News

Fans now have the opportunity to rewatch Angelina Jolie's action-thriller Salt. The movie debuted in 2010 and was barely profitable, making just over $293 million at the worldwide box office against a $130 million budget.

Salt is now streaming on Peacock. Directed by Phillip Noyce, the movie stars Jolie as the eponymous Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative who, after being accused of being a sleeper agent for the Kgb, goes on the run to clear her name. The movie's ensemble includes Liev Schreiber, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tika Sumpter, and Corey Stoll.

RelatedMarch 21 Will Be a Wicked Great Day for Wicked Fans

The award-winning box office hit Wicked is heading to streaming.

Salt received mostly positive reviews upon its debut, with many critics lauding Jolie's performance and its action sequences while reserving criticism for the film's implausible and convoluted plot. The action-thriller holds a 62% critic rating and a 59% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Berlin Film Festival kicked off its 75th anniversary edition February 13 with the opening-night world premiere screening of The Light, Tom Tykwer’s politically charged film that takes stock of German society in the first quarter of the 21st century. It starts 11 days of debuts including for movies starring Jessica Chastain, Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Rupert Friend, Marion Cotillard, Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Emma Mackey and more.

The 2025 Berlinale runs through February 23.

Keep checking back below as Deadline reviews the best and buzziest movies of the festival. Click on the titles to read the full reviews.

Blue Moon

Section: Competition

Director: Richard Linklater

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott

Deadline’s takeaway: Richard Linklater’s Broadway chamber piece looks back to a lost time and mourns a lost soul in Lorenz Hart as the booze is about to consume him. In a bravura theatrical performance, Ethan Hawke...

Deadline announced this morning that our friends at Yellow Veil Pictures have acquired all North American rights for Lucile Hadžihalilović’s dark fairy tale The Ice Tower. Set in the 1970s, the picture follows runaway Jeanne) who falls under the spell of Cristina, the enigmatic star of The Snow Queen, a film being shot in the studio where she has taken refuge. The film is the second time Hadžihalilović has worked with the iconic French actress Marion Cotillard. They take the lead in pic along with Clara Pacini. They star with August Diehl, Marine Gesbert, and it will also feature a cameo performance from cult director Gaspar Noé. “For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Like a distant French cousin to the late David Lynch, but with a name significantly harder to pronounce, director Lucile Hadzihalilovic has been making bizarre, intricately crafted movies for over two decades now. A rarity in Gallic cinema, where talk-heavy dramas and comedies tend to be the norm, her quietly disturbing films, which include Innocence, Evolution and Earwig, often put children in hazardous situations where horror, sci-fi and fantasy come clashing together in highly artful ways.

Her latest feature, The Ice Tower (La Tour de glace), is no exception, weaving a twisted retro fairytale that sits somewhere between Frozen and Mulholland Drive. Starring Marion Cotillard, who also headlined Innocence, it’s the kind of movie where it’s better not to know much before going in. Suffice it to say that if you’re looking for a Disney film or a horror flick, or perhaps both, The Ice Tower isn...

What is it with Lucile Hadzihalilovic and ice? In her last film, Earwig, her central character was a browbeaten little girl without teeth who had to submit to wearing ice dentures, suspended from a cruel metal frame, all day. Her new film turns up the freezing unit to 11 in a long riff on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, moving between the white peaks of the French Haute Savoie, an ice rink and a film set where a version of The Snow Queen is being filmed in what appears to be real snow. It certainly sounds real as Jeanne (Clara Pacini), the young girl Hadzihalilovic sends out into this endless cold, crunches it underfoot.

Like Andersen’s story, The Ice Tower centers on a girl on a quest, a framework that in the original can be read — as in many fairytales — as a mythologizing of the heroine’s growth into womanhood.

A film set is no place for little girls. In the fairy-tale-adjacent world of Lucile Hadžihalilović’s frigid dark fantasy “The Ice Tower,” an orphan runs away from her foster home and takes refuge in the basement of a movie studio, finding herself drawn to the production — and its star, played by Marion Cotillard — the way a child in a Hans Christian Andersen story might be lured into the clutches of a wicked enchantress. Aptly enough, the script they’re shooting is “The Snow Queen,” aspects of which echo through the ’70s-set movie’s many layers, all the way out to us, whom Hadžihalilović hopes to trap in her crystal prism.

Cotillard and Hadžihalilović collaborated once before, early in both their careers, on 2004’s “Innocence,” where the director first planted the unholy seeds she’s still harvesting all these years later: unsettling yet artful projects in which Hadžihalilović depicts the...

