Latest news with #LePacte
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
ECAM Forum Coordinator Alberto Valverde on an Expanded Second Edition: ‘The Winning Teams From Cannes Are Also in Madrid'
After last year's golden blueprint which set the roadmap for coming years, the second ECAM Forum Co-Production Market, unspooling June 10-13 in Madrid, will drive deeper into its international reach and industry talks as part of its mandate to strengthen the ties between the Spanish talents and its blooming industry with the rest of the world. Lured by upbeat industry buzz from the first edition and Spain's sustained film-TV golden age, industry players and projects are almost twice as many this year to bid for a spot at the industry platform spearheaded by Madrid's prestigious ECAM film school. More from Variety 'To the North's' Mihai Mincan Talks ECAM Forum Bound Coming-of-Age Mystery 'Milk Teeth,' Sound Designed by Oscar-Winner Nicolas Becker (EXCLUSIVE) Madrid's ECAM Forum Ups International Scope With 23 Feature Projects for Second Edition Bertrand Bonello to Be Honored at Madrid's Second ECAM Forum Co-Pro Showcase (EXCLUSIVE) More than 700 accredited delegates ,compared to 400+ in 2024, are expected to fill the halls of its Matadero and Cineteca Madrid venues; 70 international guests, vs. 50 in 2024, will sample 47 films in development and post-production, as well as shorts and series in development. Among 15 programming reps from Toronto, Locarno, Rotterdam, Thessaloniki, London to Marrakech fests are first-time attendees Christian Jeune from the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlinale's Michael Stuetz. On the sales front, the dozen registered companies range from Le Pacte, Goodfellas, Co-Production Office, Film Boutique and Charades to Spain's art-film specialist Bendita Film Sales. At press time, all titles were available for pick up including the next bets by hot talents Mihai Mincan ('To the North') and Francisca Alegría ('The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future') and the anticipated debuts by Nadine Luque, Claudia Estrada Tarascó and Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe. Highlights of this year's beefed-up program of talks and industry events include a masterclass with French auteur Bertrand Bonello, a presentation of the Göteborg Film Festival's industry reference Nostradamus report by Johanna Koljonen, conversations with top Spanish writers, poets and philosophers over The State of Things and Finde, a first industry meeting on financing, investment for indie producers co-organized by Madrid Audiovisual Cluster. To consolidate ECAM's international ties, new partnerships were sealed this year with Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, which runs a week later in Cuenca, near Madrid, and with ACAU and Proimagenes Colombia, the film-TV state agencies in Uruguay and Colombia. ECAM Forum closes Friday June 13 with an awards ceremony. In this interview, ECAM Forum coordinator Alberto Valverde unpacks his 2025 program. How does it feel to stage ECAM Forum a few weeks after a stellar year for Spanish films and co-productions in Cannes? It was an exceptional year for Spanish cinema. Having two filmmakers [Oliver Laxe and Carla Simón] in main competition, a spot usually taken by Pedro Almodovar, was historical. Their respective films 'Sirât' and 'Romería' are international co-productions that illustrate the reason why we exist. Indeed last year the two producers of 'Sirât'– Andrea Queralt and Xavi Font – came to ECAM to present a new project in the middle of shooting their film in Morocco. Xavi submitted Álvaro Pulpeiro's 'Petróleo' at the Films to Come and Andrea came with Silvina Schnicer's 'La Quinta' for The Last Push. Then Elástica's María Zamora, producer of Romería, was here as well. The winning teams from Cannes are also here. In recent years we've witnessed how the Spanish audiovisual industry has morphed and internationalized, with established and new talent working at home and globally. Before launching ECAM Forum, we've been in constant dialogue with all these Spanish players and talent, precisely to connect them to the world and foster new collaborations. Last year you had an almost clean sweep with seven out of eight works in progress going on to premiere at A festivals. That was quite a coup… Yes, we are over the moon. We want to consolidate our works in progress as a relevant space to discover gems for the year ahead, and those results help a lot. It was rewarding talking to the teams behind the works in progress and knowing it was key for them to secure certain premieres and selections that literally were signed during ECAM Forum. Last year's Last Push titles included very different films, from