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Exclusive: Julie Delpy is joining 2x Cannes Film Festival winner Ruben Östlund’s next movie, The Entertainment System Is Down.

The Before Sunrise actress joins an ensemble cast that includes Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, Keanu Reeves, Nicholas Braun, Tobias Menzies, Connor Swindells, Daniel Webber, Wayne Blair, Dan Wyllie, Lindsay Duncan, Allan Corduner, Sofia Tjelta Sydness, Erin Ainsworth, Myles Kamwendo, Elle Piper, Thibaud Dooms, Sanna Sundqvist, Tea Stjärne, Swedish artist Benjamin Ingrosso and Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Delpy recently wrapped shooting Matt Charman’s limited series The Choice for Netflix, where she leads the series as the French President.

Östlund’s darkly satirical project is set on a long-haul flight between England and Australia where the entertainment system fails and passengers are forced to face the horror of being bored. Two-time Oscar nominee Östlund won the Palme d’Or twice in 2022 for his political comedy Triangle of Sadness as well as 2017 for The Square.

The Miami Film Festival today revealed the lineup for its upcoming 42nd edition, a slate of almost 200 narratives, documentaries, and short films, including 35 world premieres.

The cinematic showcase, set to unfold April 3-13, will open with Meet the Barbarians, directed by and starring two-time Oscar nominee Julie Delpy. The French-born star and filmmaker will receive the festival’s Impact Award on April 3. The festival, a presentation of Miami Dade College, will close with On Swift Horses, the drama directed by Daniel Minahan that stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, and Sasha Calle.

Musician Willy Chirino

Mff will host the world premiere of Chirino directed by Jorge A. Soliño, “the story of Willy Chirino, one of the greatest musicians in the history of Cuban music.” Among the festival’s other world premieres are Ethan Bloom, directed by Herschel Faber; A Line of Fire, directed by Matt Shapira; Interstate,...

Miami Dade College’s (Mdc) Miami Film Festival has announced its lineup for its upcoming festival taking place from April 3 – 13 in Miami. This year’s festival includes a number of highly-anticipated premieres, plus special honoree events, anniversary celebrations, and a raft of awards-focused entrants.

Mostly, it will be quite the event for fans of Julie Delpy (count us in), whose latest directorial effort, “Meet the Barbarians,” will open the festival on April 3. The multihyphenate will also be on hand to receive the festival’s Impact Award, and on April 4, she will offer an extended introduction to a 30th-anniversary screening of Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise.” The festival will close with “On Swift Horses,” directed by Daniel Minahan, on April 12.

Other highlights include honors for Mark Duplass, Paul Feig, Melanie Lynskey, Roger Ross Williams, and Billy Zane. Other anniversary specials include “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “Center Stage,” and “Pride & Prejudice.

Julie Delpy had a Göteborg crowd in stitches on Wednesday as she accepted theHonorary Dragon Award.

“I am filming it so that my son believes me,” she told the audience which welcomed her with a standing ovation.

As an actor, Delpy collaborated with the likes of Linklater, Kieślowski, Volker Schlöndorff and Agnieszka Holland. Her very first film, “Detective,” was directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

“It was really exciting to work with them. What’s happening?! I thought they were all going to come out now,” she said, startled by a technical glitch.

“I also did a few bad films, but nobody has ever prepared That list. Everyone has forgotten about them, because that’s what happens to bad films. Which is good.”

Eager to pursue directing from an early age, she quickly ran into a wall.

“I was born into a feminist family and raised with this idea that I’m 100% equal.

Charades has picked up international sales rights to Dominik Moll’s completed thriller Case 137 (Dossier 137), starring Lea Drucker ahead of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris in late January.

Set in the internal affairs department of the French national police, Drucker plays an investigator tasked with an incident involving a young man severely wounded during a protest in Paris that takes a personal turn when she discovers the victim is from her hometown.

Moll has co-written the script with Gilles Marchand and the producers are Haut et Court and France 2 Cinema. Backers are Canal+, Ciné+, France Televisions, the Cnc and Creative Europe Media.

Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival will open with a world premiere screening of Norweigan filmmaker Eirik Svensson’s latest feature Safe House (Før mørket).

