Highland film group

EXCLUSIVE : The Gotham Film & Media Institute has unveiled the winners of its fourth annual Focus Features & JetBlue Student Short Film Showcase. The five filmmakers chosen are Saleem Gondal ( Post Term , Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema), Yingtong Li ( The Silent Whistle , Emerson College), Taylor Mannsman ( Obscura , University of Texas at Austin), Shannon M. Sutherland ( They Flew Like Blackbirds , Florida State University) and Cheryl Wong ( Stigma, Style , NYU). The Gotham’s Short Film Showcase aims to discover and empower a diverse group of emerging filmmakers, and to foster multi-platform distribution of their work. Winners of this year’s showcase, supported by returning partners JetBlue and Focus Features, as well as new partner Soho House, had their works selected by a jury of filmmakers, curators and critics, with shorts from 23 graduate schools having been submitted. Each was recognized during the 2022 Gotham Awards Ceremony on November 28, received … [Read more...] about The Gotham Names Winners Of 4th Annual Focus Features & JetBlue Student Short Film Showcase

Noah Cowan , former co-director of the Toronto Film Festival and executive director of SFFILM in San Francisco, died Wednesday of cancer in Los Angeles, Deadline has confirmed. He was 55. Cowan died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in December 2021. Born on July 22, 1967, in Hamilton, Ontario, he joined TIFF in 1984 as a box office staffer after volunteering with the fest in summer 1981. He later ran its print traffic department before becoming one of the programmers of TIFF’s Midnight Madness program in 1989. He was promoted to Program Administrator in 1992, and co-ran Midnight Madness with Colin Geddes in 1997. Cowan served as TIFF’s international programmer from 1997-2001, during which time he was promoted to associate director of programming and then associate director. He left the festival in 2001 but returned three years later as co-director, serving in the role until 2008. From 2008-14, he was artistic … [Read more...] about Noah Cowan Dies: Former Toronto Film Festival Co-Director, Indie Distributor & SFFILM Exec Was 55

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Smith is leaving MBC Studios after four years as Managing Director. We’ve learned the international industry veteran is stepping down from the premium production arm of Middle Eastern and North African network MBC, though he’ll continue to advise on production and distribution. In a statement to Deadline, MBC CEO Sam Barnett confirmed the exit and said a successor would be named “in due course, in coming days.” Smith is a former NBCUniversal International President and was CEO of Cineflix Studios and Greece-based broadcaster Antenna Group. He joined MBC Studios in 2018 as it launched as the production arm of free-to-air network MBC, which is the largest media company in the MENA region. He was tasked with increasing MBC’s original film and TV output and and he has gone on to overseen the launch of shows such as Rashash , Rise of the Witches and The Devil’s Promise . “Peter Smith is stepping aside as Managing Director of MBC Studios,” said … [Read more...] about MBC Studios Boss Peter Smith Exiting Saudi-Owned Media Group

Carol Welch is leaving Odeon Cinemas Group. The cinema chain’s Managing Director, UK and Ireland, and Commercial Officer, Europe, has resigned after six years. She is moving to become CEO of AF Blakemore, a large family-owned retail and food distributor in the UK. Odeon has decided to revert its commercial leadership to a standalone position following her exit. Chris Bates, Commercial Director UKI & Europe, has been promoted to the role of Chief Commercial Officer. This extends his current remit as European Commercial Director and he will also be joining Odeon’s Executive Committee. The appointment of a new Managing Director UK & Ireland is in its “final stages,” the group said, adding it would “provide a further update once the position has been filled.” Mark Way, Managing Director Odeon Cinemas Group, said: “While very sad to see Carol leave, we are delighted for her, and I would like to congratulate her for everything she has achieved at Odeon over the … [Read more...] about Odeon Cinemas Group UK & Ireland Boss Carol Welch Exits To Join Retail Company

French gender equality and diversity group Le Collectif 50/50 has hit out at the lack of female representation at the upcoming César awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars. The protest comes after not a single woman made it into the Best Director category in nominations announced Wednesday. The awards ceremony is February 24 in Paris. Just one feature by a female director — Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi’s controversy-hit Forever Young — was nominated for Best Film. This outcome raised surprise in some quarters as there was a raft of strong features by female directors on release in France this year including Alice Winocour’s Paris Memories , Rebecca Zlotowski’s Other People’s Children , Léa Mysius’ The Five Devils and 2023 French Oscar submission Saint Omer by Alice Diop. “Le Collectif 50/50 deplores the total absence of women in the Best Director category and their lack of representation in the Best Film category,” the body wrote in a statement … [Read more...] about French Gender Equality Group Launches #CesarSoMale Campaign After Female Directors Shut Out Of Awards

