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Sumerian has acquired the North American rights to brutal coming-of-age story “Mascot,” which had its world premiere in January at Slamdance, and its international premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam the same month.

Sumerian is planning a limited theatrical release this year under the English title “Fortunate Son.” The pickup marks the second acquisition for Sumerian’s new film and streaming division, which launched this year.

Sumerian founder Ash Avildsen said the film is “a dark, brutally authentic and beautifully shot independent film centered around troubled youth in unorthodox households. It will undoubtedly strike a nerve with audiences who appreciate gritty arthouse drama, as it did with me.”

With his radical behavior, teenager Jerry endangers not only himself but his entire family. At first glance, Jerry seems like a normal teenager. He lives with his single mother Abbey and younger sister in a quiet coastal town and helps out...

Belgian actor Lubna Azabal, who appeared in Oscar nominated films “Paradise Now” and “Incendies,” and French actor Slimane Dazi, who appeared in Oscar nominated “A Prophet” and Palme d’Or contender “Only Lovers Left Alive,” have joined the cast of Shariff Nasr’s buzzy feature debut “El Houb” (“The Love”).

Azabal, 47, ages up to play the role of the protagonist’s elderly mother in the film, which charts a son’s coming out journey to his Moroccan-Dutch family.

As previously reported, the film stars the Dutch TV and theater actor Fahd Larhzaoui – best known for his presenting role on long-running Dutch kids TV series “Huisje Boompje Beestje.”

Nasr, who co-wrote the screenplay with Philip Delmaar, was inspired by Larhzaoui’s own experiences of coming out to his family, which the actor has previously documented in his solo theater shows.

In a statement, the director said of his cast: “It is...

Picture Tree International has acquired international rights to “Mission Ulja Funk,” which has been selected for Berlin Film Festival’s youth-centric Generation KPlus competition.

The film, which is the debut feature of German writer/director Barbara Kronenberg, is about the 12 year old girl Ulja, who sets out on a road trip in a stolen hearse to Eastern Europe to witness the impact of an asteroid she discovered.

Kronenberg studied at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, and her graduation film “The Ballade of Ella Plummhoff” screened at more than 50 festivals and received numerous awards, including a nomination for the prestigious German First Steps Award.

“Mission Ulja Funk” is produced by Roshanak Behesht Nedjad’s outfit In Good Company (Germany) with pubcaster Mdr in co-production with Samsa Films (Luxemburg) and Shipsboy (Poland).

The film received German funding from the German Ministry of Culture (Bkm) and the Dfff as well as regional...

Ventana Sur, which wrapped Friday, was, on many counts, quite extraordinary. With Buenos Aires, the market’s normal location, still under Covid-19 lockdown, Latin America’s biggest movie mart-meet spread out film screenings over five cities in two continents – Madrid, Mexico City, Bogotá, São Paulo and Santiago de Chile – complemented by digital screenings for the rest of the world. Following, five takes on that bold gambit and the market itself, organized by Argentina’s Incaa Film Institute and the Cannes Marché du Film and Festival:

It Was Remarkable – But Did It Work?

Ventana Sur’s five city spread marks a revolution. But did it work? Global attendance held stable at 2,957 participants from 61 countries. 188 online screenings, complimented by 118 theatrical screenings, and the loss of a single on-site event in Buenos Aires, sparked a dramatic increase in non-Argentine attendees with delegates rocketing up to 78% in Europe to 546, 49% in the U.S. to 110 and 185% to 134 in Mexico,...

Berlin-based Picture Tree International, which is participating in this week’s Ventana Sur, has announced a swathe of deals on its sales slate, including a pact with HBO for U.S. rights on Mexican comedy “Go Youth,” which premiered locally at Morelia Film Festival recently.

Carlos Armella’s movie tells the intertwined stories of four teenagers struggling with the absurdities of life and rebelling against the adult world.

