Global Flicks: Ventana Sur Showcases São Paulo to Promote Internation Co-Productions
Africa: Nollywood Reinvented showcases five films that will be released this month to celebrate the holiday season. The films include A Tribe Called Judah, Malaika, Afamefuna: A Nwa-Boi Story, Ada omo Daddy, and Breath of Life.
Afreximbank started a $1 billion African film fund to support the continent's filmmakers. The film fund will be launched in 2024 and will support projects of African filmmakers, producers, and directors.
Luck Razanajaona’s Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story premieres at the Marrakech Film Festival. The film's production lasted nearly a decade and shines a light on Madagascar and the hopeful revolutionary stride of the youth.
Runs in the Family, written and directed by a father-son team, the Gabriels has premiered on Netflix. The LGBTQ+ road trip comedy film follows Ace Bhatti (EastEnders), playing a reformed con artist and single parent to a transmasculine son on a road trip across South Africa to break his son’s estranged mother out of rehab. The film stars Diaan Lawrenson (Netflix’s Ludik), Rob Van Vuuren (Netflix’s Seal Team), Cleo Wesley, Loren Loubser (TIFF’s High Fantasy), and Gabe Gabriel.
A Tribe Called Judah, co-directed by Adeoluwa Owu alongside Funke Akindele, will be released on December 15. The film stars Funke Akindele, Jide Kene Achufusi, Timini Egbuson, Uzee Usman, Tobi Makinde, and Olumide Oworu.
Play Network Studios is set with its Netflix debut, Blood Vessel, which will premiere on December 8. The film is directed by Moses Inwang and produced by Agozie Ugwu, Arafat Bello-Osagie, and Roxanne Adekunle-Wright. It stars David Ezekiel, Adaobi Dibor, Alex Budin, Jide Kene Achufusi, Levi Chikere, Obinna Okenwa, and Sylvester Ekanem.
I Hate It Here is an upcoming film from Polar Films Production and Bluehouse Studios starring Nse Ikpe-Etim, Toyin Oshinaike, Debo Macaroni, and Tiwalola Adebola-Walter and centers on a six-year-old Funmike who takes matters into her own hands when her father's mistreatment of her mother becomes untenable. The film is set to release next week.
Malaika is a film released in November by producer and actress Toyin Abraham Ajeyemi. It stars Anne Kansiime, Emeka Ike, Odunlade Adekola, Adebayo Ridwan Abidemi, Uzor Arukwe, Oderhohwo Joseph “Carter” Efe, Ibrahim Chatta, Pelumi Olawuni, and Taiwo Ajai-Lycett. The film focuses on the title character’s struggle to cope with infertility and anger issues.
Tiger Mask
Asia: Radhika Apte (Andhadhun) and Keerthy Suresh (Maamannan) will lead the new YRF Entertainment series Akka, with Dharmaraj Shetty set to direct.
The manga series Tiger Mask will be adapted into a live-action feature. This will be produced by Kodansha in collaboration with Fabula Pictures and Brandon Box. The story follows a hardened Japanese wrestler, Naoto Date, who returns from the U.S. fight against evil in Japan.
Gaga Corporation has sold a controlling share stake to Genda Inc. Chairman Tom Yoda will retain 22% in his own name and stay on as representative director. Sato Yuzo is set to become the representative director and president/CEO, and Kataoka Nao will become the board director at Gaga.
China’s e-commerce and entertainment giant, Alibaba revealed a 9% revenue improvement. The entertainment sector benefitted from a strong demand in the summer with ticket sales.
Chinese authorities have banned Guo Zhenming from traveling to Singapore for the premiere of his documentary film Tedious Days and Nights. The film was scheduled to play at the Singapore International Film Festival and organizers are still planning to screen the film.
Mario Cimarro and Nina Paw Hee-Ching are joining the cast of the series Coolie, produced by Cathay Film Company. The cast also includes Louise Wong (A Guilty Conscience), Joseph Chang (Eternal Summer), Mauricio Henao (La Herencia), Camila Arteche (Sergio & Serguei), and Sian Chiong (La Mexicana y el Guero).