Set during the Central African Republic’s civil war in 2013, the film centers on a desperate Muslim man seeking refuge in a field hospital on Christmas Eve, while a threatening Christian militia gathers outside, demanding his life. At the heart of the events is Norwegian aid worker Linn, played by Kristine Kujath Thorp, who must make moral decisions to protect the man without endangering her colleagues.

The film will screen in satellite venues across Sweden at the same time as the Göteborg premiere. The film will also be available to watch through the festival’s digital platform.

Göteborg will this year also hand honorary awards to Thomas Vinterberg and Julie Delpy. The festival has said it is honoring Vinterberg for his deft talent for portraying “deeply...

The Honorary Dragon Award will be given to the famous French-American actor, writer, and director Julie Delpy at the 2025 Göteborg Film Festival. Her important contributions to world cinema are honored at this event, Scandinavia’s biggest film and television festival.

It’s planned that Delpy will attend the event to show her newest movie, “Meet the Barbarians.” In this movie, we follow a Syrian family as they try to find safety in Northern France. In Göteborg on January 29, at the same time as the film’s premiere, the awards ceremony will occur at Cinema Draken. Delpy will take part in a Q&a session after the showing.

The festival’s artistic head, Pia Lundberg, praised Delpy for her unique voice in making movies. “Her work blends humor, depth, and sensitivity in a way that resonates with audiences worldwide,” he said. She breaks new ground and inspires us.” We are very...

French multi-hyphenate Julie Delpy will be honored with the Honorary Dragon Award at the 2025 Göteborg Film Festival, organizers announced Thursday.

The veteran filmmaker and actor will attend the Swedish festival to present her latest directorial effort, the satire Meet the Barbarians, and participate in an on-stage conversation about her four-decade career spanning both sides of the camera.

“Julie Delpy is a unique voice in the world of film. Her work blends humor, depth, and sensitivity in a way that resonates with audiences worldwide. She is a trailblazer and an inspiration — we are truly proud to honor her with this year’s Honorary Dragon Award,” said the Göteborg Film Festival’s artistic director, Pia Lundberg.

The festival will present a four-film retrospective showcasing Delpy’s evolution from acclaimed actor to writer-director. The program includes Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours: White (1994), Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (1995), and two films she directed: 2 Days in Paris...

Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival will open with a world premiere screening of Norweigan filmmaker Eirik Svensson’s latest feature Safe House (Før mørket).

Set during the Central African Republic’s civil war in 2013, the film centers on a desperate Muslim man seeking refuge in a field hospital on Christmas Eve, while a threatening Christian militia gathers outside, demanding his life. At the heart of the events is Norwegian aid worker Linn, played by Kristine Kujath Thorp, who must make moral decisions to protect the man without endangering her colleagues.

The film will screen in satellite venues across Sweden at the same time as the Göteborg premiere. The film will also be available to watch through the festival’s digital platform.

Göteborg will this year also hand honorary awards to Thomas Vinterberg and Julie Delpy. The festival has said it is honoring Vinterberg for his deft talent for portraying “deeply...

Two-time Oscar-nominated French-American actor and director Julie Delpy has been unveiled as the recipient of the 2025 Honorary Dragon Award at Sweden’s upcoming Göteborg Film Festival, the biggest film-tv event in Scandinavia.

Delpy, known for her distinctive voice in international cinema, will attend the festival for the screening and to accept the prestigious award, participate in a talk and present her latest film, “Meet the Barbarians,” in which she follows the journey of a Syrian family who find refuge in a village in Northern France.

Göteborg will also celebrate Delpy’s distinguished career with a retrospective of some of her most beloved works.

Over the span of four decades, Delpy has earned recognition as both a celebrated actor and a talented director and writer. She gained early widespread acclaim with her performances in films such as “Three Colors: White” and “Before Sunrise,” in which she portrayed Céline, a role that...

In the lively world of modern French film, Julie Delpy proves herself once more as a master storyteller with “Meet the Barbarians,” a razor-sharp comedy that looks at the difficulties of integrating refugees through the lens of a small Breton town. Delpy, known for her complex stories and ability to mix humor with deep social commentary, works in front of and behind the camera to create a funny and deeply personal story.