Anyone who has traveled to seaside resort areas around the world will recognize them, the obvious foreigners who spend their days approaching tourists with assorted trinkets to sell and are most often ignored or shooed away by Westerners. Precious few films have put such figures centerstage, but Drift does that and quite a bit more as it examines a young woman whose currently forlorn position in the world masks the very different sort of life to which she was once accustomed. Tragedy and bereavement are dealt with an exceptionally acute and insightful manner in Drift . Working from a 2013 novel by Alexander Maksik, the full title of which is A Marker to Measure Drift , the author and his co-writer Susanne Farrell tackled a challenging narrative that many filmgoers would readily avoid, a personal tragedy of staggering magnitude. But not only has Singapore director Anthony Chen set himself a tough task in this ambitious adaptation, he has also notably succeeded in making … [Read more...] about Sundance Review: Cynthia Erivo & Alia Shawkat In Anthony Chen’s ‘Drift’

Another hot Sundance title looks to be off the table as Deadline has confirmed that A24 is in exclusive talks for the supernatural horror thriller Talk to Me , from directing duo Danny & Michael Philippou. While a deal has not closed, sources say it is in the high-seven-figure range for the buzzy title that gained momentum following its Saturday night Midnight premiere. Produced by Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton of Causeway Films, who produced horror hit The Babadook, with Bankside Films handling worldwide sales, the pic is set in the world where conjuring spirits has become the latest party craze. The film follows Mia (Sophie Wilde), who is determined to get a piece of the otherworldly action in order to be distracted on the eve of her mother’s death. When her group of friends gathers for another unruly séance with the mysterious embalmed hand that promises a direct line to the spirits, they’re unprepared for the consequences of bending the rules … [Read more...] about A24 In Talks To Acquire Hot Sundance Title ‘Talk To Me’

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Nighy ( Living ) and Jeremy Swift ( Ted Lasso ) have signed on to join the voice cast of CG animated family comedy 10 Lives . The pair will join already-announced cast members Mo Gilligan ( That’s My Jam ), Simone Ashley ( Bridgerton ), Sophie Okonedo ( Hotel Rwanda ), Dylan Llewellyn ( Derry Girls ), and musician Zayn Malik. Nighy, who picked up an Oscar nom this week for his leading role in the Kazuo Ishiguro-scripted Living , will voice the character of Professor Craven, while Swift will lend his voice to a wise-cracking dog called Happy. The pic tells the story of Beckett, a pampered and selfish cat who has taken the lives he’s been dealt for granted. After carelessly losing his ninth life, he begs to be given a second chance and an opportunity to show he can learn from his mistakes. Eventually, his wish is granted, but with certain stipulations. The film is directed by Chris Jenkins ( Duck Duck Goose ) and produced by Guy … [Read more...] about Bill Nighy & Jeremy Swift Join Voice Cast Of Animated Feature ‘10 Lives’

Ava DuVernay ’s feature adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents has just added Niecy Nash -Betts, Jon Bernthal , Vera Farmiga , Nick Offerman , Jasmine Cephas Jones and Connie Nielsen to the movie, which is shooting in Georgia. The group joins King Richard Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis , who has the lead role. DuVernay is writing and directing, and producing alongside veteran collaborator Paul Garnes. A bestseller and shortlisted for several awards, Wilkerson’s Caste examines racism in America through the prism of social, economic and cultural delineation and “pillars” of exclusion. Nash-Betts, fresh off a Critics Choice Award win for her role in Netflix’s Dahmer , is reteaming with DuVernay after receiving an Emmy nomination for her turn in the Netflix limited series When They See Us. She is also the lead of ABC’s The Rookie: Feds . She is repped by WME and Artists First. Bernthal reunites … [Read more...] about Ava DuVernay’s ‘Caste’ Adds Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman & More

EXCLUSIVE: After playing one of the chefs behind a Chicago sandwich shop in the FX series The Bear, Ayo Edebiri has found a new team to join as sources tell Deadline she has boarded Marvel Studios ’ Thunderbolts in a new secret role. Edebiri joins an ensemble that was announced during Disney’s D23 event last year that includes Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as US Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster. The film will bow on July 26, 2024. Marvel had no comment. Jake Schreier is set as director of the new Marvel tentpole. Black Widow scribe Eric Pearson is penning the script, with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige producing. Not much is known about the plot of the film, but in the comics, it revolves around a group of villains who are sent on missions commissioned by the government. … [Read more...] about ‘The Bear’ Breakout Star Ayo Edebiri Joins Marvel Studios’ ‘Thunderbolts’ Movie