Marion Cotillard shared that, while she plays the enigmatic Cristina in her film The Ice Tower (‘La Tour de Grace’), she found herself intimidated by her young co-star Clara Pacini as the pair prepared to work on the movie.

Cotillard, who won an Oscar in 2008 for her role of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, said at the Berlinale Film Festival:

“We met at my place and I realised I didn’t dare to look her straight in the eyes, I felt very uncomfortable. I felt intimidated by Clara, she is very charismatic. That was the start of our work together, [that connection] already existed between us.”

Discussing her preparation for the role of actress Cristina, she said: “I invented stories, rivalries with actors, failures and flops. I invented her decline, in a sense.”

She added: “Repeatedly, I play mysterious figures, so I want to see that mystery for myself. I...

Independent international production company and financier Gold Rush Pictures has signed a deal with Ilya Stewart’s Hype Studios to participate in financing and co-producing a slate of at least five feature films, Variety can exclusively reveal.

The news comes ahead of the world premiere of Tom Tykwer’s contemporary German drama “The Light” (pictured), which was co-produced by Gold Rush Pictures and will open the Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 13.

Two of the five titles on the companies’ slate will be collaborations with the Polish screenwriter-director and two-time Berlinale prizewinner Małgorzata Szumowska, including “The Gambler Wife,” a dark comedy about Russian literary figures Anna and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The anticipated feature, which was announced in Variety, is due to begin principal photography this spring. A second feature from Szumowska is currently in development.

Rounding out the slate are three titles with long-time Hype Studios collaborator Kirill Serebrennikov, whose previous four...

Chinese star Fan Bingbing (I Am Not Madame Bovary, The 355) and German actor/director Maria Schrader (I’m Your Man, She Said) will join jury president Todd Haynes to judge the competition films at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale announced Thursday.

Berlin unveiled its international jury for the 2025 event, which runs Feb. 13-23, which will see the Far from Heaven and Carol director heading up the four-woman, three-man jury that will pick this year’s Gold and Silver Bear winners.

Alongside Fan and Schrader, the 2025 Berlinale jury includes Moroccan-French director Nabil Ayouch (Much Loved, Horses of God), German costume designer Bina Daigeler (TÁR, Mulan), Argentine director Rodrigo Moreno (The Delinquents), and American critic and podcast host Amy Nicholson.

Haynes has a long history with the Berlinale. His debut feature Poison won the Teddy Award, for LGBTQ+ cinema, at Berlin in 1991.

The 75th Berlinale kicks off with...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for the 2025 edition, running February 13-23. It’s the first official lineup overseen by new artistic director and former BFI London Film Festival leader Tricia Tuttle, who succeeds Carlo Chatrian and brings her background as an American journalist and curator to the annual German showcase. She’s also working with co-directors of programming, Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz, to help reposition the Berlinale’s profile among the great global film festivals and lure bigger-name filmmakers in the process.

This year’s lineup, announced Tuesday, January 21, features new films from Richard Linklater, Michel Franco, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Hong Sangsoo (“What Does That Nature Say to You”), Radu Jude (“Kontinental ’25”), and Lucile Hadžihalilović (“The Ice Tower”). Already confirmed in the mix are “Mickey 17” from Bong Joon Ho and Ira Sachs’ Sundance premiere “Peter Hujar’s Day,” plus Tom Tykwer’s “The Light” opening the festival.

Following last week’s lineup announcement, the Berlinale 2025 has now fleshed out its slate with the Competition, Special, and Perspectives sections. Highlights include the world premieres of Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott; Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25; Hong Sangsoo’s What Does that Nature Say to You; Michel Franco’s Dreams starring Jessica Chastain; Lucile Hadžihalilović’s The Ice Tower starring Marion Cotillard; and Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s Hot Milk with Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, and Vicky Krieps.

The festival will also include international premieres from Julia Loktev, Mary Bronstein, Kahlil Joseph, and more. In terms of omissions for films that potentially could have been a strong fit: there’s no Steven Soderberg’s Black Bag, Wes Anderson’s German production The Phoenician Scheme, nor Berlinale regular Christian Petzold, who wrapped Miroirs No. 3 only a few months ago.

Check out the lineup...

New films from Richard Linklater, Michel Franco and Hong Sang-soo are among the competition highlights for the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, the world’s largest public film festival, which unveiled it full lineup today.

Linklater’s Blue Moon, a period drama about the final days of Lorenz Hart, half of the Rodgers & Hart songwriting team, will have its world premiere at the Berlinale, marking Linklater’s fourth time in Berlin competition. At his last go-around, with Boyhood in 2014, he walked away with the Silver Bear for best director. The feature, starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott, will be released worldwide by Sony Pictures Classics.

