European film market

Ruben Igielko-Herrlich , a veteran film marketer who co-founded the global entertainment marketing group PropagandaGEM , has died of brain cancer. He was 62. His family said he died March 7 after a four-year battle with glioblastoma. Igielko co-founded PropagandaGEM in 1991 with his longtime friend and business partner, Anders Granath. During the next three decades, the company grew to have 10 offices in Europe, Asia, South America and the U.S. Among its most recognized brand integrations including The Matrix placing Nokia’s flip phone into the hands of Keanu Reeves and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’s chase scenes with Tom Cruise behind the wheel of a BMW. Igielko was the go-to liaison connecting Hollywood’s major studios and celebrities with his clients which, in addition to BMW and Nokia, included such prominent luxury brands such as Gucci, Bulgari, Piaget and Lamborghini. Igielko was born on March 15, 1960, in Havana, Cuba, where his mother had fled … [Read more...] about Ruben Igielko-Herrlich Dies: Longtime Film Marketer & PropagandaGEM Co-Founder Was 62

Zachary Levi , star of Shazam! Fury of the Gods , is opening up about the box office results of the DC film sequel that fell below the already low projections the studio had for the movie. A fan of the actor tweeted about the “disappointment” the superhero film was at the box office, asking not to blame the Snyder fans. “Hmmm. Where did you get the idea that I’m blaming the Snyder fans?” Levi replied on Twitter . Another fan said that the power of the Snyder fans, the filmgoers invested in the DC Universe created by Zack Snyder, “were happy for the failure of the film.” Levi partially agreed with the comment and then mentioned that marketing was why the film underperformed at the box office. “This is also true. Sad, but true. How much that actually affects the box office is anyone’s guess. But I think the biggest issue we’re having is marketing. This is a perfect family movie, and yet a lot of families aren’t aware of that. Which is just a shame,” Levi … [Read more...] about ‘Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’: Zachary Levi Talks Snyder Fans & Says Marketing Was “Biggest Issue” In Box Office Results

EXCLUSIVE: Shadow of the Vampire duo Richard Johns and E. Elias Merhige have launched a TV and film shingle. Promethean Pictures will be based in the UK and forge projects for the global market. Its first project, dog survival story Howl, is already in development. Merhige is an auteur who helmed 2000’s Shadow of the Vampire with Johns, which starred John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe and was twice Oscar nominated. Merhige was also behind 2004’s Suspect Zero starring Ben Kingsley and Aaron Eckhart, while other credits include Begotten, Polia & Blastema: A Cosmic Opera and Din of Celestial Birds , which were showcased last weekend in the Screen of the Sky immersive experience at the Brussels Planetarium. Merhige is joining with his long-time collaborator Johns, the Chivalry producer who only last year launched Argo Films . Argo is making Disney+’s The Shepherd starring John Travolta and a BBC-developed drama series about Biafra with David … [Read more...] about ‘Shadow Of The Vampire’ Duo Launch TV & Film Shingle

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a positive one for the Euro film industry – shooting has resumed on Tochter (English translation Daughter ), a co-production between significant producers from Germany, Greece and Italy. The project is being heralded as one of the first post-COVID international co-pro to get back underway in Europe, which has been confirmed by two major bodies EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) and ACE Producers. The only other one I am aware of Margrete – Queen Of The North , a significant Nordic project that resumed filming in the Czech Republic on June 15. Pic is based on German author Lucy Fricke’s best-selling novel of the same title and is being directed by Nana Neul ( To Faro ). Producers include Bettina Brokemper of Heimatfilm , whose credits span Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built and Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs . Warner Bros Germany is a co-producer and will handle the local release. Also onboard are Giorgos Karnavas and … [Read more...] about Cameras Rolling In Greece On ‘Tochter’, First European Co-Pro To Resume Post-COVID

“We all have to become a bit more Scandinavian,” Beta Film MD Moritz von Kruedener told a Series Mania audience this morning. Opening the Lille Dialogues section on the final day of the France confab, von Kruedener raised the requirement to be flexible and seek financing from more than one local network for projects, given that budgets have increased so steeply. He explained that Scandinavian and Eastern European territories have been doing this for decades. “Even if you’re only producing locally, national funding is not enough,” he added. “In Germany and other nations you now have to combine two local partners. In a way we all have to become a bit more Scandinavian.” Beta is distributing event series Estonia from several Nordic networks, which recently sold to Germany’s Seven.One Entertainment Group. The outfit has nurtured a reputation over the decades for acting as broker on pan-European projects – von Kruedener stressed its position as “partner” several … [Read more...] about “We All Have To Become A Bit More Scandinavian,” Declares Beta Film MD – Series Mania