The movie is set in the beautiful commune of Paimpont. It shows how a group of people have to deal with their attitudes when a Syrian family replaces the Ukrainian refugees they were expecting. As the story goes on, the town’s original excitement quickly fades into reluctance, ignorance, and xenophobia that is barely hidden.

The movie’s plot seems very simple: a local schoolteacher named Joëlle (Delpy) fights for refugees to be welcomed. This sets the stage...

Julie Delpy’s Meet The Barbarians will open the 21st edition of the Seville European Film Festival on November 8. The Spanish festival turns the spotlight on European films during this year’s awards season.

Meet The Barbarians is a satire about the arrival of a group of refugees in a village in Brittany.

The official selection includes 19 titles in competition for its top award: the Golden Giraldillo, named after the statue that crowns Sevilla’s Cathedral, La Giralda.

The prize comes with €40,000 for the Spanish distributor of the winning film or €20,000 for the company that submitted the film to the...

Netflix has officially boarded “The Sand Castle” that sees Lebanese multi-hyphenate Nadine Labaki reunite on screen with “Capernaum” siblings Zain and Reman Al Rafeea.

The streaming giant has set a Jan. 24, 2025, global drop date for the hotly anticipated thriller.

U.S. director Matty Brown — whose shorts have won accolades — makes his feature film debut with “The Sand Castle” which is the tale of an Arabic family of four stuck on a seemingly idyllic island. There, the family begins to uncover dark secrets that they struggle to keep from their youngest, Jana.

“As events spiral out of control and the line between reality and fiction blurs, the family is forced to confront harsh truths and difficult choices, testing their resilience and their hopes of making it back home,” says the provided synopsis.

The film’s ensemble cast also features Palestinian actor Ziad Bakri (“Meet the Barbarians”).

Brown co-wrote “Sand Castle” with...

The Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) has unveiled the line-up for its comeback 45th edition, taking place from November 13-22.

The world premiere of Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi’s Passing Dreams will open the festival, as part of a focus on Palestinian cinema.

Passing Dreams is a drama about a 12-year-old boy who embarks on a journey across Palestine, while chasing a carrier pigeon, convinced it has returned to its original owner.

The line-up includes three Palestinian feature documentaries competing for the best Arab film awards in the Horizons of Arab Cinema programme, and the best Palestinian film award.

Carol Mansour...

Exclusive: Charades has acquired international sales rights to glam gore zombie comedy Queens of the Dead by Tina Romero, daughter of legendary director George A. Romero, ahead of the AFM.

The cast, revealed by Deadline earlier this year, features Jaquel Spivey (Mean Girls), Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Margaret Cho (Fire Island), Brigette Lundy-Paine (I Saw The TV Glow) and Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story).

Co-written by Erin Judge and Romero, the movie follows a group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies who must put aside their personal dramas and use their unique skills to fight the brain-thirsty undead when a zombie apocalypse breaks out on the night of a giant warehouse party.

Others featuring in the cast of the film from Vanishing Angle include Nina West (Rupaul’s Drag Race), Tomas Matos (Fire Island), Quincy Dunn-Baker (No Hard Feelings), Becca Blackwell (Bros), Shaunette Renée Wilson (Black Panther), Dominique Jackson...

AFI Fest is primed and ready to roll out.

The American Film Institute revealed the full lineup for this month’s festival, scheduled to take place in Los Angeles from Oct. 23-27. Joining the previously announced roster of films will be Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5, Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light, Samir Oliveros’ The Luckiest Man in America, Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault’s abortion rights documentary Zurawski v Texas (executive produced by Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Jennifer Lawrence), and Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, among many others.

The lineup includes six red carpet premieres, 12 special screenings, 13 luminaries picks, 15 discovery films, 12 world cinema films, 14 documentaries, four after-dark titles, 54 films in the short film competition and 28 films from the AFI Conservatory Showcase presented by AMC Networks. Other notable titles include Durga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour Tristesse with Chloë Sevigny; Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste; Paolo Sorrentino...

The promise of a French social satire that delves into Gallic xenophobia and a global refugee crisis does not, unfortunately, seem like something that might gather wide audience interest. However, if you add in the fact that Meet the Barbarians (Les barbares in French) is helmed by July Delpy, an icon of French cinema and co-star of Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, perhaps more would have their interest piqued. Set in a picturesque small town in Frances Brittany region, this tale of life in Paimpont has moments of gentle humor, a dash of romance, and a whole lot of political commentary.