ZEE5 Global has struck several deals to carry smaller Indian streamers in the U.S. on its service. The deals add several new languages to the streaming service, including Simply South (all Indian languages), Oho Gujarati (Gujarati), Chaupal (Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Haryanvi), NammaFlix (Kannada), EPIC ON (Hindi) and iStream (Malayalam).
Yosep Anggi Noen's next film is an untitled horror film produced by Palari Films. The film will star Happy Salma and Putri Marino. The film will begin filming in January in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
My Grandfather is a Nihonjin (Meu avô é um Nihonjin), an animated feature written by Rita Catunda and directed by Celia Catunda. The film is based on the popular novel by Oscar Nakasato and follows Noburu, his curiosity about his Japanese heritage, and his understanding of the difficult years of assimilating.
Uljana Kim - John Phillips / Stringer
Europe: Uljana Kim (The Natural History of Destruction) will be honored at this year’s European Film Awards with the 2023 Eurimages International Co-Production award. Studio Uljana Kim has produced 34 feature and documentary films, most premiering in international film festivals.
Liliane da Cruz and Samira Haddi have launched Indicium Consulting, an events management business for the entertainment industry. The pair debuted their new business last week at SICA 2023.
The Language of Birds
Latin America: Ventana Sur showcases efforts in São Paulo’s film-TV commission, Spcine, alongside Cinema do Brazil and Projeto Paradiso to promote the city’s cash rebate for foreign shoots and international co-productions.
The election of far-right Argentinian President Javier Milei has questioned the region's future of art and filmmaking. While campaigning, Milei promised to abolish Argentina’s Ministry of Culture and national film-TV agency INCAA.
Ariel Kuaray Ortega’s film Canuto’s Transformation premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. The film is co-directed by Ernesto de Carvalho and follows the tale of Canuto, a man who mysteriously transformed into a jaguar. The film mixes documentary and a re-enactment of the story.
Belgium’s Stenola Productions has boarded Elena, written by César Díaz (Our Mothers). Stenola will be joined by Norwegian lead producer Staer and Lithuania’s Just a Moment for the feature debut of Dalia Huerta Cano.
The Language of Birds (El Lenguaje de Los Pájaros) was written and directed by Cynthia Fernández Trejo. The film follows Natalia, a young girl in a village where children cease to exist and the adults in town are oblivious.
Compañía de Cine has picked up Nicolás Molina’s Pirópolis, selected as part of Ventana Sur’s Doc Sur sidebar. The film follows a fire brigade amidst social upheaval facing protests and captures a society’s transformation.
Habanero Film Sales has picked up the documentary I Trust You (En vos confio) from Juan Pablo Gugliotta and Nathalia Videla Peña’s Magma Cine (The Distinguished Citizen). The film is directed by Agustin Toscano (The Owners) and follows incarcerated former nuns Susana and Nélida at the Tucumán Women’s Prison since 2006, who are sentenced to 20 years for the alleged disappearance of a teacher friend.
Middle East: Fourth Wall and Chasing Red are the first two films to be shot at Saudi Arabia’s Film AlUla in partnership with Hollywood indie Stampede Ventures. AlUla wants to attract international productions and recently announced its partnership with Stampede Ventures.
The emergence of the Red Sea Film Foundation has driven film production in the Arab and African art spheres, with its main goal to support the local and regional film industry by organizing the festival, plus a focus on education and grants. The fund has supported many acclaimed filmmakers, such as Abderrahmane Sissako, Haifaa Al-Mansour, and Kaouther Ben Hania.
Untamed Talent has recently launched with the backing of Front Row Productions. Antone Saliba leads the management and production company and will focus on representing filmmakers from established Middle Eastern industry hubs and promoting talent from traditionally underrepresented countries.
