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It’s never happened to me, but I’ve heard that other people sometimes don’t feel like the coolest person in the room. Lately, it seems like he spends more time in hot water, but at one point, Justin Timberlake seemed like the coolest guy on the planet. Despite his massive fame and success, Timberlake always felt like he was in rooms with more comfortable and confident people than he was. So, in one of the most lucrative forms of overcompensation ever, he wrote and released the 2006 smash hit “SexyBack”, an anthem declaring that he was redefining cool on his own terms. And in a lot of ways, he did. The song dominated radio, clubs, and pop culture, a testament to Justin Timberlake’s creativity and drive, making him the powerhouse he became. It hasn’t always been perfect, and we’ll talk about that, too, but fewer artists...

The Sundance Film Festival is best known as being the launching point for some of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Tarantino, Chazelle, Soderbergh, Aronofsky, and more have brought their first films to Sundance the rest has been history. While these names are now household staples, Sundance is perhaps best known as the premiere destination for ground-breaking documentaries, consistently showcasing some of the greatest non-fiction storytelling ever made.

Eighteen documentaries have premiered at Sundance and gone on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Some of those include Navalny, Searching for Sugarman, Icarus, March of the Penguins, Man On Wire, When We Were Kings, and many many more.

The best documentary of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and possibly an Oscar frontrunner, is a film called Andre is an Idiot. One wouldn’t expect a documentary about a man suffering from colon cancer to be the funniest film of the 150+ films showing at Sundance,...

Jour2Fête has acquired French distribution rights to Max Keegan’s “The Shepherd and the Bear” out of IDFA and is planning to release the film theatrically in 2025.

“The Shepherd and the Bear” will have its world premiere as the closing night film of the 2024 Camden International Film Festival in Maine. The documentary feature had its international premiere at IDFA, where it was nominated for best first feature.

The deal was negotiated by Elizabeth Woodward for Willa and Etienne Ollagnier and Sarah Chazelle for Jour2Fête. Willa is handling international sales on the film. Submarine Entertainment is handling domestic sales.

Set high in the majestic French Pyrenees, “The Shepherd and The Bear” explores a conflict provoked by the reintroduction of brown bears in the midst of a traditional shepherding community. The film follows an aging shepherd who struggles to find a successor as bears prey on his flock, and a teenage...

Helen Hoehne, president of the Golden Globes organisation, Sébastien Raybaud, founder of UK-based production, financing and sales outfit Anton, French filmmaker Luc Jacuqet and Jim Gianopulos, former CEO and chairman at 20th Century Fox, are among the high-profile international speakers at the second edition of the Saudi Film Confex, taking place October 9-10 in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh.

Will Smith, US actor and producer, gave the keynote speech today (October 9). Smith’s latest film, Bad Boys: Ride Or Die, became Saudi Arabia’s highest-grossing film of all time, scoring 1.7 million admissions in the country following its summer 2024 release.

Will Smith is set to give a talk on the opening day of the sophomore edition of the Saudi Film Confex, taking place in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh between Oct. 9-12. The event, which will welcome the Oscar-winning actor as its guest of honor, will gather both local and international industry experts to discuss how to advance and strengthen the Saudi film industry.

Smith’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” recently became Saudi Arabia’s highest-grossing film of all-time, scoring a whopping 1.7 million admissions in the country following its July 25 release. The American actor has been a recurrent presence in the kingdom in the past year, travelling to Riyadh for the premiere of “Bad Boys” back in May and giving a talk at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah last December, when he also visited Neom, a burgeoning film production destination in the north west of the...

While Europe has always lured Hollywood filmmakers, there are more opportunities today for transatlantic collaborations due to a number of factors, according to leading European industry reps taking part in the Zurich Summit on Saturday.

Outlining the many advantages and unique opportunities Europe offers at the Zurich Film Festival’s industry forum were Goodfellas’ Vincent Maraval, Mediawan Pictures CEO Elisabeth d’Arvieu, Constantin exec Martin Bachmann, Fremantle’s Christian Vesper and Karl Spoerri of Zurich Avenue.

While collaborations have always existed between the European industry and American filmmakers who wanted to do different kinds of films, the current situation has created more opportunities, Maraval said.

U.S. studios are becoming “more and more conservative,” he pointed out, adding that for creators today who feel frustrated or are looking for more freedom and more creativity, it’s easier to travel and work elsewhere.

It’s also becoming increasingly expensive to shoot Stateside,...

Predicting the winner of the Best Documentary Feature Oscar becomes a lot easier on December 17 when the academy announces the 15 films that make the shortlist. Those semi-finalists will be culled from the more than 100 titles that qualified this year for consideration. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Documentary Feature.)

