The European Film Market (EFM) is hosting a day-long event on diversity, equity and inclusion on Feb. 16, bringing together a host of industry stakeholders in an effort to set the agenda for better representation — both on and off screen — in Europe’s film and television industries. The Equity and Inclusion Pathways Seminar will…

Zia Mohyeddin, a British-Pakistani actor known for films “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Immaculate Conception” and the stage version of “A Passage to India,” died on Monday in Karachi. He was 91. Mohyeddin was ill and was on life support in a Karachi hospital, his family said. Mohyeddin was born in Lylallpur (now Faisalabad), British India,…

James Flynn, an experienced Irish producer and executive, who recently co-produced Oscar favorite “The Banshees of Inisherin,” has died age 57. He died on Feb 11 of an undisclosed illness, Irish media reported. Early in his career, Flynn was appointed as head of development at John Boorman’s Merlin Films International. Later he co-founded Metropolitan Film…

Powerhouse Banijay Iberia is joining forces with Spain’s top soccer federation LaLiga to launch new sports-related content production, LaLiga Studios. The strategic deal sees Banijay tapping into its production expertise and LaLiga, its soccer knowledge and reputation, in a drive to establish LaLiga Studios as a global benchmark in the creation of content related to…

Mohammad Rasoulof, winner of the 2020 Berlin Golden Bear for “There Is No Evil,” has been temporarily released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being arrested last July for criticizing the government on social media. Rasoulof, 50, was incarcerated on July 8 after posting an appeal urging Iranian security forces to stop using weapons during May…

The BBC has commissioned “Grenfell,” a three-part drama about the devastating 2017 fire at Grenfell Tower in West London that killed 72 people. The drama will draw on some five years of research, including public sources, the inquiry hearings, and extensive interviews conducted by BAFTA-winning writer-director Peter Kosminsky (“The Undeclared War”) and associate producer Ahmed Peerbux,…

Smash hit reality format “The Traitors” is heading to major European markets following its success in the Netherlands, U.K. and U.S. Finland and Denmark are the two latest territories set to adapt the IDTV-produced format, sold globally by All3Media International. In Finland, Fremantle will produce the Finnish version, while in Denmark, Blu will produce for…

The BBC has acquired Vice’s explosive documentary about controversial influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate. Vice Distribution, the global distribution arm of Vice Media Group, has sold “The Dangerous Rise of Andrew Tate” to the British public broadcaster, where the hour-long documentary will air on youth-oriented channel BBC Three. The film is available on BBC…

Mainland China’s cinema box office slowed to a lukewarm $75 million nationwide total over the weekend as theaters awaited new titles to replace the blockbusters that dominated January’s Lunar New Year holiday season. Sci-fi thriller “The Wandering Earth 2” held on to the top spot for the second weekend with a $24.5 million haul between…

Heretic has closed a raft of deals on Sundance prize-winning documentary “And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine,” with Picturehouse Entertainment acquiring U.K. rights ahead of the film’s European premiere in the Generation 14plus strand at the Berlin Film Festival. The Athens-based outfit also closed deals for Italy (Teodora Film), Benelux, (September Film), Poland…