Berlinale regular, and four-time Silver Bear winner Hong Sang-soo returns with his latest intimate drama, What Does That Nature Say to You?; and Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud, whose feature Sex was an audience favorite at Berlin last year, is back with Dreams,...

The Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled the full list of titles set for its official competition alongside perspective and specials sidebars.

A total of 19 films have been selected for the international competition. It’s a buzzy selection with multiple titles that have been anticipated and boast high-profile names. Highlights include Richard Linklater’s latest feature Blue Moon, starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott. Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco launches his latest title Dreams in competition. The film stars Jessica Chastain, Isaac Hernández and Rupert Friend. Franco last worked with Chastain on the Venice competition title Memory.

Elsewhere, Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude lands in competition with Kontinental ’25. Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s Hot Milk starring Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw and Vicky Krieps also secures a spot alongside Hong Sangsoo’s latest What Does that Nature Say to You, and Mumblecore veteran Mary Bronstein returns as a director with If I Had Legs I’d Kick You...

After its recent streaming launch on the Angel Studios app, Bonhoeffer will soon be released on digital platforms.

Bonhoeffer, or Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin., directed by Todd Komarnicki, is a faithful historical drama about German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The film, which stars Jonas Dassler, August Diehl, and Clarke Peters, explores Bonhoeffer's courageous stand against the Nazis during the Third Reich. 

With a reported $25 million budget, Bonhoeffer earned $12 million at the box office since its release in theaters.

Read full article on The Direct.

World War II was one of the most defining wars of the last century. The war involved over 70 countries, including the United States, and reshaped society in the process of its six-year duration. World War II contained an excess of significant moments that have been the subject of documentaries and biopic films for decades.

World War II has always been a fascination for history buffs and people who like to see societal changes on a massive scale. Some WWII films stand out with more impactful stories or through the reinvention of the war drama. Netflix is currently streaming several World War II movies, but a few stand above the rest.

Munich: The Edge of War Shows Friends Before and After War Munich: The Edge of War (2021)

Munich: The Edge of War follows Hugh Legat, a British diplomat who travels to Munich as the world inches closer to the brink of war.

Often credited with delivering tremendous action and effective storytelling, World War II movies have captured audiences throughout the lineage of cinema with various features about an important time in history. Whether sticking to the traditional genre tropes, crafting a narrative beyond the war or creating new ways to enhance the experience of this period, many World War II films have delivered engaging battle sequences and fights that truly stick with viewers.

At the same time, several World War II films help emphasize dedicated and spectacular filmmaking on display, where an entire production can bring an action set-piece to life that visualizes combat and resonates with an audience regarding the characters and stakes at play. Moreover, not many genres in film can perfectly encapsulate drama, suspense, humor or other important emotions quite like a fight scene in a war movie, especially if it’s a World War II feature; which already...

War films have been a staple of Hollywood filmmaking for over 100 years, captivating audiences with stories about the heroics and sacrifices of people who fight in, or are trapped inside, wide-scale conflicts. World War II has provided an especially deep canvass for directors, being a conflict that so broadly affected many people around the world.

Though many World War II films focus on grand battles and explosive combat, some of the best movies about the conflict focus on emotional romances between characters who are caught in the crossfire of the war. These movies provide captivating looks into how powerful love can be, even in the middle of devastation.

Spies Fall in Love in This Romantic Thriller Allied (2016)

Directed by:

Robert Zemeckis

Starring:

Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Jared Harris

Robert Zemeckis is one of the greatest directors of the 1980s and 1990s, having directed a few of the best movies of...

Quentin Tarantino remains one of the most celebrated and respected directors working in Hollywood today. After he became a major name due to his breakout hit, Pulp Fiction, in 1994, he would go on to direct a handful of films that were either critically acclaimed or box office successes, or both. Tarantino movies often share a number of unique characteristics that make them instantly distinguishable, including memorable dialogue and select actors who have become regulars in his projects.

These regulars include Samuel L. Jackson, Eli Roth, Michael Madsen, and Harvey Keitel, but Fassbender is not among them. Fassbender worked steadily throughout the early 2000s, but it wasn't until later in the decade that his career really started to take off. After starring in Hunger (2008), the actor joined his first major franchise in 2011 with X-Men: First Class, in which he played a younger Magneto. Since then, he's appeared in projects like Prometheus...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a theologian, a pastor, and a pacifist. He was also one of the men who conspired to kill Adolph Hitler during World War II. Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin, starring Jonas Dassler in the titular role, tells the story of the German churchman who stood up to the Third Reich — and was hanged for doing so.