the fragile ones like the winning documentary 'Gods of Stone' to the more solid ones like 'Los Tortuga'('The Exiles') that both ended having nice premieres [respectively in Rotterdam and Toronto] and reached world audiences, literally the number one objective of our work. Could you reiterate what made your 2024 inaugural event a blueprint for the editions to come and outline the key novelties this year? One of the best things last year was to get the feedback from international guests who were dazzled by the quality of the projects. Then on the Spanish side, professionals were equally impressed by the top names in the international delegation. This year the list of international delegates will be even stronger, for instance with the presence of Christian Jeune from Cannes and Michael Stuetz from the Berlinale. The challenge for the first five editions is perhaps to be coherent with the size of our event, the type of projects and professionals invited. We want to maintain the same high quality, attention and care that goes into the selection and overall organisation. Then obviously as this is the second year, we're expanding a bit the scope of our activities, partnerships and ambitions. The event is growing but we still want it to be sustainable for the next editions. How many delegates will attend this year from how many territories? The numbers reflect the increased interest in our event. This year we have 730 accredited professionals, versus around 400 in 2024. It's been an exponential growth from last year. Then we had about 50 international guests in 2024 and this year we're hosting 70 people. From Spain, we're inviting around the same number, about 70 key decision-makers. So we have about 140 invited guests for the meetings. Countries represented (between 18-20) span from Spain to Canada, U.S., France, Romania, Estonia and Latin America. It was perhaps unintentional – based on the projects selected – but we will have a strong European and Latin American presence this year. With a more ambitious program, what type of budget do you have and can you comment on the significance of your new institutional partnerships? I won't detail our specific budget but it hasn't changed drastically. Our main key partners are the same: ECAM Foundation Comunidad de Madrid. Then Matadero, Film Madrid, Madrid Film Office, Cineteca, the rights collection agency Dama and AC/E, the international promotional body of Spanish cinema, are other partners. We're continuing our collaboration with Filmin, Rotterdam, Series Mania and have new strategic partnerships with Conecta Fiction & Entertainment and the key audiovisual agencies ACAU in Uruguay and Proimagenes in Colombia. For the ECAM school and Foundation, facilitating those collaborations are just natural to exchange talent and create a bridge between Europe and Latin America. We hope to announce new partnerships this fall. This year you've opened your Pitch sessions to international projects. What extra challenges did you meet in your selection process? Our main goal is to promote Spanish cinema internationally and attract international talent to work with Spain. We understand that presenting a selection, and making exciting international talents coexist with promising Spanish projects is a better way to promote their films. It's great to have Spain's Maria Herrera, Alba Esquinas and Elena Molina with Maryam Tafakory [from Iran], Francisca Alegría [from Chile] or Mihai Mincan [from Romania]. Opening to international projects was a challenge as we tried to attract distinctive voices and talents but we did! We are extremely happy with the selection and could easily have picked another 15 projects that couldn't make the cut. We had to make some difficult decisions. I'd like to add that in the short section, last year we had only six national projects. This year we have 11 projects – six from our own training program and five international shorts through new partnerships with Chile Shorts, Bogo Shorts in Colombia, La Femis in France, DISFF in Greece, and FAMU in the Czech Republic. How would you define the 2025 feature length slate in terms of themes, unique auteur-viewpoint and diversity? The selection covers a rich variety of narrative and aesthetic approaches, with a presence of comedies, genre and science fiction approaches, documentaries, and classic fiction works. The projects demonstrate a passion for challenging the boundaries of genres and storytelling, a strong commitment to creative risk and authorship. We love to see a lot of first and second films with super strong visions, that are backed by producers with certain experience, both national and international. I genuinely think it's a super exciting slate with new voices to discover. It is