To winnow those down to a manageable number, the academy adds newly eligible documentary feature to a virtual screening room available to all 500-plus members of the documentary branch. While all members are encouraged to watch as many of these as they can, one-fifth of the voters are assigned each title. Each branch member will submit a preferential ballot listing their top 15 choices.

All of these ballots are collated to determine the 15 semi-finalists. Branch members are then encouraged to watch films on that list which they haven’t seen yet before casting another preferential ballot with their top five choices.

Exclusive: The prestigious Camden International Film Festival has announced a surprise addition to its 2024 lineup: The Shepherd and The Bear, a documentary described as a “modern folk tale.”

The film directed by Max Keegan and produced by Keegan, Elizabeth Woodward, and Emmy winners Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, will serve as the closing night film for Ciff’s 20th edition. The festival, a program of the Points North Institute, unfolds in the picturesque Central Maine coast towns of Camden and Rockland. [Scroll for the full list of Ciff documentaries].

“Set high in the majestic French Pyrenees, The Shepherd and The Bear explores a conflict provoked by the reintroduction of brown bears in the midst of a traditional shepherding community,” according to a release from Ciff. “The film follows an aging shepherd who struggles to find a successor as bears prey on his flock, and a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with tracking the bears. Through its breathtaking cinematography and immersive storytelling,...

Why does Morgan Freeman, our beloved cinematic sage, sport those iconic gold hoop earrings? While some might think it’s merely a quirky fashion choice, there’s a fascinating, slightly morbid reason behind them that leaves us both admiring & chuckling in the same breath.

Morgan Freeman in Hard Rain | Credit: Paramount Pictures

As the man who’s delivered breathtaking performances in Glory, Se7en, Unforgiven, and The Dark Knight trilogy, Freeman has clearly ascended to the pinnacle of A-list stardom. But back to the gold hoops—these aren’t just bling for the bling’s sake. Freeman revealed in a 2019 Instagram post that these gleaming accessories are worth just enough for someone “to buy me a coffin if I die in a strange place”.

Just like the brave sailors and roguish pirates of yesteryear, Freeman’s got his bases covered, ensuring he can rest in peace wherever his life adventures might lead him.

Forget the rivalry rumors, y’all! Star Wars legend James Earl Jones shuts down competition rumors with Morgan Freeman. Respecting Freeman’s talent, Jones insists their styles are pretty distinct. The Star Wars voice actor’s own deep, iconic tone—the one that brought Darth Vader to life—is simply one-of-a-kind, and Freeman is no less.

James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer in Coming 2 America | Paramount Pictures

This refreshing perspective from a Hollywood voice icon reminds us: There’s room for multiple unforgettable voices to narrate our world.

Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones Celebrate Unique Narration Styles Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd from the movie The Shawshank Redemption | Castle Rock Entertainment

Morgan Freeman, the voice of God himself, and James Earl Jones, the man behind Darth Vader’s iconic breathing? Rivals? In a recent interview with the New York Times, the voice artist shuts down whispers of competition between him and Freeman,...

Morgan Freeman is the latest star to speak publicly about alleged attempts to replicate celebrities’ voices using AI.

The Oscar-winning actor, who is known for his voiceover work, took to social media Friday to express his appreciation for fans who have notified him about AI-generated imitations of his voice.

“Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.I. voice imitating me,” Freeman posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. “Your dedication helps authenticity and integrity remain paramount. Grateful.” Hashtags on his post included “scam” and “IdentityProtection.”

According to media reports, a TikTok user describing herself as Freeman’s niece had recently posted videos to the platform that allegedly feature narration from an AI-generated version of the actor’s voice.

Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.

Morgan Freeman shared a note giving thanks to his fans Friday morning, expressing gratitude for users’ efforts calling out unauthorized AI imitations of the actor’s recognizable voice.

The celebrated 87-year-old actor has become legend for his narration in films such as “March of the Penguins,” “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Million Dollar Baby.” The sterling reputation of Freeman’s voice has made him a particularly popular target of AI-generated voice imitations, including in a recent viral series of TikToks created by a woman posing as the actor’s “nepo niece.” Freeman is not a fan of the practice.

“Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.I. voice imitating me,” the actor wrote. “Your dedication helps authenticity and integrity remain paramount. Grateful. #AI #scam #imitation #IdentityProtection”

Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in...

Oscar-nominated Swiss animator Claude Barras (“My Life as a Zucchini”) will be honored by the Locarno Film Festival with its Locarno Kids Award given to personalities credited with infusing younger generations with a love for cinema.

Barras’ beloved stop-motion film “Life as a Zucchini,” about an orphaned boy who lives in a foster home, played at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes in 2016, and went on to be nominated for best animated feature at the Oscars and secured distribution in over 50 territories.