Bonhoeffer offers insight into Bonhoeffer's life, but the man was much more complex than any on-screen presentation can depict. Bonhoeffer traveled internationally to study and oversaw underground ministries in the face of a religious system that had turned away from his teachings and beliefs. Bonhoeffer's life as a boy in Germany, his time abroad, and his ultimate actions of defiance are a fascinating glimpse into the struggle between good and evil and how one man sought to make a difference.

3.5/5 Bonhoeffer

Release Date November 22, 2024Cast Jonas Dassler, August Diehl, Moritz Bleibtreu,...

“Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.” emerges as a dramatic biographical drama that follows Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s amazing life as a German Lutheran priest who dared to oppose the Nazi government during one of humanity’s darkest times. Set in pre-World War II Germany, the film examines how a very religious thinker evolved from a contemplative theologian to an active resistance fighter eager to confront Hitler’s totalitarian machinery.

The movie is more than just a historical recounting; it is a compelling reflection on moral courage, personal conviction, and the incredible decisions people make when confronted with systemic evil. The film provides a fascinating narrative that resonates far beyond its historical setting, depicting Bonhoeffer’s drastic journey from a wealthy intellectual to a potential assassin plotting against Hitler.

More than a simple biographical sketch, Bonhoeffer illuminates how ordinary people can transform into extraordinary resisters when confronted with profound moral challenges, making...

The war genre has produced some all-time classic movies over the years and has been a firm fixture in the release calendar ever since Georges Mlis released War Fighting in Greece in 1897, all the way to now in 2024. However, for every bona fide classic, such as Apocalypse Now, or Full Metal Jacket, there are often movies that arrive to a lukewarm reception but are actually great films.

While a lot of the very best war movies are from the 1960s, 1970s, or 1990s, there are many great examples of the genre that were released in the 2000s. However, they have been shown very little love from critics and audiences. Some of them were either released at the wrong time, the studio didn't believe in them enough to push the marketing campaigns, or audiences didn't click with how great they were. There are many war movies from the 2000s that deserve to be reassessed.

An adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s iconic Russian novel “The Master and Margarita” is inching closer to a Western release as it heads to AFM this week.

The feature, directed by Michael Lockshin (“Silver Skates”), was a victim of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, despite both Locksin and the film itself being critical of Putin’s authoritarianism.

With the film’s rights now in the clear, Luminosity Pictures have boarded the project as sales agent, launching at AFM.

“The Master and Margarita” stars August Diehl (“Inglourious Basterds”), Claes Bang (“Bad Sisters”), Evgeniy Tsyganov (The Man Who Surprised Everyone”) and Yulia Snigir (“A Good Day to Die Hard”). Lockshin co-wrote the screenplay with Roman Kantor based on Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical and anti-authoritarian novel, which has sold over 100 million copies internationally and been translated into over 40 languages.

The film, set in the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1930s,...

Bonhoeffer chronicles the extraordinary courage of the famed theologian and Lutheran pastor who stood firm against Nazi Germany's genocidal oppression. His staunch belief that Christians must act compassionately while following God's divine principles was unwavering through his final days as a political prisoner sentenced to death in a concentration camp. Bonhoeffer witnessed humanity's worst traits in Europe and America, but refused to remain silent or idle in the face of unbridled evil. He galvanized others to bold action and made the ultimate sacrifice for his faith.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Radical Theologian of the People

3.5/5 Bonhoeffer PG-13

When a pacifist is called to a political act that could change the course of history, a man of honour responds. This is the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who preached love while plotting the assassination of an evil tyrant.

Release Date November 22, 2024Director Todd KomarnickiCast Jonas Dassler, August Diehl, Moritz Bleibtreu,...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Canary Black is a spy action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel from a screenplay by Matthew Kennedy. The Prime Video film follows Avery Graves, an exceptional CIA agent whose husband is kidnapped by terrorists to blackmail her into stealing sensitive information that would betray her country. Canary Black stars Kate Beckinsale in the lead role with Rupert Friend, Ray Stevenson, Saffron Burrows, Ben Miles, and Michael Brandon starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the explosive action, thrilling story, and compelling characters in Canary Black here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Salt (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Columbia Pictures

Salt is a spy action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer. The 2010 film follows Evelyn Salt, an exceptional CIA agent who is wrongfully accused of killing the Russian president.

Angelina Jolie is one of the biggest action stars and Hollywood's top choice for female-led films in the genre. By 2010, when she starred as the titular character in Salt, she was already an established action actress, with several popular titles under her belt.

Now Salt is one of the titles that will join Tubi's new selection of free films starting Nov. 1. Following her role as the title character in the video adaptation Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and its sequel, 2005's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and 2008's Wanted, Jolie had proven her star quality and was more than ready to tackle the role of Evelyn Salt. The action thriller will join other titles like 2014's Edge of Tomorrow, 2015's Furious 7, 2012's Taken 2 and 3, and 2021's Wrath of Man.