Lamia Chraibi is one of Morocco’s best-known indie film producers whose credits include Mica , about a boy from the slums who is discovered to have a talent for tennis, and Sitges prize-winning horror Achoura as well as co-producing 2016 Cannes Critics’ Week winner Las Mimosas . The Franco-Moroccan producer, who works under the banner of La Prod in Casablanca and Moons a Deal in Paris, is now attempting to break into drama series. It is a transition that has been tried and tested by indie film producers in Europe and North America but is less common in the Middle East and North Africa . Chraibi is giving it a shot in the belief that North African drama could eventually enjoy the same popularity as the non-English language shows out of Scandinavia, Turkey or South Korea. “I’m convinced that they could seduce audiences in the same way,” she says. “Language and origin of a series is no longer an issue, if anything, there’s an appetite to see stories set in … [Read more...] about Doha Film Institute Pioneers Series Lab As MENA Indie Film Producers Push Into Drama In Untapped Region

Saudi Cultural Development Fund has officially launched its Film Sector Financing Program , offering financial support to local and international film companies that want to get involved in the country’s burgeoning cinema industry. The initiative, with a portfolio of $233 million (879M Saudi Riyal), was first unveiled in early 2022 as part of the country’s $1.1 billion IGNITE Digital Content Program, then teased again during the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah in December. The program officially launched against the backdrop of the film-focused the Ignite the Scene event in Riyadh last week, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The CDF said in a release that the initiative is open to local and international companies and that its aim is to support the growth of a sustainable local film industry by empowering the private sector with financing packages that support local content and promote filmmaking. The … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia Officially Launches $233M Film Sector Financing Program Aimed At Local & Int’l Companies

EXCLUSIVE : Production has wrapped on a Bulgarian live-action short film starring Oscar-nominated Bulgarian actor Maria Bakalova . The film, titled Това, Kоето Oстава (English title: What Stays After ), is directed by Dimitris Georgiev. The short is produced by No Blink Pictures, New European Wave Entertainment and Bakalova’s production company Five Oceans, co-founded with fellow actor and filmmaker Julian Kostov ( Shadow and Bone, The Toxic Avenger ). Joining Bakalova in the cast of What Stays After are leading Bulgarian actors Zachary Baharov ( Game of Thrones, Slow Horses, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ), Elena Telbis ( Losers ) and Margita Gosheva ( The Father ), with young actor Yan Lozov as the lead. Written by Bulgarian filmmakers Georgiev and Mariy Rosen, What Stays After tells the coming-of-age story of a boy during tragic events that tear his family apart. The characters in the movie face the pain of losing a loved one, … [Read more...] about Maria Bakalova Stars In & Produces Bulgarian Short Film ‘What Stays After’

Danielle DePalma , most recently EVP, Worldwide Digital Marketing & Research at Lionsgate, has joined Apple as a senior executive on the company’s video marketing team. As Manager in the department, DePalma will shepherd film and TV series marketing, reporting to Sony TV alum Chris Van Amburg, Apple’s Head of Video Marketing. DePalma was a Lionsgate veteran who spent about a decade at the company before leaving in January. At Lionsgate she previously served as SVP digital marketing and VP new media and marketing, overseeing the digital/social media campaigns for such movies as The Hunger Games franchise and Kick-Ass . … [Read more...] about Danielle DePalma Joins Apple As Film & TV Series Marketing Executive

The new National Lottery Filmmaking Fund is the BFI ’s attempt at creating a clearer and more transparent funding mechanism with an emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion, Mia Bays , director of the fund, told the Deadline shortly before the launch of the new plan Tuesday morning. The fund, first announced late last year as part of the BFI’s 10-year strategic plan, will grant $44m (£36.6m) in cash awards over three years to support fiction feature films. The cash will be available through four separate funding strands focused on different parts of the filmmaking pyramid, from debut features and development to more experienced filmmakers. The fund will also hand out $21m (£17.4m) in cash awards to support documentaries, shorts, talent development, and immersive works. The total sum will be $66m (£54M) across three years. “The fund is moving from being a very wide brief into being very focused,” Bays told Deadline. “It’s very much evidence-informed. It’s informed … [Read more...] about BFI’s Mia Bays Talks New Filmmaking Fund, The End Of The Vision Awards & The Challenge Of Supporting UK Film With Less Money