Barras’ more recent work “Sauvages,” about an orangutan fighting to save the forests of Borneo with his friends, will travel to Locarno after premiering positively at Cannes earlier this month.

“Sauvages” will play on the prominent Swiss fest’s 8,000-seat Piazza Grande on Aug. 13 with the director in tow.

“Claude Barras is one of the great shapers of the contemporary collective imagination,” said Locarno’s artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro in a statement.

One of the year’s most anticipated films will be on sale for independent buyers at the upcoming Cannes market. We can bring you news that French sales company Goodfellas has boarded Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis ahead of the movie’s world premiere in Competition at the festival.

Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.

Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.

Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...

Documentary filmmaking has never been a profession one enters into to get rich — though for a brief period it seemed possible.

Cable expanded documentary’s reach to wider audiences in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and films like “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “March of the Penguins,” and “An Inconvenient Truth” became legitimate box-office breakthroughs, but nonfiction features on the whole remained something of a stepchild within the larger Hollywood ecosystem until 2017, when Netflix acquired Brian Fogel’s “Icarus” for $5 million.

At the time, the deal was one of the biggest ever for a non-fiction film. And it was followed by even bigger deals: In 2019 Netflix shelled out $10 million for Rachel Lears’ “Knock Down the House.” The following year Apple TV+ and A24 partnered to buy Jesse Moss’ “Boys State” for $10 million, and in 2021 Searchlight and Hulu bought Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul” for $12 million.

On the surface it seemed like people,...

Non-English-language movies stormed the Oscars this year, with five films taking home statuettes — the most ever in one ceremony.

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari’s Best Screenplay Academy Award for French-language courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall followed three past non-English-language winners: Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019), Pedro Almodóvar’s Talk To Her (2002) and A Man and a Woman by Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven (1966).

The Best Sound Academy Award for Jonathan Glazer’s German-language Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest marked a first for a non-English-language film. The pic also clinched Best International Feature Film.

Related: ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘The Zone Of Interest’ & ‘Poor Things’ Wins Cap Good Night For Brits At The Oscars

The Best Animation Oscar for The Boy and the Heron marked a second Academy Award for Japanese animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki, who took co-directing credits with Toshio Suzuki.

Miyazaki previously triumphed in the category in its second year...

Vincent Maraval’s Goodfellas has seized the worldwide sales rights to Galapagos adventure doc “Lions of the Sea,” which wrapped principal photography in mid-January.

“Sea” is the latest from Italian-Ecuadorian explorer-filmmaker Luis Felipe Fernández-Salvador y Campodonico, best known by his nom de cinéma, Jamaicanoproblem, and whose film “A Son of Man” was Ecuador’s official selection for the 2019 Academy Awards.

Described by the filmmaker as “a fictional account grounded in science,” “Lions of the Sea” is set in the Galapagos Islands where a young sea lion struggles to fend for himself in the face of food scarcity and after losing his mother while fleeing from illegal fishermen. Determined, he sets out to find a new sanctuary. “I hope to call attention to the problems that beset the islands, not only from climate change but from over-fishing on the perimeters of the archipelago and other factors that have led to the...

Ginger & Fed, the new international film sales arm of Federation Studios headed by former TF1 Studio boss Sabine Chemaly, will launch several high profile titles at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous, including “The Future Awaits,” Niels Tavernier’s WWII-set drama based on the true story of a Holocaust survivor. Ginger & Fed will also bow sales on “Riviera Revenge,” a heartwarming comedy starring André Dussollier (“The Crime is Mine”), Sabine Azéma (“Tanguy”) and Thierry Lhermitte (“The Dinner Game”), along with continuing deals on “Rachel’s Game,” “Survive” and “Oldies and Goodies.”

Produced by Yves Darondeau at Bonne Pioche Cinema (“March of the Penguins”), “The Future Awaits” tells the story of Tauba Birenbaum, whose testimony was collected in July 1997 to become part of Steven Spielberg’s Institute for Visual History. The film opens in July 1942, during the Vel’ d’Hiv’ Roundup of Jewish families in Paris. 13-year-old Tauba and her parents, who are Polish Jews,...

Hey there, fellow nature and animal lovers! If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the lookout for those captivating documentaries that let us dive into the incredible lives of creatures big and small.

Whether you’re fascinated by the elegance of a soaring eagle, the underwater antics of dolphins, or the heartwarming stories of animal families, there’s a documentary for you.

So, grab your popcorn, get comfy, and embark on a wild ride through some of the most mind-blowing and heart-tugging documentaries that celebrate the magnificent wonders of the animal kingdom!