Related Acclaimed Time Travel Thriller Series Based on Stephen King Story Gets Free Streaming Home

Praised by critics and audiences...

Ontario Creates’ International Financing Forum (Iff) will feature 40 projects from Canadian and international teams bringing new work from Malcolm McDowell, Clement Virgo, and Rafael Kapelinski, director of 2017 Berlin Crystal Bear winner Butterfly Kisses.

The forum, now in its 19th year, runs September 8-9 in Toronto in association with Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). It brings together jury-selected producers looking to find co-producers and secure financing for upcoming projects.

Canadian projects include The Benefactor starring McDowell from A Clockwork Orange and Mozart In The Jungle in the story of a widower who believes his house is haunted.

Ontario’s Byron A. Martin of Byron A.

Sarah Duve-Schmid, the deputy CEO of the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) will succeed Kirsten Niehuus as managing director of film funding for Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg from mid-2025.

Niehuus, who was also deputy CEO at the Ffa from 1999 to 2004, has been at the helm of the regional fund’s film funding operations since November 2004.

Like Niehuus, Duve-Schmid is a trained lawyer who has been head of film funding at the Ffa since 2019.

In line with Duve- Schmid’s arrival, film funding decisions will now be taking by committee rather than by the managing director alone for the first time in the Medienboard’s 30-year history.

Exclusive: Angel Studios, the outfit behind global blockbuster Sound of Freedom, has unveiled the full trailer for its true-life WWII thriller Bonhoeffer – see it above. Spotlighting the courage and sacrifice of the titular German pastor and theologian-turned-spy, the film is written and directed by Sully scribe Todd Komarnicki. Angel Studios will release domestically on November 22.

The drama’s subject is World War II hero Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Jonas Dassler), a pacifist pastor who conspired to bring an end to the Nazi regime, fearlessly speaking the truth while facing unyielding oppression and evil.

The official synopsis reads: When a pacifist is called to a political act that could change the course of history, how will a man of honor respond? This is the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who preached love while plotting the assassination of an evil tyrant. With world-shattering stakes, Bonhoeffer begs the question, how far will you...

The UK’s Reason8 has locked in North American deals for Philip Sotnychenko’s Ukrainian Rotterdam premiere La Palisiada and Czech erotic drama Her Body with Film Movement.

Further sales include Her Body for UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand (Tmp), German-speaking Europe (Busch Media Group), Korea (Entermode/Evrit Consulting), Japan (At Entertainment) and Poland (Media4Fun).

Venice title The Red Suitcase, from Nepal’s Fidel Devkota, has sold to Dekanalog for North America, while Romanian Tudor Giurgiu’s Libertate has landed in French-speaking Europe (Destiny Films), Spain and Andorra (Twelve Oaks Pictures), Poland (Media4Fun) and Taiwan (Time Vision Co).

Belgium drama Skunk,...

Del director de ‘Corpus Christi’ y el guionista de ‘El Padre’.

Según The Hollywood Reporter, August Diehl y Andrea Riseborough protagonizarán “The Noise of Time”, del director Jan Komasa (“Corpus Christi”) y el guionista Christopher Hampton (“El Padre”).

Basada en el libro homónimo de Julian Barnes, la película es un drama sobre la vida del compositor ruso Dimitri Shostakovich y su esposa Nina. La película recorrerá la trayectoria de la vida y la carrera de Shostakóvich, comenzando en 1936, cuando el compositor de 30 años se enfrenta por primera vez a la ira de Stalin después de que una de sus óperas sea condenada como contrarrevolucionaria. Escapa a la ejecución, pero durante décadas Shostakovich se ve obligado a ser un representante cultural del Estado soviético, y lucha por mantener la integridad de su música.

El proyecto se presentará a los compradores en el mercado cinematográfico de Cannes esta semana.

¡SÍGUENOS!

Twitter

Instagram...

German star August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds, A Hidden Life) and Oscar-nominated actress Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, To Leslie) have signed on to star in The Noise of Time, a new drama about the life of Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich and his wife Nina, adapted from Julian Barnes’ book of the same name.

Two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton (The Father, Dangerous Liaisons) is adapting Barnes’ novel for the screen, with Polish director Jan Komasa (the Oscar-nominated Corpus Christi) attached to direct.

The film will trace the trajectory of Shostakovich’s life and career, beginning in 1936 when the 30-year-old composer first faced Stalin’s wrath after one of his operas is condemned as counter-revolutionary. He escapes execution but for decades Shostakovich is forced to be a cultural representative of the Soviet state, and struggles to maintain the integrity of his music.

