal Film Board (Ffa) is following the lead of other European countries and launching its dedicated minority co-production fund with an annual budget of €1m.

Producers based in Germany can apply to this fund if their financial participation is at least 10% and less than that of the foreign delegate producer.

The fund is open to feature-length fiction, animation and documentary films that have a high degree of festival potential, or could be commercially successful in Germany and abroad.

The projects applying for support must show that they have a German financing share of at least €350,000.

The minimum...

With John Travolta, Gregory Nava and a host of other luminaries lighting it up, the 12th Panama International Film Festival wrapped Sunday on a high note, with general attendance exceeding expectations.

Speaking at the closing ceremony held at the Canal Museum, Pituka Ortega-Heilbron, Iff Panama Board President, hailed this latest edition as a vibrant rebirth for the festival.

“We were hit by the phenomenon of the pandemic, and we certainly don’t want to complain or victimize ourselves because to fight is synonymous with living, but this festival has fought tirelessly for the last four years to thrive.”

“There’s still much ground to cover. We must work together – government, community groups, and businesses – to understand how important cultural and creative industries are for our country’s economy and society to grow,” declared Culture Minister Giselle González Villarué, who later told Variety that a delayed feasibility study that would explore...

Running April 4-7, the Iff Panama brings to this year’s edition a rich mix of standout director driven titles from Europe, the Spanish-speaking world and beyond, spangled by highlights from Central America, including Panama:

“Bila Burba,” (Duiren Wagua, Panama)

Documentary. Wagua’s debut feature. The Gunadule nation’s ties with the Panamanian government were fraught with territorial and cultural disputes. In 1925, leaders Simral Colman and Nele Kantule, inspired by their warrior ancestors, joined forces to unite their communities in the ‘Dule Revolution’ against police brutality. Today, their descendants honor this legacy through street theater, transforming community streets into stages to commemorate their ancestors’ struggle.

Bila Burba

“Brown,” (Ricardo Aguilar, Panama)

Penned by Aguilar’s regular collaborator, Manolito Rodríguez, the story centers on Teófilo Alfonso, also known as “Panamá Al” Brown, the first Latin American World Boxing Champion. After a fixed fight costs him his title, he retires to Paris.

The entire film industry is soon to descend upon the Côte d’Azur this May as the Cannes Film Festival readies for its 77th edition. From May 14 through May 25, the iconic festival event of the year will host much-awaited new works for auteurs and rising directors alike, across sections like the Competition, Directors’ Fortnight, Un Certain Regard (with jury president Xavier Dolan), and Critics’ Week. Major prizes will come at the end of the festival, and will no doubt set the tone for the movie year ahead.

Such was the case last year when Justine Triet’s eventual Oscar winner “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the top award, the Palme d’Or, the fourth consecutive film distributed by Neon to do so. Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 Grand Prize winner “The Zone of Interest” also won two Academy Awards, while Competition entries “Perfect Days” and “May December” earned Oscar nominations, too.

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best International Feature Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’

Weekly Commentary: The United Kingdom is poised to win its first Academy Award with Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and what a deserved win it will be.

But while I have the floor: it’s time for the...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Weekly Commentary: “The Creator” has the advantage, but honesty, any film can win.

“Godzilla Minus One” is in the discussion and could be a cool choice for the Academy to make, similar to “Ex Machina.” However, don’t count out the power...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2023 Oscars Predictions:

Best Original Screenplay Past Lives, from left: Teo Yoo, Greta Lee, John Magro, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

Weekly Commentary: Following its victories at the Golden Globes for best screenplay and the BAFTA for original screenplay, it appears almost inevitable that “Anatomy of a Fall” will secure the Oscar for its co-writers,...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best Actress in a Leading Role Emma Stone in “Poor Things”

Weekly Commentary: In best actress, the competition is as fierce as it gets. Emma Stone’s transformation into a woman with a child’s brain surgically implanted in Yorgos Lanthimos’ sci-fi comedy “Poor Things” has garnered substantial support.

[Editor’s note: this story was originally published in January 2024. We updated and recirculated it in advance of the 96th Academy Awards on March 10.]

The Oscars are a cruel, selective beast. With only 10 movies recognized in the Best Picture race, and five entries in every other category, it’s an unfortunate reality that many high quality, deserving films each year will end up with nothing on nomination day.

The 2024 Oscar class is no different, with plenty of cries of snubbery coming out after their January 23 announcement. Most of the discussion has been taken up by the shocking blanks for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, who missed out on Best Actress and Best Director respectively for their work on “Barbie,” the indisputable film juggernaut of the year. Other major surprises included Charles Melton missing out for his breakout turn in “May December,” and Leonardo DiCaprio getting left out of the Best Actor race for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Other surprises proved of the more pleasant sort, with on-the-bubble contenders making it in like Robbie...

The César Awards are always the biggest night of the year for French cinema, but the massive award season impact of “Anatomy of a Fall” ensured that this year’s event took on additional importance for Oscar watchers around the globe. When the 49th César Awards took place in Paris on Friday night, all eyes were on Justine Triet and her Palme d’Or-winning film.

Predictably, “Anatomy of a Fall” swept many of the night’s biggest categories. In addition to winning the top prize of Best Film, Triet was honored with Best Director and shared Best Screenplay with her partner Arthur Harari. Stars Sandra Hüller and Swann Arlaud also won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.

The night’s other big winner was Thomas Cailley’s “The Animal Kingdom,” which won awards for Cinematography, Visual Effects, Costume Design, and Sound.

Keep reading for a complete list of winners from the 2024 César Awards.

Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall won Best Film and Best Director at the 49th edition of the French César awards Friday.

Triet is only the second women to clinch the Best Director prize in the near 50-year history of the César Awards, after Tonie Marshall for Venus Beauty in 1976.

The director took to the stage with her producers Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelléas.

Luciani suggested the Best Film honor, which is voted on by the some 4,600 members of the César Academy, was a sign of solidarity for the film and Triet in the light of her controversial Cannes d’Or acceptance speech which provoked a political backlash after she criticized the attitude of Emmanuel Macron’s government towards culture and cinema.

“After Justine’s speech in Cannes and the lively debate she provoked we’d like to say this...

M-Appeal has closed distribution deals in key territories for “Sex,” which had its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama section.

The film, the first part of the “Sex Dreams Love” trilogy by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud, has garnered attention for its thought-provoking exploration of sexuality and gender roles.

All rights for the film have been sold to Pyramide Distribution for France, JinJin Pictures for South Korea and Cinobo for Greece.

“Sex” follows two men in heterosexual marriages, who have an unexpected experience that challenges them to reconsider their understanding of sexuality, gender and identity. One has a sexual encounter with another man, without considering it either as an expression of homosexuality or infidelity and discusses it with his wife afterwards. The other finds himself in nocturnal dreams where he is seen as a woman, stirring confusion and leading him to question how much his personality is shaped by the gaze of others.