Global Flicks: Netflix announces new slates for south Africa and Europe, Sony Pictures to remake 366 days
Netflix Africa
Africa: Netflix has announced a new slate of upcoming projects for South African films such as:
Semi-Soeter, a follow-up of the Afrikaans film Semi-Soet, is a romantic comedy directed by Joshua Rous and produced by Anel Alexander and Zandré Coetzer.
A new family film titled Meet the Khumalos is written, directed, and produced by Jayan Moodley who created the Kandasamys family comedy franchise.
Three Nollywood films (The Man Died, The Weekend, and Mai Martaba) have been selected for the 2025 Nollywood in Hollywood showcase. Created by Ose Oyamendan in 2018, the showcase was created to highlight the growing global influence of Nigeria's film industry.
Nigerian production company That Good Media has expanded into filmmaking and launched a new festival to attract global investors to Nollywood. The initiative seeks to showcase the potential of Nigerian cinema and create opportunities for international collaboration and funding. The festival will feature screenings, networking events, and pitch sessions, highlighting innovative projects and emerging talent. By bridging local creativity with global investment, That Good Media aims to position Nollywood as a key player in the international film market, creating sustainable growth in the industry.
Karan Tejpal - Anurag Kabbur
Asia: Korean sales banner Finecut has secured international deals for A Girl With Closed Eyes, a psychological thriller starring Pachinko breakout Kim Minha, ahead of its European Film Market premiere in Berlin. The film, directed by Chun Sunyoung, has been acquired by distributors in Japan, Poland, Taiwan, Vietnam, and CIS territories. The story follows a detective, played by Moon Choi, investigating a murder tied to a bestselling author, with Kim Minha portraying the prime suspect in her feature debut after being recognized for her short film Good Night at Cannes Critics Week. Produced by Solaire Partners, known for backing hits such as Parasite, the film premiered at Busan and will close the Florence Korea Film Festival.
Tokyo-based Free Stone Productions has secured international rights to Seaside Serendipity, a Berlinale 2025 Generation selection, and cross-cultural drama Diamonds in the Sand, both will be showcased at the upcoming European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin. Directed by Yokohama Satoko, Seaside Serendipity is a coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old art club member and his friends who spend their summer vacation engaging with a community of artists in their seaside town. The film stars Konosuke Harada, alongside a supporting cast including Kumiko Aso, Kengo Kora, and Ayame Goriki, and is set for a summer 2025 release in Japan. Diamonds in the Sand is a Japan-Malaysia-Philippines co-production and is the directorial debut of Janus Victoria which premiered at Tokyo Filmex 2024. The drama stars Lily Franky (Shoplifters) as a divorced salaryman grappling with loneliness in Tokyo, who follows a Filipina migrant worker to Manila. The film also features an international cast, including Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Maria Isabel Lopez, and Charlie Dizon.
Director Karan Tejpal, known for his debut Stolen (2023), screened at Venice, BFI London, Zurich, and SXSW Sydney, has joined the Indian psychological horror film Ummeed (Hope). Selected for Berlinale 2025’s Fiction Toolbox Program, the film is set to begin production in November. It follows a same-sex couple in small-town India navigating parenthood through illegal sperm donation. Tithi fails to conceive, her partner Rahi becomes pregnant, sparking paranoia amid societal harassment. Producer Dimpy Agrawal, founder of Gubbara Entertainment and known for Netflix India projects like Khufiya and The Archies, is leading the production.
Sony’s Columbia Pictures has secured the rights to remake 366 Days, a hit Japanese romantic drama, for English-speaking audiences. Columbia’s Peter Kang is overseeing the remake and it's co-produced by Shochiku and Sony Pictures Japan. The film has grossed over $11 million since its January 10 release, becoming the highest-grossing locally produced film by a Hollywood studio in Japan based on an original screenplay. Directed by Takehiko Shinjo (And Yet, You Are So Sweet) and written by Kaho Fukuda, the story is inspired by a popular song by the Japanese band HY. It follows Okinawa high school senior Minato Makiya (Eiji Akaso, Pending Train), who falls in love with junior Miu Tamashiro (Moka Kamishiraishi, The Forest of Wool and Steel) over their shared passion for music, but tragedy strikes when Minato loses his mother, threatening his dreams.
Renowned Japanese animation director Masaaki Yuasa has launched his own studio, ame pippin, in collaboration with Asmik Ace, Aniplex, and CoMix Wave Films= Known for his distinctive storytelling, Yuasa co-founded the acclaimed studio Science Saru in 2013 with producer Eunyoung Choi, producing hits like the Golden Globe-nominated Inu-Oh, Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and episodes of Adventure Time and Star Wars: Visions.
Omar Sy - Pascal Le Segretain
Europe: Picture Tree Intl. has secured international sales rights for Prank, a family adventure-comedy directed by Benjamin Heisenberg (The Robber) and co-written with Peer Klehmet (The Famous Five). The film will premiere at the European Film Market in Berlin ahead of its German spring release. The story follows 12-year-old Lucas Roosen (Noèl Gabriel Kipp) and his Chinese exchange student Xi Zhou (Max Zheng), whose April Fool’s prank spirals into chaos, involving gangsters, bumbling police, and a cast of misfit characters. The ensemble includes Laura Tonke, Cedric Eich, Jana McKinnon, and Lukas Miko.
In Netflix’s Next on Netflix event, they announced and teased anticipated upcoming European titles as it focuses on creating original IP on the platform using homegrown stars for original content such as Omar Sy’s romantic comedy French Lover where he stars as Abel Camara, a top celebrity who meets girl-next-door Marion, played by Sara Giraudeau.
Gullane Entretenimento
Latin America: Michel Franco will produce Moscas (Flies), directed and co-written by Fernando Eimbcke, through his Kinotitlán banner alongside Eimbcke and Eréndira Núñez Larios of Teorema. Currently in pre-production and set to begin filming next month, the film follows an 8-year-old boy and a middle-aged woman navigating contemporary Mexico City.
Top Brazilian production company Gullane Entretenimento is expanding its reach through its growing distribution arm Gullane+. Founders Fabiano and Caio Gullane will concentrate on production, while Débora Ivanov will lead the distribution efforts. Gullane+ boasts a catalog of over 40 projects, including Karim Aïnouz’s Mariner of the Mountains and Laís Bodanzky’s acclaimed Brainstorm, alongside new works by André Ristum and Flavia Moraes.
Farah Nabulsi - Pool
Middle East: Chicago-based Watermelon Pictures has secured the North American distribution rights to the drama film The Teacher by Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, set and shot in the West Bank. Inspired by a 2011 prisoner swap, the film follows a Palestinian school teacher, played by Saleh Bakri, torn between political resistance and supporting a troubled student, alongside a subplot involving his romance with a British volunteer, portrayed by Imogen Poots. Produced by Sawsan Asfari, Ossama Bawardi, and Nabulsi, the film premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival and has won awards at Galway, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. film festivals. Watermelon Pictures negotiated the deal with Nabulsi and plans a theatrical release on April 4, 2025.