also a more diverse selection when it comes to representation both in the narrative and creators themselves, so, yes, it's a step forward. Something quite remarkable when we look at the Films to Come, is the fact that the 15 projects came out of three different selection processes, and when we ended up with the final list, we realised all were directed by women (with one co-direction). Could you comment on your industry talks and high-brow cycle of conversations? The industry talks targeting the 700+ accredited professionals, focus on the challenges in the audiovisual industry right now, and many sessions offer practical tools and tips, about financing, co-production promotion. Our goal is to strengthen Spanish cinema and we're happy to bring top speakers from Spain and the rest of the world. We're also glad to present the Nostradamus report to our audience, straight after Cannes. The report is key to look at where we're going, how each sector in the industry is integrating the challenges, both within and outside the sector. Then the three Conversations about The State of Things [in Spanish language] is a particularly beautiful strand that we've designed over several months with my colleague Brais Romero and Luis E. Parés from Cineteca Matadero. We tried to map out important topics that touch us as individuals, not only in the industry but as a society, via inspirational talks with filmmakers, writers, poets, musicians, philosophers. It's a beautiful mix of strong voices in Spain. We look forward to hearing their take our world today, the value of creating images. Then one angle to be tackled is nostalgia and its danger. The comfort and inherent creative laziness that goes with sticking to formulas, well know concepts – be it in literature or will be interesting also to hear Bertrand Bonello who masterfully has been avoiding nostalgia, its comfort and safety in his work. Another novelty this year is the new FINDE industry meeting about Financing, Investment and Independent Filmmaking, co-organised with Madrid Audiovisual Cluster. Could you summarise what it's about? This is an extension of ECAM's educational curriculum. We wanted to offer practical tools to hone the skills of our emerging talent in financing. We see producers surrounded by great talent and yet struggling to finance their projects. So hopefully this will be an illuminating session. We've designed this initiative with French producer based in Madrid Sophie Erbs and Teresa Azcona, director of Madrid Audiovisual Cluster. We see this is a pilot year and we will evaluate afterwards the program's formula. On a personal level, how does it feel to run the hottest new Spanish co-pro market? It feels soooo good. Last year, we had a blank canvas which needed to be painted. We didn't know if it would be abstract, or not. This year, we reaped the good seeds from the first edition, and our team is stronger. The whole is even more coherent because we had more time to design our program. But our focus is still to have a great time through a very friendly, focused professional event, with a high standard of projects and guests. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes Critics' Week Winners: Thai Film ‘A Useful Ghost' & ‘Imago' Take Top Prizes
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's zany romantic drama A Useful Ghost has won the top prize at Cannes Critics' Week. The feature, which is the first Thai film to play in the parallel section for a number of years, won the inaugural AMI Paris Grand Prize. More from Deadline 'A Useful Ghost' Teaser: Thai Star Davika Hoorne Makes Cannes Debut As Deceased Wife Who Returns As Vacuum Cleaner One To Watch: Why Davika Hoorne Left Her 'Comfort Zone' To Play A Haunted Hoover In 'A Useful Ghost' Carla Simón's 'Romería' Gets 11-Minute Ovation In Cannes Debut This year's jury was presided over by Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen (The Beasts, Riot Police, The New Years), who was joined by Oscar-winning Judas and the Black Messiah UK actor Daniel Kaluuya, Moroccan journalist Jihane Bougrine, French-Canadian cinematographer Josée Deshaies and Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara. A Useful Ghost co-stars top Thai actress, model and influencer Davika Hoorne as Nat, a woman who dies of dust pollution and then returns as a ghost in the form of a vacuum cleaner, determined to save her family from a similar fate. The feature, which is the first Thai film to play in the parallel section for a number of years, won the inaugural AMI Paris Grand Prize. The movie co-stars top Thai actress, model and influencer Davika Hoorne as Nat, a woman who dies of dust pollution and then returns as a ghost in the form of a vacuum cleaner, determined to save