“Enfant Terrible,” selected for Cannes Official Selection this year, has added to previously announced sales with a deal with Encripta for all Latin America. The film, directed by Oskar Roehler, is about the life of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Deals have been closed for Norwegian romantic comedy “Diana’s Wedding” – Charlotte Blom’s bittersweet tribute to love – with Limelight for Australia and New Zealand, HBO Europe for Eastern Europe, and Ads for Hungary. Pti has received offers for the film from the U.

Several titles looking to follow in the wake of ‘Tenet’.

France, opening Wednesday September 2

The biggest opener in France this week is Anne Fontaine’s Police, first seen at the Berlinale in February. Released by Studiocanal, the drama (also known as Night Shift) centres on three Parisian police officers – played by Omar Sy, Virginie Efira and Grégory Gadebois – who debate whether to deport an illegal immigrant (Payman Maadi) while transporting him to the airport.

Sophie Letourneur’s Enormous will also receive a wide release through Memento Films Distribution. First screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) in January, the...

My Brother Chases Dinosaurs, My Extraordinary Summer with Tess and Rocca Changes the World are vying for the award, to be decided by audiences of 12- to 14-year-olds across Europe. The European Film Academy (Efa) announced the three nominees for the 2020 Efa Young Audience Award: Stefano Cipani's My Brother Chases Dinosaurs (Italy/Spain), Steven Wouterlood's My Extraordinary Summer with Tess (Netherlands/Germany) and Katja Benrath's Rocca Changes the World (Germany). The nominations were again chosen in a two-step procedure. An international committee consisting of Efa Board Member Vanessa Henneman (Netherlands) and experts Gonçalo Galvão Teles (director/Portugal), Jacek Rembiś (screenwriter/Poland), Joanna Van Der Meer (BFI/UK) and Nora Lakos pre-selected six films. A jury of 13-to-14-year-old former Yaa participants Edoardo from Turin (Italy), Luna from Vienna (Austria), Raluca from Cluj (Romania), Rannveig from Reykjavik (Iceland) and Štefan from Izola (Slovenia) then watched these six films and chose the.

Winner of a special mention from the Berlinale Generation KPlus’ adult jury, the family-friendly, light drama “My Extraordinary Summer With Tess” is straightforward youth cinema with surprising emotional depth. Based on a prize-winning novel by Anna Woltz, a beloved Dutch writer of work for young readers, it explores family relationships and emphasizes the importance of human connection. Fronted by two charismatic tween performers, the title marks the feature debut of Dutch helmer Steven Wouterlood, who already holds an international Emmy Kids Award. The New York Intl. Children’s Film Festival will host the film’s international premiere at the end of February.

The story unfolds from the perspective of sensitive 10-year-old Sam whose voiceover musings not only provide the narrative’s momentum and glue but also articulate the film’s ultimate lessons. Sam, his parents and older brother Jorre (Julian Ras) are on a week’s vacation on a Dutch island,...

Berlin-based sales agent Picture Tree Intl. has sold Steven Wouterlood’s coming-of-age film “My Extraordinary Summer with Tess,” which received a Special Mention from the jury of Berlin Film Festival’s Generation KPlus section, to distributors in several territories.

Among the buyers are Les Films Du Preau in France, Proview Entertainment in Taiwan, Angel Films in Denmark, New Horizons Assn. in Poland, and Storytelling Media in Norway. Further deals are likely to be closed soon.

As previously announced, the pic will be theatrical released by September Film in the Benelux countries and Farbfilm in Germany.

In a statement, Berlin’s KPlus jury said the film “tactfully explores difficult discussions around mortality, loss and trying to find one’s place in the world within an uplifting coming-of-age story full of light and infectious joy.”

The jury added that the film “teaches us about the importance of connection. It is full of surprises,...

A First Farewell, Wang Lina's look at the struggles of growing up as a member of the oppressed Uighur minority in China, won the best film honor from the international jury of the Generation Kplus sidebar of children's films at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.