1. Planet Earth II (2016)

As someone who’s always been captivated by the wonders of our planet, “Planet Earth II” is an absolute must-watch.

Related: 7 Documentaries That Unveil the Human Experience

The documentary series takes you on an awe-inspiring journey through various habitats, showcasing incredible animal behaviors and interactions.

The breathtaking visuals and Sir David Attenborough...

Exclusive: Production is underway in the Galápagos Islands on Lions of the Sea, a documentary described as “an immersive journey into the compelling lives of sea lions in their unique environment.”

The film is being directed by Jamaicanoproblem, the nom de cinéma of Ecuadorian explorer and filmmaker Luis Felipe Fernández-Salvador y Campodonico. The all-star lineup of talent behind the scenes includes producer Adam Leipzig, former president of National Geographic Documentary Films, who led the acquisition of March of the Penguins – one of the most successful documentaries of all time.

L-r Guillermo Navarro, Adam Leipzig and Jamaicanoproblem

Guillermo Navarro, the Oscar-winning cinematographer of Pan’s Labyrinth, is heading a team of photographers described as “the world’s best nature and underwater documentarians.” He is also an executive producer of Lions of the Sea. Fellow Oscar winner Nicolas Becker (Sound of Metal) serves as sound designer on the project.

According to a release,...

Tom Hardy's narration in Netflix's Predators brings a sense of wonder and respect for nature, highlighting the struggles of majestic carnivores around the world. Despite Hardy's reputation for being difficult to understand in media, his narration in Predators shows that his delivery style is a deliberate choice, adding to his natural and authentic performance. Hardy's involvement in Predators has garnered significant attention from fans, with many attributing their interest in the show to his effective narration, potentially inspiring more viewers to be invested in the preservation of the natural world.

The Netflix nature docuseries Predators has a familiar actor narrating its cheetahs stalking the Serengeti and lions lurking in the savanna. Each captivating episode focuses on five predator species who are fighting to survive in ever-changing ecological environments that threaten their status as the world's most powerful hunters. Fans get glimpses of polar bears battling for dominance, cheetahs...

Nestled in the verdant Swiss Alps, on the shore of Lake Maggiore near the Italian border, Locarno is a beautiful setting for one of Europe’s preeminent summer film festivals. While most screenings take place in the sleek, modernist cinemas that are dotted around the small town, each evening also has at least one open-air projection in the central square, bolstering the impact of the festival’s more high-profile titles by presenting them amid rustic cobbles, gorgeous mountain scenery, and several centuries of history.

Holding an international showcase like this in such a breathtaking place also serves to underline some of the interesting contradictions and alternately jarring and fruitful clashes that a legacy film festival can create, which were never more apparent than at this year’s edition. Case in point, the Monday-night screening of Luc Jacquet’s Antarctica Calling, which was prefaced by a pre-screening award presentation that was interrupted by environmental activists.

Nearly two decades ago, “March of the Penguins” crossed a frontier hardly any nonfiction film ever does: not just the Antarctic Circle, but the even more remote $100 million mark at the global box office. A bona fide global phenomenon, Luc Jacquet’s wondrous nature doc got audiences from practically every continent to turn their attention to the South Pole and the adorable, surprisingly relatable emperor penguins its director found there.

The focus of “March” (and its 12-years-later sequel) was the 100-kilometer trek these remarkable black-and-white birds do between their mating grounds and the water. What undeniable force compels them to make that journey? In “Antarctica Calling,” it’s a different but no less irresistible urge that fascinates Jacquet: specifically, the almost-magnetic pull that draws the French filmmaker back to the South Pole time and again. He’s been coming since he was 23 years old. Now in his mid-50s,...

For his third edition at the helm, Locarno Film Festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro has assembled a wide spectrum of films that “do not resemble each other in terms of tone or form” while reflecting “the world in all its expressions and manifestations,” he tells Variety.

This boundless range is best exemplified by the fact that starkly surrealist Filipino arthouse star Lav Díaz’s latest work, “Essential Truths of the Lake,” will be vying for the fest’s Golden Leopard alongside fare that, at least on paper, appears much lighter. This includes U.S. director Bob Byington’s indie comedy “Lousy Carter” and Estonian helmer Rainer Sarnet’s “The Invisible Flight,” which Nazzaro says “mixes Kung Fu, hard rock and the Orthodox Church.”

There are also lots of titles at Locarno that can broadly be described as “political,” like Ukrainian director Maryna Vroda’s “Stepne” — which marks a rare...

Paris-based Playtime has unveiled a strong Cannes film market sales slate, which includes competition titles “About Dry Grasses” and “Homecoming.”