Beta Cinema is handling world sales on the film and will be...

Beta Cinema is launching pre-sales at Cannes on a big-screen version of Julian Barnes’ novel The Noise Of Time that is being adapted by two- time Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton and will star August Diehl and Andrea Riseborough.

Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa, who was Oscar nominated for his 2019 feature Corpus Christi, is lined up to direct the fictionalised account of the life of composer Dimitri Shostakovich in Stalinist Russia.

Diehl will star as Shostakovich, while Riseborough will play his wife Nita, Shostakovich’s wife and intellectual equal.

The story follows the trajectory of the Russian composer’s life and career,...

Beta Cinema is launching pre-sales at Cannes on a big-screen version of Julian Barnes’ novel The Noise Of Time that is being adapted by two- time Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton and will star August Diehl and Andrea Riseborough.

Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa, who was Oscar nominated for his 2019 feature Corpus Christi, is lined up to direct the fictionalised account of the life of composer Dimitri Shostakovich in Stalinist Russia.

Diehl will star as Shostakovich, while Riseborough will play his wife Nita, Shostakovich’s wife and intellectual equal.

The story follows the trajectory of the Russian composer’s life and career,...

Italian media company Be Water, which is in Cannes for the first time, has announced its full roster of partners and scope of business activities comprising film, documentary and scripted TV production as well as theatrical film distribution, podcasts and live events.

While details of the company’s scripted productions are being kept under wraps, Be Water has announced the lineup of films they are releasing locally theatrically in collaboration with Italy’s Medusa, which is handling booking and billing. Besides “Oh, Canada,” the Be Water lineup includes Nicolas Cage horror-thriller “Longlegs,” directed by Osgood Perkin; Russian-American director Michael Lockshin’s “The Master and Margarita” with Claes Bang and August Diehl; and action family adventure “Jim Button and the Wild 13.”

The Rome-based shingle is operating with what is being described as a holistic approach to content production that is congenial to the digital age, which is certainly a novelty for Italy.

Weeks after the Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore joined the cast of James McAvoys upcoming project Control, StudioCanal and The Picture Company have added seven names to the cast list as it enters production in Berlin. Per Deadline, the newly-added stars include Sarah Bolger from A Good Woman Is Hard To Find, Ted Lasso's Nick Mohammed, The Sandman's Jenna Coleman, Rudi Dharmalingam from Role Play, Andor's Kyle Soller alongside August Diehl and Martina Gedeck.

Studiocanal and The Picture Company’s new psychological thriller Control is starting up production with its star James McAvoy. Deadline has also revealed the list of actors that will be rounding out the cast for the film. Julianne Moore has been added to the film, starring opposite McAvoy. In addition to McAvoy and Moore, Sarah Bolger, who is known for A Good Woman Is Hard To Find, joins the cast, along with Nick Mohammed from Ted Lasso, Jenna Coleman, whose credits include The Sandman, Rudi Dharmalingam, known for Role Play, Kyle Soller of the Disney+ show Andor, plus August Diehl and Martina Gedeck. The film will be directed by Robert Schwentke, whose resume includes the Bruce Willis action comedy Red.

The synopsis (per Deadline) reads,

“Control is based on the podcast from Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie. The film revolves around a troubled doctor who wakes up one morning to...

Exclusive: Studiocanal and The Picture Company have added seven names to the cast of the James McAvoy starrer Control as the pic enters production in Berlin.

Joining the cast are Sarah Bolger (A Good Woman Is Hard To Find), Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso), Jenna Coleman (The Sandman), Rudi Dharmalingam (Role Play), Kyle Soller (Andor) August Diehl, and Martina Gedeck.

Directed by Robert Schwentke (Red), Control is based on the podcast from Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie. The film revolves around a troubled doctor who wakes up one morning to the sound of a mysterious voice in his head. With his reality now in question, the voice makes a series of escalating demands he must follow or devastating consequences will unfold.

Rounding out the key crew is director of photography Roman Vasyanov (Fury), and BAFTA-nominated editor Sven Budelmann (All Quiet On The Western Front). Costumes were designed by prolific costume designer...

Beta Cinema has added Andres Veiel’s upcoming documentary film “Riefenstahl,” about controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, to its Cannes lineup.

The film is an exploration of Riefenstahl’s legacy, delving deep into her complex relationship with the Nazi regime. With unprecedented access to Riefenstahl’s 700-box personal archive, the documentary navigates between her sanitized narrative and incriminating evidence regarding her knowledge of the regime’s atrocities.

