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The European Film Academy has revealed the nominations for Lux – The European Audience Film Award. The award is presented by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas.

The nominated films are: “20,000 Species of Bees” by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren (Spain); “The Teacher’s Lounge” by İlker Çatak (Germany); “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismäki; “On the Adamant” by Nicolas Philibert; and “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” by Anna Hints.

The five nominated films will now be subtitled in all 24 EU languages. The winner will be determined by the general public and the members of the European Parliament (each holding 50% of the vote) and announced during an awards ceremony in March 2024.

European Film Academy chair and president of the Lux jury Mike Downey said: “We know that cinema not only enhances the imagination but also shows our entire world in multiple perspectives and...

‘Codename: Annika’: SkyShowtime Unveils Cast & Trailer

SkyShowtime has unveiled cast and trailer for Codename: Annika, one of the fledgling Paramount/Comcast Jv’s biggest originals to date. The series follows a Finnish detective, Emma Haka, played by Sannah Nedergård (Yellow Sulphur Sky), who is still completing her undercover training when she gets sent on a mission into Stockholm’s corrupt world of fine art trade. Unveiled at the Stockholm International Film Festival, Codename from Mia Ylönen and Aleksi Bardy will star the likes of Ardalan Esmaili (Easy Money) as Rasmus Ståhlgren, Eva Melander (Border) as Rina Olander and Helena Bergström (House of Angels) as Agatha Torstensson, along with Pekka Strang (Tom of Finland) as Raimo Korpi, Clarisse Lhoni-Botte (Rolling to You) as Béatrice Joly and Charles Martins (Emily in Paris) as Denver Carpentier. Show will launch next month on the streaming service that is available in territories in which...

SkyShowtime, the European streaming joint venture of Comcast and Paramount Global has unveiled a teaser trailer for six-part original crime drama series Codename: Annika at the Stockholm International Film Festival outdoor cinema, Sommarbio.

The Finnish-Swedish production, which originally had the working title ID, was part of a deal that the streamer struck early this year with Warner Bros. Discovery for exclusive rights across all of Europe to 21 HBO Max European originals. Codename: Annika will launch on SkyShowtime in September.

Created by Mia Ylönen and Aleksi Bardy of production company Helsinki-Filmi (Tove, Ladies of Steel, Tom of Finland, Heart of a Lion, Lapland Odyssey) and directed by Finnish director Aj Annila (Peacemaker), the show promises to take audiences behind the scenes of the world of high-class art fraud, while also exploring “the reality of navigating a double identity.”

The series stars Sannah Nedergård (Yellow Sulphur Sky) as Finnish art fraud investigator Emma/Annika.

The upshot of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” becoming an internationally franchised pop phenomenon is that drag performance has firmly moved from the LGBTQ fringes into the mainstream: As an artform with an audience that now spans all demographics, it follows that it will become more inclusive on stage too. That’s the driving moral, at least, of “Dancing Queens,” a chipper, youth-targeted Swedish comedy that, in more ways than one, encapsulates the cultural broadening of drag in the post-RuPaul era.

Actor-turned-filmmaker Helena Bergström brings sequined cheer and free-to-be-you-and-me spirit to this story of a young, cisgender female dancer who gets an unlikely break by concealing her gender identity to perform in an ailing Gothenburg drag club, and it should duly find a sizable global audience when it premieres on Netflix at the outset of Pride month. In its eagerness to please, however, the film winds up pushing its own queer characters...

IMAX has inked a deal with Vox Cinemas, the Middle East’s largest exhibitor, for a minimum of four new theatres in Saudi Arabia. Four theatres will be added to new multiplexes in Riyadh. The first IMAX theatre has opened at Vox Cinemas’ Riyadh Park Mall venue. Vox Cinemas was awarded its licence to operate cinemas in the Kingdom and plans to invest SAR2B (Us$533.3M) to open 600 screens in Saudi Arabia over the next five years. Today’s agreement brings the IMAX contracted network in Saudi Arabia to at least five, with two currently open.

Kelly Macdonald’s Puzzle, which is directed by Big Beach principal Marc Turtletaub and was picked up earlier this year by Sony Pictures, will open the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The drama will be joined at the Scottish festival, which runs June 20 through July 1, by Anna And The Apocalypse, Jack Lowden-fronted thriller...

B-Reel’s past credits include ‘Euphoria’, ‘Gentlemen’ and ‘Before We Die’.

Nordisk Film said it is is ramping up its output of original Nordic film and TV series, and also unveiling a new five-picture deal with Sweden’s B-Reel Films.

Stockholm-based B-Reel Films (Brf) has past credits including Mikael Marcimain’s Gentlemen, Lisa Langseth’s Euphoria, TV series Before We Die and Pernilla August’s A Serious Game.

This follows Nordisk’s recent announcement of a three-year output deal with Swedish directors Helena Bergström and Colin Nutley and their production company Sweetwater.

Lone Korslund, VP acquisition and co-production at Nordisk Film,...

Nordic Film Market includes debut films by Force Majeure actress, the screenwriter of A Royal Affair and director of viral hit Las Palmas; CAA, UTA and ICM agents among attending industry.Scroll down for full list

More than 40 Nordic films and works in progress will be presented at the fruitful Nordic Film Market in Goteborg, which runs Feb 4-7 during to the Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 29 - Feb 8).

Often a productive staging post for impressive upcoming regional features and emerging talent, the 2016 lineup includes 17 finished features and 20 works in progress, plus eight titles presented as part of the Nordic Film Lab Discovery programme.

The works-in-progress presentations (see full list below) include ten debut films from the likes of A Royal Affair screenwriter Rasmus Heisterberg, viral hit Las Palmas director Johannes Nyholm, Force Majeure actress Fanni Metelius and Cannes Cinefondation alumni Juho Kuosmanen and Shahrbanoo Sadat.

Other works in progress will be presented from directors Mads Brugger ([link...

Bill Skarsgård, Simon and the Oaks Best film Apflickorna / She Monkeys Producer: Helene Lindholm Play Producer: Erik Hemmendorff Simon och ekarna / Simon and the Oaks Producers: Christer Nilson, Per Holst Best Foreign Language Film Kynodontas / Dogtooth Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Jodaeiye Nader az Simin / A Separation Director: Asghar Farhadi Winter's Bone Director: Debra Granik Best Director Lisa Aschan for Apflickorna / She Monkeys Lisa Ohlin for Simon och ekarna / Simon and the Oaks Ruben Östlund for Play Best actress in a leading role Ann Petrén for her role as Jonna in Happy End Magdalena Poplawska for her role as Marta in Between 2 Fires Helen Sjöholm for her role as Karin Larsson in Simon och ekarna / Simon and the Oaks Best actor in a leading role Mikael Persbrandt for his role as Johan in Stockholm Östra / Stockholm East Sven-Bertil Taube for his role as George in En enkel till Antibes / A One-way to...