“About Dry Grasses” is by Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who won the Palme d’Or in 2014 for “Winter Sleep.” The film follows Samet, a young art teacher, who is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. After a turn of events he can hardly make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in, and hopes that his encounter with fellow teacher Nuray will help him overcome his angst. Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar and Musab Ekici are among the cast.

“Homecoming,” by French director Catherine Corsini who won the 2021 Queer Palm for “The Divide,” follows Khédidja, who minds a wealthy Parisian family’s children for a summer in Corsica. She brings along her own two...

Oscar-winning French director Luc Jacquet (“March of the Penguins”) will be honored by the Locarno Film Festival with its Locarno Kids Award celebrating a film personality who has brought the magic of movies to younger audiences.

“Luc Jacquet’s gaze has followed the perspective of the plant and animal kingdoms through his many voyages to the Antarctic or into forests both remote and close to home,” the Swiss festival dedicated to indie cinema said in a statement. It pointed out that this year’s prize “goes to a filmmaker who has consistently conveyed a powerful ecological message to younger generations of cinema lovers.”

The French biologist and filmmaker has made hugely popular nature documentaries such as “Penguins,” watched by more than 25 million people worldwide since its 2006 release, and “Once Upon a Forest” in 2013 and “Ice and the Sky” (2015). He also helmed a fiction feature “The Fox & the Child” (2007).

Jacquet...

Luc Jacquet, the Oscar-winning French director of March of the Penguins, will be honored with the 2023 Locarno Kids Award, an honor celebrating a film personality who has brought cinema to younger audiences, giving them “a sense of discovery about the big screen.”

Jacquet will receive his award in Locarno on Aug. 7, ahead of an open-air screening of March of the Penguins on Locarno’s legendary Piazza Grande. Jacquet will also take part in a panel discussion on Aug. 8. Locarno will screen a selection of Jacquet’s other films, which include documentaries Once Upon a Forest, 2015’s Ice and the Sky and Penguins sequel Penguins 2: The Next Step (2017), as well as the 2007 feature The Fox & the Child.

“Luc Jacquet is a director who has masterfully woven together the magical charm of observation and the pure poetry of storytelling, taking our gaze to dimensions of the planet never before explored,...

Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences attempts to award Oscars to the “best” film or artist in each category that year, and each year it fails at least a few times.

There is always room for disagreement on what constitutes “best”: how can we possibly compare Toy Story 3, Inception and The King’s Speech? And yet voters did just that in 2010.

It is similarly impossible to nail down all the egregious choices in academy history, but here are a few of the most glaring errors, with just days to go until the 2023 ceremony. Starting with the granddaddy of them all...

How Green Was My Valley

Beat: Citizen Kane to Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography in 1941

It takes a bit of searching these days to find someone who has a) seen John Ford’s Welsh melodrama How Green Was My Valley and b...

Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences attempts to award Oscars to the “best” film or artist in each category that year, and each year it fails at least a few times.

There is always room for disagreement on what constitutes “best”: how can we possibly compare Toy Story 3, Inception and The King’s Speech? And yet voters did just that in 2010.

It is similarly impossible to nail down all the egregious choices in academy history, but here are a few of the most glaring errors. Starting with the granddaddy of them all...

How Green Was My Valley

Beat: Citizen Kane to Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography in 1941

It takes a bit of searching these days to find someone who has a) seen John Ford’s Welsh melodrama How Green Was My Valley and b) did not do so out of a morbid curiosity...

Oscar nominations were announced Jan. 24 and in the best-picture race, voters have come up with the most wide-ranging lineup in decades, full of populist choices.

The 10 films nominated for Oscar’s top prize represent a cross-section of blockbusters, specialty films, indies and mid-range Hollywood movies. There is also a healthy mix of long-established studios, streamers and specialty companies. There’s one film not in the English language, one co-directed by an Asian American (and starring a mostly Asian American cast) and one by a woman.

The breadth of the list is a sharp contrast to most best picture slates of the past two decades.

Best picture nominations for the 95th annual Academy Awards also offer several distinctions, including two sequels nominated in one year, which is a first; and two contenders that are in the year’s worldwide top 10 at the B.O., the first time that’s happened since...

Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has closed a raft of deals on the animated feature film “Yuku and the Himalayan Flower,” from directors Rémi Durin and Arnaud Demuynck.

The children’s animated feature, with graphics by Paul Jadoul, tells the story of Yuku, a little mouse who lives with her family in the basement of a castle and decides to embark on a quest to find the legendary Himalayan flower.