In the culture-clash comedy “Meet the Barbarians,” actor-director Julie Delpy lays bare a number of Western hypocrisies. The film follows several townspeople in the struggling French commune of Paimpont, who vote to welcome a handful of Ukrainian refugees, but are caught by surprise when a Syrian family shows up instead. The ensuing response runs the gamut from clumsy to hostile, which Delpy captures by applying a documentary-like lens to the town’s fabric, and to their Arab guests. The result is a movie that, though it never quite achieves the dramatic highs for which it aspires, proves eye-wateringly funny.

The film flies out the gate with an energy reminiscent of “The Office,” as bumbling mayor Sébastien Lejeune (Jean-Charles Clichet) regales a TV news crew with his plans to welcome a Ukrainian family. The city council votes overwhelmingly in favor. Even potential holdout Hervé Riou (Laurent Lafitte), the sour-faced town plumber,...

You might not expect a movie centered on a refugee crisis to be a comedy, but that’s the case with “Meet the Barbarians.” That said, director Julie Delpy worked to make sure she balanced the comedic tone with proper respect for the subject matter.

The film centers on a town in France that agrees to take in refugees from Ukraine — ironically, this script was already written before Russia’s war with Ukraine began — only to be visibly upset when it turns out that said refugees are actually Syrian.

In crafting the story, Delpy wanted to “reflect on our own inability to empathize,” while still keeping a comedic element. According to the director, who stopped by TheWrap’s 2024 TIFF Studio sponsored by Moët & Chandon and Boss Design, it took quite a while to get it just right.

“We worked many years on finding the right tone, in bringing in the moving moments,...

Filmmakers, like humans, mellow with age; at least, that’s the refrain we usually hear. But this adage is arguably true in the case of filmmaker Julie Delpy, now 54. Her social and dark commentaries always had some terrific bite to them; her Woody Allen-esque romantic comedies “2 Days in Paris” and “2 Days In New York,” in particular, replete with hilarious observations on the peculiarities of neurotic people, but from a feminine perspective. She’s directed many features since, including the mild midlife crisis/pandemic-set Netflix series “On The Verge.” Still, her latest feature, the idealistic, lefty, feel-good immigration comedy “Meet The Barbarians,” is also fairly slight, without much of the amusing prickle of her earlier works.

Continue reading ‘Meet The Barbarians’ Review: Julie Delpy’s Immigration Dramedy Is Well-Meaning, But Mild & Slight [TIFF] at The Playlist.

With eight movies in just over two decades, actress turned filmmaker Julie Delpy has carved out a curious niche for herself on both sides of the Atlantic. Based in Los Angeles but working predominantly in France, collaborating with Richard Linklater (the Before trilogy) on one hand and Gallic stars like Dany Boon (Lolo) on the other, switching from drama (The Countess) to comedy (Le Skylab) and back again (My Zoe), Delpy, like the frazzled characters she often plays on screen, isn’t easy to pin down.

And yet her latest work, the refugee satire Meet the Barbarians (Les Barbares), is probably her most bluntly French film to date, and certainly her most political one. But it may also be her least funny movie, steeping to clichés and caricature in its depiction of a picturesque Breton village that welcomes a family of Syrians escaping from the war. Sporting a heartfelt pro-immigrant...

Until its full plot unfolds, viewers are likely to assume “Meet the Barbarians” is a sweetly nostalgic comedy. And in some ways, they’d be right. Director Julie Delpy structures her new film as a fairy tale, going so far as to introduce the action with a literal “Once upon a time in Paimpont …”

She gives us a delightful setting, heroes and villains, five distinct acts and a strong moral lesson. But while the tale is timeless, the time is two years ago. And Paimpont, a charming hamlet in Brittany, could be any number of small towns or big cities today.

Paimpont happens to be an ancient village so tiny, everyone is involved in every decision. When the film begins, the mayor, Sébastien (Jean-Charles Clichet), is proudly announcing a new initiative: Paimpont has decided to adopt a family of Ukrainian refugees. The whole town is vibrating with excitement, until they...

Exclusive: With the fall festival season well underway, Anonymous Content is finding its groove after a period of change.