The debut feature premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where it also won the best film honor in the Asian Future section. Steven Wouterlood's Dutch drama My Extraordinary Summer With Tess won a special mention from the international jury.

The plight of the China's Uighur community has becoming increasingly fraught with reports ...

A First Farewell, Wang Lina's look at the struggles of growing up as a member of the oppressed Uighur minority in China, won the best film honor from the international jury of the Generation Kplus sidebar of children's films at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.

The debut feature premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where it also won the best film honor in the Asian Future section. Steven Wouterlood's Dutch drama My Extraordinary Summer With Tess won a special mention from the international jury.

The plight of the China's Uighur community has becoming increasingly fraught with reports ...

Variety’s “10 Europeans to Watch” were feted at a party held by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg at Berlin’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel Saturday. Kirsten Niehuus and Helge Jürgens, managing directors of Medienboard, the regional film, TV and digital-media funding body, were the co-hosts for the evening, which attracted 2,000 party-goers.

Pictured above are Henry Chu, Variety‘s international editor (left), with six of the Europeans to Watch – (from left) Belgian director Bas Devos (“Hellhole”), German actress Maria Dragus (“Mary Queen of Scots”), German director Aron Lehmann (“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”), Austrian actress Valerie Pachner (“The Ground Beneath My Feet”), Dutch director Steven Wouterlood (“My Extraordinary Summer With Tess”), and German actor Fahri Yardim (“Dogs of Berlin”), with Niehuus (right).

Among the guests at the event were producers Martin Moszkowicz (“Resident Evil”) and Stefan Arndt (“Babylon Berlin”), and Tom Schilling, the lead actor in the Oscar nominated German film “Never Look Away,...

Near record levels of inward investment are boosting the local industry.

As the Dutch film industry comes together at International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr), there is much to be optimistic about in 2019.

The local industry is experiencing near record levels of inward investment as a location and post-production hub and Dutch co-production is blossoming. There may have been a slight - 0.8% - decline in admissions to 35.7 million cinema visitors in the Netherlands in 2018 but box office revenue has risen due to an increase in ticket prices.

Dutch market share for local films has remained broadly stable: it fell slightly from...

Following the selection of Dutch director Steven Wouterlood as one of Variety‘s 10 Europeans to Watch, we have been given exclusive access to the trailer to his feature debut, “My Extraordinary Summer With Tess.” The coming-of-age tale premieres in the Generation section of the Berlin Film Festival, and receives a theatrical release by September Film in the Benelux countries and by Farbfilm in Germany in the fall. Picture Tree Intl. is handling world sales on the movie.

The film, based on the novel by Anna Woltz, centers on Sam and his friend Tess. Afraid of being left alone as the youngest of the family, Sam begins to train for “aloneness” while on holiday on a Dutch island. There he meets the elusive Tess, who harbors a big secret. “Sam is drawn into an adventure that makes him realize that you should cherish your family instead of fleeing [from it],” according to Picture Tree.

Variety has unveiled its fifth edition of 10 Europeans to Watch, spotlighting 10 rising talents from across the continent who are poised for breakthroughs in 2019. The selection includes emerging actors, directors, showrunners and cinematographers from six countries whose dynamic talents are being showcased on screens big and small, and on both sides of the camera.

The group will be feted at the upcoming Berlin Intl. Film Festival with a luncheon in partnership with Dr. Hauschka at the Gorki Apartments on Feb. 9, and at the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg party that evening at the Ritz-Carlton.

The 2019 10 Europeans to Watch:

French cinematographer and director Marine Atlan has two films screening in Berlin: her directorial feature debut, “Daniel,” premieres in Berlin’s Generation Kplus section and she shot Panorama selection “Jessica Forever.”

German thesp Jonas Dassler toplines Fatih Akin’s Berlin competition pic “The Golden Glove.”

Belgian helmer Bas Devos, whose feature debut, “Violet,” won the Berlin...