The film, which premiered at the Annecy fest and played in the Locarno Kids strand of the Locarno Film Festival, is produced by Artémis Prods. (“Mandibules”) and co-produced by Vivement Lundi! (“Flee”), La Boîte Prods. (“March of the Penguins”), Les Films du Nord and Nadasdy Film.

Pic has sold to Germany (Eksystent Distribution), Spain and Andorra (Pack Magic), Poland (Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty), Sweden (Smorgasbord Picture House), Denmark (Angel Films) and Latvia (Riga International Film Festival distribution).

Previous territories sold include...

“The Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be” by Benjamin Massoubre and Amandine Fredon is having its world premiere at a Special Screening at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20.

Several years in the making, the film brings together the world-famous French schoolboy and his creators, author René Goscinny and cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé, as it goes back and forth between their world and his imaginary world.

Translated into more than 30 languages, the Little Nicholas short stories have been adapted to fiction but never to animation until now. For the creative team, it was essential to stay true both to Goscinny’s short stories and to Sempé’s drawings.

“The main challenge was to create the Little Nicholas’ world in animation and, at the same time, remain faithful to Sempé’s style – his drawings are very small, they’re made in ink, which gives them a sort of awkward but very lively energy,...

Welcome to International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. With the 75th Cannes Film Festival less than two weeks away, we’re speaking with well-respected French sales exec Carole Baraton, co-founder of international sales and production outfit Charades. The company has four titles in selection and Baraton tells us about the company’s ambitions and why she’s looking forward to being back on the Croisette.

It’s been five years since French sales veteran Carole Baraton joined forces with former Gaumont exec Yohann Comte and former Studiocanal exec Pierre Mazars to launch Charades and in that short period of time the trio have managed to carve out a boutique sales and production label that has quickly become synonymous with quality independent fare.

The Paris-based company is a regular fixture on the international...

Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences attempts to award Oscars to the “best” film or artist in each category that year, and each year it fails at least a few times.

There is always room for disagreement on what constitutes “best”: how can we possibly compare Toy Story 3, Inception and The King’s Speech? And yet voters did just that in 2010.

It is similarly impossible to nail down all the egregious choices in academy history, but here are a few of the most glaring errors. Starting with the granddaddy of them all...

How Green Was My Valley

Beat:Citizen Kane to Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography in 1941

It takes a bit of searching these days to find someone who has a) seen John Ford’s Welsh melodrama How Green Was My Valley and b) did not do so out of a morbid curiosity...

Federation Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in Bonne Pioche, the French production company behind the Oscar-winning documentary “March of the Penguins.”

Active in documentaries, animation and drama, Bonne Pioche will retain full editorial freedom and will parter up with Federation on development and production, as well as back office and international sales. The company’s workforce, which includes 36 staff members, will remain in place. Federation has a 51-percent stake in Bonne Pioche.

“We look forward to bringing together the best creators to nourish our original and diversified editorial content,” said Yves Darondeau and Emmanuel Priou, the co-heads of Bonne Pioche.

“We are very excited about this new stage in the life of Bonne Pioche. What drives us is our desire to be as close as possible to the talents we support. Bonne Pioche is defined by our team on one hand and the great diversity of our productions of documentaries,...

If the six projects presented at a recent TV documentary pitch session held at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris share relatively few thematic or stylistic points in common, when taken as a whole, the diverse titles relay two incontrovertible truths: While advances in filmmaking technology now offer industry creatives unprecedented freedoms, when it comes to hooking the audience, nothing beats a good story well told.

Three of the six projects presented at the Rendez-Vous forum reflect the format’s growing technological trends. To offer competing visions of the future, Mad Films/Camera Subjective’s speculative science-fiction project “2080” will use CGI, motion capture and some of the digital production techniques pioneered by Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” whereas to open a window into the past, France Televisions/Program33’s historical doc “The Joan of Arc Case” will use detailed digital recreations of 15th-century France.

On a similar front, the four-episode edutainment project...

It follows photographer and explorer Munier and writer Sylvain Tesson as they attempt to track down elusive snow leopards in the heart of the Tibetan highlands.

Modern Films has secured UK and Ireland rights to French documentary The Velvet Queen (La Panthère des Neiges), which debuted at Cannes and played in the Best of Fests section at International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) this week.

The UK distributor plans to release the feature theatrically in early 2022.

Directed by Marie Amiguet, whose credits includeThe Valley Of The Wolves, and Vincent Munier, and produced by Paprika Films, best known for March Of The Penguins and Amazonia,...

Documentary features and docuseries have become some of the most popular and profitable content around — especially for streamers — but what makes a project rise above the sheer volume of nonfiction fare now flooding the marketplace? That’s the question on the minds of top doc producers, directors, dealmakers and distributors who, on the eve of the American Film Market, are all searching for the secret ingredients that will distinguish the next breakout nonfiction projects.