Veiel is a multi-award-winning writer and director of both narrative feature films and documentaries. His documentary about the aftermath of the Raf campaign of terror, “Black Box Germany,” was honored with the German Film Award and the European Film Award in 2002. In 2011, he presented the feature film “If Not Us, Who?” in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, winning the Alfred Bauer Award. The film was also nominated for five German Film Awards and brought Sevilla’s best actor award to August Diehl for his leading performance.

Roll up, roll up for Part 2 of our Cannes Film Festival preview, this time with a focus on international, mainly non-English-language fare. If you didn’t catch Andreas’ English-language-focused Part 1, check it out.

As the fest basks in the warm glow of the Oscar wins for 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and Grand Jury Prize winner The Zone of Interest, delegate general Thierry Frémaux and his team are furiously tying up the 2024 Official Selection.

With less than four weeks to go until the bulk of the 77th edition (running May 14-25) is revealed at the press conference in Paris on April 11, we’ve rounded up a host of the titles ready and in the running for a splash in either Official Selection or the main parallel sections of Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week.

The registration deadline was March 15, with March 22 the official cut-off for submissions to arrive...

Just days after the Russian blockbuster “The Master and Margarita” surged to the top of the domestic box office, Kremlin cronies, pro-war propagandists and an army of online trolls have waged a campaign to discredit the film and its director, Michael Lockshin, a U.S. citizen who was raised in the Soviet Union and has been outspoken in his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

A source close to the film, who asked not to be named out of fear of potential repercussions, tells Variety that the movie’s staggering success and pointed critique of authoritarian rule has struck a nerve in right-wing circles at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on any form of dissent.

“The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down,” the source said.

Exclusive: Bombay Berlin Film Productions (Bbfp) has revealed that August Diehl has been cast to play the role of German Olympic athlete Otto Peltzer in upcoming biopic The Distant Near.

Polish-uk filmmaker Rafael Kapelinski is set to direct the project, which has been selected for the Co-production Market of India’s Film Bazaar, currently taking place in Goa (November 20-24). The screenplay is written by UK writer James Pout with support from the Nipkow program of Medienboard.

Peltzer had an extraordinary life – an Olympic middle distance runner and former world record holder, he was persecuted by the Nazis for being gay and spent time in Mauthausen concentration camp. On his release, he moved to India to avoid further persecution, later becoming a coach for the Indian athletics team and inspiring them to victory over a visiting German team.

Diehl’s credits include Phillip Noyce’s Salt, alongside Angelina Jolie, Terrence...

Exclusive: Angel Studios, the studio behind surprise global blockbuster Sound of Freedom, has acquired worldwide rights to Bonhoeffer (fka God’s Spy), a true-life thriller written and directed by Sully scribe Todd Komarnicki. Spotlighting the courage and sacrifice of an extraordinary World War II hero, the film is slated for release in theaters in 2024.

Pic’s subject is Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Jonas Dassler), a pacifist pastor determined to live his life with uncompromising political and spiritual courage while choosing to live in Berlin during the Third Reich. Conspiring to bring an end to the Nazi regime, he fearlessly spoke the truth while facing unyielding oppression and evil. His impact is still felt around the world today.

Starring alongside Never Look Away‘s Dassler are August Diehl (Inglorious Basterds), Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run), Nadine Heidenreich (Die Flaschenpost-Insel), David Jonsson (Rye Lane), and Flula Borg (Suicide Squad). Producers included Emmanuel and Camille Kampouris,...

The following post contains spoilers for "Salt."

The 2010 film "Salt" stars Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy. The movie, directed by Phillip Noyce, reveals that she is one, but there is far more to it than simply that. She's been working as a double agent, set up to spy for Russia and waiting to be activated, but things have happened since she was put as a child into a secret Russian program. She's met a man (August Diehl), fallen in love, and gotten married. She's built herself a life. Oh, and then there was the reason she was made a Russian sleeper agent in the first place. 

The ending reveals that she wasn't the only Russian child spy and that someone she never suspected is one as well. While the first thing you remember about "Salt" is likely the fuss...

The King's Man sequel will focus on the rise of Hitler and how he was supported by the English aristocracy. The sequel, titled The Traitor King, has already been written and is described as "pretty cool" by director Matthew Vaughn. Despite mixed reviews and disappointing box office results, the sequel will build upon the much-mocked mid-credit scene from the first film, introducing Hitler to the Kingsman franchise.

Director Matthew Vaughn has offered details of his intention for The King’s Man sequel, revealing that the follow-up "is about the rise of Hitler.” Speaking with Collider, Vaughn confirmed that The King’s Man 2 is indeed happening and will follow on from the...questionable mid-credit scene at the end of the first outing.

“The next one it’s it is about the rise of Hitler, and how Hitler did come to power and basically was supported by the English aristocracy."