The company worked on a slew of projects that launched at the Venice Film Festival, including the first four episodes of Alfonso Curarón’s limited series Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline, a project produced via its production arm AC Studios. There was also Liz Lo’s documentary Mistress Dispeller, which it exec produced, and Vermiglio, an Italian World War II film that it is co-selling with Charades.

Meanwhile, Telluride saw the debut of Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, which Anonymous produced with Plan B Entertainment and Louverture Films.

And there’s more to come with the Julie Delpy-directed Meet the Barbarians set for a Gala premiere in Toronto and Brett Story and Steve Maing’s doc Union, which is set...

Fall festival season picked up this last week with Venice and Telluride, and now Toronto is just around the corner, from 5-15 September 2024. This year, we’re seeing an exciting number of festival-favorite auteurs return, including Jia Zhang-ke (“Caught with the Wind”), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (“Cloud”), Mohammad Rassoulof (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”), and Hong Sang-soo (“By the Stream”). For those who are in Toronto and are interested in the older classics, TIFF Classics offers some delectable 4k restorations of South Asian and Iranian selects this year, including Raj Kapoor‘s classic “Awara” (1951) and Sohrab Shahid Saless‘ “Time of Maturity” (1976).

In addition to these, genre films seem to make up a healthy number of Asian selections this year. Korean blockbuster star Hyun-bin returns in Woo Min-ho’s latest historical spy movie, “Harbin,” and Tumpbal Tampubolon‘s “Crocodile Tears” promises a “slow-burning suspense thriller.” Three of the infamously-campy Midnight Madness screenings...

French-American actor and director Julie Delpy has tackled culture clash in comedies before in ”Two Days in Paris” and “Two Days in New York,” but it’s never been as poignant as in “Meet the Barbarians,” where she explores the journey of a Syrian family who find refuge in a village in Northern France.

The movie, which marks Delpy’s feature comeback after helming the Netflix series “On the Verge,” is set in Paimpont, a small town in France’s Brittany region that is preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees. But instead of Ukrainians, Syrian refugees settle in town, causing some tension among locals and testing their liberal beliefs.

Charades is at Venice selling the film, which will screen at the Toronto Film Festival, and also has “Vermiglio” and “Their Children After Them” on its sales slate.

Delpy penned, directed and stars in the film as Joelle, a progressive schoolteacher who...

The time has come for the annual presentation of the Toronto International Film Festival. The festivities will include many premieres of titles, whether it be their big world premiere, their North American premiere, or even just their Canadian premiere. Deadline has unveiled a number of upcoming films that attendees are expected to see this year.

Among those premiering are some star-studded affairs, such as the war drama Without Blood, which stars Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir and is directed by Angelina Jolie. The film is based on the Alessandro Baricco novel. Hard Truths from Mike Leigh stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste. That film is being described as an “Ongoing exploration of the contemporary world with a tragicomic study of human strengths and weaknesses.”

The Last Showgirl will premiere. The movie follows a seasoned stage dancer who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run and stars Dave Bautista,...

The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival have unveiled their lineup of 63 films from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. Notable titles include the world premieres of Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths and The Last Showgirl, the North American premieres of Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Harvest and Justin Kurzel’s The Order, the Canadian premiere of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The End, along with many favorites from this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Check out the lineup below.

Galas 2024 (in alphabetical order)

*Previously announced

Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe Cosima Spender | UK

World Premiere

Better Man Michael Gracey | USA

Canadian Premiere

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight Embeth Davidtz | South Africa

Canadian Premiere

Sales Title

*Eden Ron Howard | USA

World Premiere

Sales Title

*Elton John: Never Too Late R.J. Cutler, David Furnish | USA

World Premiere

*Harbin Woo Min-ho | South Korea

World Premiere

Meet the Barbarians...

The Toronto Film Festival has turned up the star power for its 49th edition, having added the latest movies from Alicia Vikander, Lupita Nyong’o, Steve Coogan, Ralph Fiennes, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Lily James and Riz Ahmed.

For the Gala section at Roy Thomson Hall, there’s world bows for two music specials: the Andrea Bocelli biopic Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe, a doc about the Italian tenor by director Cosima Spender; and Thom Zimny’s Bruce Springsteen doc for Disney+ and Hulu, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Zimny was in Toronto last year with his Sylvester Stallone documentary Sly for Netflix.