In the early 2000s, “March of the Penguins” and “Fahrenheit 9/11” proved that low-budget docs could approach or surpass $100 million at the box office, and pop stars like Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson and One Direction brought their audiences to movie theaters in big numbers. Then, just as doc revenue came back to Earth, streamers changed the game, paying big bucks for nonfiction content to gain subscribers. The price tags of “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry...

Once upon a time, asking audiences to watch a documentary was like asking them to do their homework or eat their broccoli — sure, it’d be good for ’em, but they probably wouldn’t have a ton of fun doing it.

Early docs were often weighed down by heavy topics (a lot of war content) and dry, straightforward presentations (think newsreels). Eventually, filmmakers began introducing cinematic touches and more dynamism to documentary storytelling, though progress was slow. In 1922, “Nanook of the North,” the first feature doc, incorporated staged and fictionalized elements. The Sixties brought direct cinema and cinema verité, the fly-on-the-wall style of the Maysles brothers, Robert Drew, D.A. Pennebaker, and so many others. In the Eighties and Nineties, cable expanded documentary’s reach to wider audiences, and in the early 2000s films like “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “March of the Penguins,” and “An Inconvenient Truth” became legitimate box-office breakthroughs. Still, the...

As Italy’s film and TV industries start to bounce back from the pandemic with a verve reminiscent of the country’s postwar economic boom, the fourth edition of the Filming Italy Sardegna Festival is pulling out all the stops to support this effort.

The event is being held mostly in person July 21-25 on the emerald island that is becoming a prime destination for international shoots, such as the George Clooney-directed TV series “Catch-22,” and more recently Disney’s live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid.” It aims to serve as a catalyst for the local industry’s restart, while also fostering the formation of new talents and professionals. The fest will also serve as a campus of sorts for 2,000 ltalian film students.

As for well-established talents Tiziana Rocca, the former Taormina Film Festival chief who three years ago launched this international shindig combining film and TV with a...

Penguins are perfect. Sardine-saturated floaties with ridiculous flappers and leather toes, the flightless birds are God’s most beautiful mistake.

That’s undoubtedly why the tuxedo bois have become a fixture of nature documentaries, starring in full-length features like March of the Penguins and Disney’s Penguins. Now Netflix’s new docuseries Penguin Town, narrated by Patton Oswalt, is betting on the unshakable fact that pop culture can never have too many penguins. Penguin Town bets correctly.

“They’re incredibly clumsy because they’ve got short little legs,” Penguin Town field producer Cayley Christos says. “They’re almost like bouncing balls. They’ll walk along in a line and several of them will make the same fall and stumble, which is hysterical to watch.”

It’s never a bad time for penguins. But after the rough year that was, now might really be the time for nature’s unwitting comedians to shine.

A good story has been the hot commodity of nonfiction films in recent years – but they only give viewers the power to identify with their subjects rather than understand them

“Main character. Three acts. Heroic journey. Climax. Resolution. Nothing else seems to suffice in today’s documentary marketplace. A good story reigns supreme,” writes the Toronto-based film-maker Brett Story in an essay for World Records Journal about “story” as documentary’s hottest commodity. She’s not wrong: looking back at the highest grossing nonfiction films of the last 15 years or so – films such as March of the Penguins, Amy, Won’t You Be My Neighbour?, Three Identical Strangers and Free Solo – they all adopt flashily “cinematic” structures. Whether they’re character studies or social issue films, each follows a familiar arc with three distinct components: setup, confrontation and denouement. It’s telling that the Netflix-produced My Octopus Teacher, which...

Penguins are arguably the kings of the nature documentary. Monkeys may have a shot at the title, and sharks have a whole week to themselves, but penguins and their little waddling bodies have been a source of fascination — especially in megahits like 2005’s March of the Penguins. Now with Netflix’s latest docuseries, Penguin Town, a gang […]

The post ‘Penguin Town’ Trailer: Patton Oswalt Narrates the Exploits of South Africa’s Adorable Penguins appeared first on /Film.

My Octopus Teacher wrapped its tentacles around the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, corralling a win for Netflix in that category for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years.

It also brought a rare victory to an African film of any kind—producer and subject Craig Foster is South African, as is one of the two directors, Pippa Ehrlich; fellow director James Reed is British.

“We want to thank Netflix for enabling us to share our story with the world and then our incredible Octopus team, whose arms stretched across the planet, from South Africa to Amsterdam, to the U.K., to the U.S.,” Ehrlich said as she accepted the award.

The film tells the story of Foster, a filmmaker and naturalist, and the cephalopod he befriended while diving off the coast of South Africa on a daily basis for a year.

