Global Flicks: India’s election and political tensions halt documentary releases in Bollywood
Africa: South Africa’s struggling cinema chain Ster-Kinekor is set to terminate 236 employees – a third of its entire workforce – and up to nine of its cinema complexes. The chain blames the dramatic change on a “significant” decrease in cinema goers and less content being released during 2023 and 2024 due to Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes. Staff are asking why there is no downsizing within upper management levels, whether directors are getting fees for their board positions, and whether those will be decreased.
ODYSSEY documentary explores the development of Yoruba music, from its origins to the international popularity of Afrobeats, covering 100 years. Renowned Nigerian filmmaker Abba T. Makama says the documentary will include enlightening conversations with important members of the industry, providing a thorough story that delves into the impact of religion, colonialism, and social interactions on forming the genre. ODYSSEY will explore various Yoruba musical genres like Sakara, Apala, Ajiwere, Fuji, Juju, and Highlife, showcasing the evolution of the genre in the last century. The film is planned to be released in 2025.
She Rises Up, a documentary about the intersection of women and poverty, has been acquired for North American theatrical distribution by Aborama. Directed by Maureen Castle Tusty and executive produced by James Tusty for Sky Films, the film chronicles the journeys of three women who are working to lift their communities out of poverty through their individual local businesses. Gladys Yupanqui of Peru founded a mini-market and is looking to expand. Magatte Wade of Senegal is building a cosmetics manufacturing company. Selyna Peiris of Sri Lanka is expanding the textile company founded by her mother. Five-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo composed and recorded an original title song for the film. Roco Films will screen She Rises Up in non-traditional spaces such as college campuses, non-profits, churches, and more. Abramorama will be handling theatrical release. The film will open in New York City on June 21 at the Look Dine-In Cinemas followed by other cities across the U.S.
New Nollywood film FLAWS starring Diana Childs, Kunle Remie, Kiki Bakare, and Chrisi Heuwa is set to release soon. The film is about a woman who was held hostage by a deadly gang and escapes. After her release, her husband still seeks revenge.
Asia: Release of Indian feature film The Sabarmati Report has been delayed by three months due to political tensions surrounding the upcoming election. India’s six-week election period will run until June 1, and by June 5, the world will know whether controversial Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been given a third term. The Sabarmati Report, now airing August 2, is a political movie focused on journalists attempting to uncover the cause behind the burning of the Sabarmati express train during the 2002 Gujarat riots, which killed 58 Hindu pilgrims and led to unprecedented clashes between Hindus and Muslims. Modi, then Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat, was accused of condoning the violence along with other government officials. The producers of The Sabarmati Report opted to postpone the premiere after being warned of potential conflicts and heightened communal tensions around the time of election, especially because the movie could be deemed a pro-Modi take on the affair. Due to the delayed release, Bollywood’s relationship with India’s political machine is now under scrutiny. This is the fourth Bollywood film this year that has been pushed off screens due to government intervention, and three additional films have been accused of inciting political conflict and distorting history. Modi’s government took office in 2014. Since then, concerns have been raised both domestically and internationally that it has explicit biases against religious minorities, predominantly Muslims. With Modi’s BJP expected to win a third term in office, Bollywood cinema-lovers reportedly feel uncertain for the freedom of expression in India’s beloved film industry.
Bill Kong, producer of Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, aims to reset the martial arts genre with The Furious. Bill Kong has a reputation for being a “key gateway” between Hollywood and China. With his new movie The Furious, Kong aims to bring the world together and revive the spirit of martial arts. The Furious will be directed by Japanese stunt director and action choreographer Tanigaki Kenji. The film features a pan-Asian cast headed by China’s Xie Miao, Indonesia’s Joe Taslim (Star Trek Beyond), Thailand’s Jeeja Yanin (Chocolate), Yang Enyu and Indonesia’s Yayan Ruhian (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens). The film started production in Bangkok, Thailand, late April.
“I’m going to do an action movie that rocks the world. And to prove that Hong Kong still has something to give the film industry. I want to show that Asian people can still make an action movie that is better than the rest of the world,” Kong tells Variety.
Co-directed by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó is the new feature documentary Agent of Happiness. The film follows Amber, one of the many agents employed by the country of Bhutan, to measure its Gross National Happiness. The documentary asks how one measures happiness – one of the goals of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness index. Amber travels door to door to meet people and measure how happy they really are. Agent of Happiness premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received wide acclaim. Cinephil sold the documentary to a wide range of international territories including the U.K. and Ireland, Germany and Austria, Australia and New Zealand, Italy, and more.
India-Taiwan co-production Demon Hunters will be unveiled at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. The action-horror-comedy film is directed by Chen Mei-Juin. It is produced by Light House Productions (Taiwan) and Kleos Entertainment Group (India), with the backing of the Taiwan government. The cast is headlined by India’s Arjan Bajwa and Taiwan’s J.C. Lin. The film is set to premiere globally this winter.
Gerel Byamba - Daughter of Genghis
Europe: Dutch public broadcaster VPRO has acquired Netherlands broadcast rights to Daughter of Genghis. The documentary follows Mongolian gang leader and single mother Gerel Byamba, who is the leader of Gerel Khas, an ultra-nationalist organization made up entirely of women who aim to cleanse Mongolia of corruption and Chinese oppression. In the film, Byamba focuses her fight against the prostitution of Mongolian women to Chinese clients, seeking a gender equal and racially pure Mongolia. “Daughters of Genghis” made its world premiere in March at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen.