TIFF will also give a first look to Uberto Pasolini’s historical epic The Return, with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche reteaming after The English Patient. And there’s gala world premieres for Peter Cattaneo’s The Penguin Lessons, toplined by Steve Coogan and...

The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival announced its full lineup of Galas and Special Presentations today in what is a complete embarrassment of riches as the event blasts off after last year’s actors strike with 29 titles having rights for sale.

Among those movies making their world premieres is the Angelina Jolie-directed war drama Without Blood, starring Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir, based on the Alessandro Baricco novel. There’s also Mike Leigh’s first movie in six years, Hard Truths, with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, which is billed as an “ongoing exploration of the contemporary world with a tragicomic study of human strengths and weaknesses.”

Gia Coppola has the drama The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd, which follows a seasoned stage dancer who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run.

World premieres from Angelina Jolie, Mike Leigh, David Mackenzie, Edward Burns, Uberto Pasolini, Peter Cattaneo, and Rachel Morrison among the Gala and Special Presentation titles unveiled by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) today (July 22).

Hard Truths is a rare TIFF premiere for Leigh after the UK auteur’s last film Peterloo debuted in Venice in 2018, while Mr. Turner in 2014 and Another Year in 2010 both premiered in Cannes. Cornerstone represents sales and Bleecker Street will handle US distributon on the film, which stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste from Secrets And Lies.

Pasolini’s The Return marks his follow-up to Venice 2020 entry Nowhere Special...

The 49th Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled a star-studded lineup featuring a slew of highly-anticipated features this awards season.

IndieWire can confirm the Galas and Special Presentations programs that boast 63 films, including new titles from beloved directors like Mike Leigh, Morgan Neville, Jacques Audiard, and Edward Berger, whose papal drama “Conclave” will make its international premiere at the festival. (Meaning this American production will world-premiere at Telluride.)

The Galas program, sponsored by Dyson, includes buzzy Cannes titles like Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” and David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds.” Cronenberg will also be honored with the Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award during the festival.

The Special Presentations section marks the premiere of Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl” starring Pamela Anderson, as well as Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ “Heretic.”

The Galas and Special Presentations programs for 2024 boast films from 25 countries, including 29 sales titles.

“This Special Presentations section can...

Aiming to expand its footprint within the scripted space, Banijay Entertainment’s French label Screenline Productions has formed a creative partnership with the writers duo Matthieu Rumani and Nicolas Slomka.

Screenline just collaborated with Rumani and Slomka on the series “Trash,” an upcoming Prime Video

mini-series inspired by the real-life events of “Loft Story,” the French adaptation of “Big Brother” which marked the country’s first reality show of this kind in 2001.

The partnership gives Screenline access to any future projects and developments from Rumani and Slomka, who will also co-produce through their own company, Vodka & Caramel. The writers pair, meanwhile, will be able to leverage Screenline’s production expertise.

Banijay France CEO Alexia Laroche-Joubert, who produced “Loft Story” and even inspired one of the protagonist of “Trash,” said that “when (she) first came across the project, led by two young talented writers, (she) was immediately intrigued to delve into...

Ms Novak’s (Mia Wasikowska) students Fred (Luke Barker), Ragna (Florence Baker), Helen (Gwen Currant), Elsa (Ksenia Devriendt), and Ben (Samuel D Anderson) in Jessica Hausner’s bewitching Club Zero

In the second installment with Jessica Hausner on Club Zero (co-written with Geraldine Bajard) and scored by Markus Binder (European Film Award winner), starring Mia Wasikowska (as Conscious Eating instructor Ms Novak), we discussed her longtime collaborators, costume designer Tanja Hausner and cinematographer Martin Gschlacht plus Sidse Babett Knudsen and Peter & The Wolf.

Jessica Hausner on using Peter & The Wolf in Club Zero: “It’s a very common fairytale and we found out that it’s really very well known …” Photo: Anne Katrin Titze

The parents of the students are played by Elsa Zylberstein (Simone Veil in Olivier Dahan’s all-embracing portrait Simone: Woman Of The Century) Mathieu Demy, Camilla Rutherford...