Participant’s Laura Kim has been promoted to executive vice president of marketing.

The seven-year-veteran of the company had previously served as a senior vice president in film marketing. She will continue to report to the company’s worldwide marketing president Christina Kounelias.

“Laura has become a good friend and trusted colleague for the past five years that we have worked closely together. Her vast knowledge and deep expertise in independent, specialty and international films is second-to-none, contributing greatly to the success of our films,” said Kounelias. “Her strategic thinking, great devotion to mentorship and genuine passion for impact and the issues match Participant’s core values, and on behalf of everyone at the company, we are thrilled to recognize her numerous contributions with this promotion.”

In her new role, Kim assumes expanded duties in independent and international film and series projects at the studio, founded with a mission to...

Participant has promoted veteran executive Laura Kim to executive vice president of marketing, the company announced on Tuesday.

Kim, who first joined Participant in 2014, will focus on independent and international films and series, reporting to Christina Kounelias, Participant’s president of worldwide marketing.

“Laura has become a good friend and trusted colleague for the past five years that we have worked closely together,” Kounelias said in a statement. “Her vast knowledge and deep expertise in independent, specialty and international films is second-to-none, contributing greatly to the success of our films. Her strategic thinking, great devotion to mentorship and genuine passion for impact and the issues match Participant’s core values, and on behalf of everyone at the company, we are thrilled to recognize her numerous contributions with this promotion.”

“I am excited to be working on films and series that move me and that challenge us to try harder and do better,...

Marketing and publicity veteran Laura Kim has been elevated to EVP of Marketing at Participant.

In her new position, Kim will assume broadened executive responsibilities, with a focus on independent and foreign films and series.

Kim first joined Participant as SVP of Film Marketing in 2014. During her tenure, she’s been key in working on the company’s specialty features, including such Oscar-winning films as American Factory, A Fantastic Woman, Spotlight, and Citizenfour, as well as Monos, Human Flow, and the Oscar-nominated films The Look of Silence and Rbg, the latter of which went on to become a documentary box office hit in 2018 with over $14M. Recent marketing efforts include two-time Oscar-nominated Collective, and the upcoming Final Account and My Name Is Pauli Murray, which had its world premiere this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Prior to joining Participant, Kim was principal and founder of Inside Job, a motion picture marketing,...

When “My Octopus Teacher” won the Producers Guild Award for Best Documentary on March 24, I started to wonder if that clears the path to it winning the Oscar. It’s an emotional, heartwarming film about nature, and feel-good movies sometimes have an advantage over investigative docs and grittier subjects.

First, it must be acknowledged that the PGA Award often veers wildly from the Oscars. In fact, the last three PGA winners weren’t even nominated by the motion picture academy: “Jane” (2017), “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (2018) and “Apollo 11” (2019). But when an Oscar nominee does win PGA, it tends to win the Oscar too, like “Searching for Sugar Man” (2012), “Amy” (2015) and “O.J.: Made in America” (2016) in the last decade. The last time the PGA winner had an Oscar nomination but lost it was Michael Moore‘s “Sicko” (2007), and that was 13 years ago.

SEE4 documentary filmmakers for ‘Crip Camp,’ ‘The Dissident,...

Adrian Politowski’s Align, the L.A. based production and finance company, has come on board to co-finance “Little Nicholas,” a hand-drawn animated feature directed by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre.

The feature is being produced by Aton Soumache at On Kids & Family (“The Little Prince”), a Mediawan Group company, and Lilian Eche and Christel Henon at Bidibul Productions. Charades, the banner behind the Oscar-nominated “Mirai,” is handling international and domestic sales.

Fredon and Massoubre previously worked on “Ariol” and “I Lost My Body,” respectively. Created by the author Rene Goscinny and the New Yorker illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe, “Le Petit Nicolas” follows the adventures of a mischievous boy and his schoolmates, teacher and parents in Paris in the 1960s.

The feature, written by Michel Fessler (“March of the Penguins”) and Anne Goscinny, the daughter of Rene and a critically acclaimed author herself, will have two narrative threads. One will follow Nicholas and his surroundings,...

Ambitious production is based celebration on work by late UK poet Heathcote Williams.

Wild Bunch International (Wbi) has boarded sales on Jean-Albert Lievre’s upcoming documentary Whale Nation, exploring the barely known world of whales.

The project takes inspiration from UK poet and dramatist Heathcote Williams’s 1988 prose work, celebrating the society of whales, with their remarkable abilities of communication and rich and complex social lives.

“The filmmaker has used the text as the basis for a timely film about life in all its diversity, man’s place on the planet and the vital need for cooperation between the species that share our planet,...