The filmmaker also...

“Sidonie in Japan” will travel far and wide, as international agent Indie Sales has posted a raft of new sales out of Rome’s Mia Market. Starring Isabelle Huppert and directed by Elise Girard, the wistful romance world premiered out of Venice’s independent, auteur-oriented sidebar Venice Days last month.

The Paris-based sales company has altogether secured distribution deals for Australia/New Zealand (Sharmill Films), the Baltics (Next Episode Sl), Brazil (Imovision), the Cis (Arthouse), Germany (Majestic), Italy (Academy 2), India and subcontinent (BookMyShow), Spain (Surtsey) and Switzerland (Outside the Box), while negotiations are still ongoing with partners in Belgium and China. Gallic distributor Art House will handle the film’s domestic release early next year.

Led by Huppert and co-starring August Diehl and Tsuyoshi Ihara (“Letters from Iwo Jima”) the bittersweet film follows a widowed French author who accepts an invitation to Kyoto, only to find her husband’s ghost waiting for her there.

The mythology around Japan as a nation of everyday ghosts — where the living and the dead share space, occasionally in view of each other — can lead certain western filmmakers into dubious territory: If you don’t recall how Gus van Sant floundered with the mawkish, condescending exoticism of “The Sea of Trees,” trust that it’s best forgotten. Centered on a long-grieving Frenchwoman who finally makes peace with her husband’s death over the course of a Japanese work trip, “Sidonie in Japan” risks similar pitfalls — but Élise Girard’s droll, bittersweet romance mostly dodges them with grace and good humor, plus a pointed awareness of the limitations of its outsider perspective.

Premiering in the Venice Days sidebar at this year’s Venice Film Festival, this is a sweetly unassuming affair that is given some vinegary oomph by the presence of Isabelle Huppert in the lead — which will doubtless secure...

Jean-Luc Godard famously said that all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun. Another version of that, at least based on French writer-director Élise Girard’s latest film, Sidonie in Japan (Sidonie au Japon), could be: All you need to make a movie is Isabelle Huppert wearing chic pantsuits and wandering around lots of picturesque Japanese locations.

That’s a good part of what happens in this sweetly minimalist international romance/ghost story, in which Huppert plays a writer who recalls her past lives while on a book tour through Osaka, Kyoto and a few other intoxicating places during a one-week excursion. Along the way, she strikes up a friendship — and perhaps something more — with her Japanese publisher, a man of few words who watches over her throughout the trip. Oh, and she also sees dead people.

Premiering in the Venice Days sidebar on the Lido,...

§tElise Girard directs her third film about a woman mourning her husband in Kyoto while on her book tour.

Indie Sales has unveiled the new trailer for Elise Girard’s romantic drama Sidonie In Japan starring Isabelle Huppert and has signed deals in Germany, Switzerland and Italy ahead of the film’s premiere at Giornate degli Autori in Venice.

Out of the Box will release the film in Switzerland and Majestic Filmverleih is handling German distribution, joining the film’s French distributor Art House Films and Italy’s Academy Two.

Sidonie in Japan stars Huppert as a French writer mourning...

With 2023 Emmy Awards voting to begin in just a days on June 15, Gold Derby can exclusively reveal that “Documentary Now” will be in the limited series categories. It’s a shocking move from the television academy since previous seasons have brought nominations for Best Variety Sketch Series. That specific category has been renamed as Scripted Variety Series, and that is where AMC awards campaigners asked for the show to be placed for the 2023 ballot. That petition was ultimately denied.

The fourth season debuted on October 19, 2022, and finished on November 16 for AMC+. The series pretends to be a long-running documentary series but is actually a mockumentary of famous documentaries from the past. Dame Helen Mirren provides the narration for the program.

See‘Barry’ season 4 rave reviews: Bill Hader’s direction ‘remains a highlight of any series on TV’

The show boasts an impressive list of executive producers and producers, including Lorne Michaels,...

Kinology has come on board the highly anticipated next film of Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov, “The Disappearance of Josef Mengele,” based on Olivier Guez’s bestselling novel. Kinology is at Cannes to present the project to buyers.

Set to start shooting in a few weeks, the film is being produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema (“Annette”) and Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios (“Tchaikovsky’s Wife”), Felix von Boem at Lupa Films, Arte France Cinéma, Mélanie Biessy with Scala Films, Forma Pro Films and Cimarron coproduce the film with Piano. Bac Films does French distribution and Dcm german distribution.

It stars August Diehl as Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor who found refuge in South America at the end of WWII and was never captured. Mengele died in Brazil in 1979 without having been judged for his crimes. The movie will focus on Mengele’s fugitive years in South America, and will be...