“Snow,” an Austrian-German co-production and one of 16 titles presented in the Berlinale Series Market Selects showcase, weaves the timely issue of climate change and local folklore into a suspenseful mystery drama set in the picturesque Austrian Alps. Brigitte Hobmeier stars as Lucia, a physician who with her husband and children moves to the village,…
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s ‘Saturday Afternoon’ Scores U.S., Canada Release with CEPL, Reliance Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)
Singapore-based film marketing and distribution firm Continental Entertainment Pte. Ltd. (CEPL), which holds global distribution rights for Bangladeshi auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s “Saturday Afternoon,” will release the film in the U.S. and Canada through Reliance Entertainment. The Bengali-and-English-language film takes its cue from the brutal terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in…
‘I Love the Craziness of This Industry’: Nikolaj Lie Kaas Affectionately Spoofs Danish Showbiz in New Series ‘Agent’
Nikolaj Lie Kaas’ series “Agent,” shown at Berlinale Series, centers around Joe, who has high hopes for his famous clients. But it’s not another remake of a certain French smash. “I started writing it before ‘Call My Agent!’ even came out. Then I saw it on Netflix and went: ‘Oh, for f**k’s sake…’,” Danish actor-turned-director…
Endemol Shine Israel, Munich’s Neuesuper Ink Hit Comedy Series ‘Nevsu’ German Redo for ZDF (EXCLUSIVE)
Banijay’s Endemol Shine Israel and Munich-based producer Neuesuper (“8 Days”) have inked German adaptation rights to Israeli hit comedy series “Nevsu,” to air on public broadcaster ZDF. Israel’s “Nevsu” won the International Emmy Award for best comedy series in 2018. Its German adaptation, “I Don’t Work Here,” sees three generations from two worlds come together…
Studiocanal, Working Title’s ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It?’ Snapped Up by Shout! Studios for U.S., Canada Distribution (EXCLUSIVE)
Shout! Studios has acquired U.S. and Canada rights to Studiocanal and Working Title’s cross-cultural British romantic comedy “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” with a view to releasing it in late spring, it was revealed at Berlin’s European Film Market on Tuesday. Directed by veteran Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (“Elizabeth”), “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”…
ZDF Studios to Distribute Second Season Reboot of Legendary Spanish Horror Series ‘Stories to Stay Awake’ (EXCLUSIVE)
ZDF Studios has signed a deal to distribute the second season of the remake of the iconic Spanish horror series “Stories to Stay Awake” (“Historias Para No Dormir”). The series is a reboot of the classic series created by Spain’s Chicho Ibáñez Serrador in the 1960s which proved a milestone in Spanish horror, introducing Spain…
Crime Shows Venture Outside the ‘Damaged, Middle-Aged White Detective Slot on a Sunday night’
Crime shows look for a new angle, argued Berlinale Series participants on Monday. There is no shortage of new offerings, from Berlinale Market Selects’ “Two Sides of the Abyss,” Serbia’s “The Fall” or South Africa’s “Donkerbos,” created by Nico Scheepers, to China’s melancholic, decades-spanning “Why Try to Change Me Now,” with Golden Bear winner Yinan…
‘It’s an Optimistic Story, It’s Just Not ‘Pollyanna’’: Eco Thriller ‘Tipping Point’ Looks for Hope Amid Climate Crisis
Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series title “Tipping Point” heads to the end of the world – Svalbard – to tell a story of a young activist at war with her oil exec father, until he is murdered. Chasing a piece of stolen software which can be used either to destroy the world or improve it, just like the…
Roger Stone Doc ‘A Storm Foretold,’ ‘Total Trust,’ About Chinese Surveillance State, Wim Wenders’ ‘A Sense of Place’ Head CPH:DOX Lineup
The Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, also known as CPH:DOX, has unveiled the full program of its 20th edition, which includes 200 new films, more than half of which are world premieres, sealing CPH:DOX’s reputation as one of the leading events of its kind in Europe. For the first time, all 13 films competing for…
How Showrunner Frank Doelger Applied What He Learned on ‘Game of Thrones’ to Eco-Thriller ‘The Swarm’
When Frank Doelger, a six-time Emmy award-winning showrunner, whose credits include “Game of Thrones,” “John Adams” and “Rome,” was preparing to adapt Frank Schätzing’s 900-page novel “The Swarm” into an eight-part eco-thriller, he resolved to place it in a different genre. Whereas the novel read like a “disaster movie,” Doelger wanted the series to be…