Gurinder Chadha is in the process of creating a Bollywood adaptation to A Christmas Carol, named Christmas Karma. Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) signed on to lead an ensemble cast as Scrooge, alongside Eva Longoria, Boy George, Billy Porter, Hugh Bonneville, and more. Chadha, who wrote the pic, will also be directing and producing.
Lorenzo Ferro - Simon de la Montaña
Latin America: Paris-based Luxbox, a sales company with multiple successful Spanish-language debuts, has swooped international sales rights to Simon of the Mountain (Simon de la Montaña), in the run-up to the Cannes Film Festival. The film is co-written by Federico Luis and stars Lorenzo “Toto” Ferro, one of Argentina’s highest-rated young actors. Ferro plays Simon, a lonely 21-year-old who falls in with a group of people just like him. Through their friendship, he grows immensely and finds a new sense of belonging. Simon of the Mountain aims to motivate young audiences to reinvent the rules for themselves and for others. Luxbox CEO Fiorella Moretti and Head of International Sales Jennyfer Gautier said the film “questions identity in a way we have never seen before.”
Luxbox has also acquired international sales rights to the debut solo feature effort from Chilean Binko Tomičić Salinas, The Dog Thief. The film follows an adolescent shoe-shining orphan, Martín (Franklin Aro Huasco), in his quest to get closer to a lonely tailor in town whom he believes to be his father.
“We’re extremely happy to join the journey of The Dog Thief, a film that discusses fatherhood and love and universal subjects through a local and intriguing story that happens in La Paz, Bolivia,” Luxbox CEO Fiorella Moretti told Variety.
Miami-based MGE Media acquired international distribution rights to Katherina Harder’s feature debut, La Pérgola de las Flores. The film is produced by Parox, the Chilean producers of mini-series Allende, The Thousand Days (Los mil días de Allende), which is nominated for three Premios Platino. Written by Parox producer and showrunner Leonora González and Catalina Calcagni, La Pérgola de las Flore is an adaptation of the famous 1960s stage musical that has enthralled three generations in Chile. Set in the 1930s, “La Pérgola de las Flores” is a love triangle focusing on the struggle of flower stall owners against the authorities who attempt to remove their stands along Santiago de Chile’s Alameda Avenue.
Colombian director-producer Simon Brand and Miami-based media executive producer Daniel Eilemberg have joined forces with the founders of Emmy-winning Imaginer Films, Julio César and Laura Franco, to launch Clover Studios, a new production services company in Colombia. The new enterprise is in response to Colombia’s significant growth as a major production center. In 2023, the upcoming sequel “Paddington in Peru” was mostly shot in Colombia.
“We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with Julio and Laura,” said Brand and Eilemberg, adding: “With Clover, we aim to harness the creativity and passion of Colombia’s vibrant film community and contribute to making Colombia the most important production hub in South America.”
Roya Sadat - JASON REDMOND
Middle East: The Sharp Edge of Peace, created by Afghanistan filmmaker Roya Sadat, impressed audiences at Hot Docs last week. The film follows four women leaders, Fatima Gailani, Fawzia Koofi, Habiba Sarabi and Sharifa Zumati, who risk their lives as they find a way to sit at the negotiating table with the Taliban to ensure justice for women. The filming process began in 2020, when Kabul was a dangerous place ahead of the U.S. troops’ withdrawal and the impending return of the Taliban. Access to government and civil institutions was restricted. In 2021, Kabul fell to the Taliban and Sadat, the production team, and the film’s characters were exiled. The film was finally completed against all odds, however, The Sharp Edge of Peace will not be shown in Afghanistan.
“The Taliban is in control in Afghanistan and they have deprived women of their most basic rights. If gender apartheid were officially recognized in the world, gender apartheid would be taking place in Afghanistan,” said Sadat. “Our film, like ourselves, is in exile, and I am sure that one day it will be screened in Kabul’s Ariana Cinema, as well as in Herat, Kabul and Kandahar, when our homeland is free again,” Sadat said.
Palestinian director Maysaloun Hamoud has released a new female revenge thriller, named Beretta. Written by Qatari-American artist, writer, and filmmaker Sophia al-Maria, Beretta is described as a female-driven Taxi Driver style thriller centered on a selectively mute woman seeking revenge after she is attacked by a stranger. This will be Hamoud’s second feature after In Between (Bar Bahar), about three Palestinian women sharing an apartment in contemporary Tel Aviv, navigating religious, sexual, and racial fault lines away from home.
Arab distributor Mad Solutions has taken distribution rights for Arab world territories on French director Jonathan Millet’s Ghost Trail, ahead of the psychological thriller’s world premiere as the opening film at Cannes Critics’ Week. Inspired by real life events, the film is a story of a Syrian man named Hamid (Bessa) who is a part of a secret group pursuing fugitive leaders who committed horrible crimes in the name of the Syrian regime during the country’s civil war. Ghost Trail is being sold by French arthouse production and distribution giant MK2.