her family from a similar fate. Witsarut Himmarat plays her husband March, whose wealthy manufacturing family reject this unconventional human-ghost relationship. In other prizes, the French Touch Prize of the Jury went to France-based Chechen director Deni Oumar Pitsaev's Imag The autobiographical documentary explores the director's plans to build a futuristically designed house at odds with the landscape and local traditions on a small plot of land in a Georgian valley at the foot of the Caucasus, on the border of Chechnya. Quebecois actor Théodore Pellerin won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for his performance in Pauline Loquès's Nino, about a young drifter, who spends three days wandering the streets after losing the keys to his apartment. Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for short film was won by Randa Maroufi's L'mina, about an unofficial coal mining town in Morocco. In collateral prizes, Shih-Ching Tsou's Left-Handed Girl won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, which will support the French release of the film by Le Pacte. The SACD Award for best screenplay went to director Guillermo Galoe and Victor Alonso-Berbel for Sleepless City, on which they took co-writing credits. The Canal+ Award for short film went to Erogenesis de by Xandra Popescu Best of Deadline Every 'The Voice' Winner Since Season 1, Including 9 Team Blake Champions Everything We Know About 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' So Far 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes Critics' Week Awards Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's ‘A Useful Ghost'
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's 'A Useful Ghost' has picked up Critics Week's Grand Prize. The film has been picking up fans among journalists since the premiere, intrigued by its absurd yet sweet story of a woman who dies from dust pollution and a husband who's shocked to find out her spirit has been reincarnated – in a vacuum cleaner. More from Variety 'Romería' Review: A Budding Filmmaker Pursues Her Parents' Obscured Past in Carla Simón's Lovely, Pensive Coastal Voyage 'My Father's Shadow' Producer Funmbi Ogunbanwo Headlines Inaugural African Producers Accelerator Program (EXCLUSIVE) Mórbido TV and Screen Capital Unveil Umbra, a Genre-First Streaming Hub for the LatAm Market (EXCLUSIVE) 'A ghost-possessed vacuum cleaner might sound like standard horror fare, but in the hands of Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, it transforms into a sly commentary on pollution, power dynamics, and the cost of living crisis in Bangkok,' wrote Variety's Naman Ramachandran earlier this week, with the director adding: 'Thailand is well known for horror cinema, and we also have a genre that might not travel abroad very much – horror comedy. But with this film, I try not to follow the conventions of both paths. One of my first ideas was wondering how a ghost could exist in contemporary society. Do they need to work? Because the cost of living here is now very expensive.' The jury, presided over by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and featuring Jihane Bougrine, Josée Deshaies, Yulina Evina Bhara and Daniel Kaluuya, also awarded 'Imago' by Déni Oumar Pitsaev. In the film, Déni inherits a patch of land in the wild valley of Pankissi and sees a chance to finally build the house in the trees that he's dreamed of. But nothing in the rugged Caucasus is ever simple. Returning to a village just across the Chechen border where he was born, Déni stirs up old feuds. The Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award went to Théodore Pellerin for 'Nino' by Pauline Loquès. Among other partners' prizes, the SACD Prize, awarded by France's Writers' Guild, went to Guillermo Galoe & Victor Alonso-Berbel, co-scribes of Sleepless City ('Ciudad sin sueño). Directed by Galoe, the Spanish-French feature delivers a lyrical, stylish but heavily grounded vision of a increasingly fissiparous Roma family in La Cañada Real, said to be the biggest shanty town in Southern Europe, whose way of life is disappearing as its residents are moved to sterile high-rise apartment blocks on the outskirts of Madrid. . Le Pacte, French distributor for 'Left-Handed Girl' by Shih-Ching Tsou, was awarded the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution. Here's the full list of awards: Grand Prize 'A Useful Ghost' by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke French Touch Prize of the Jury 'Imago' by Déni Oumar Pitsaev Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award Théodore Pellerin for 'Nino' by Pauline Loquès Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film 'L'mina' by Randa Maroufi Awards given by partners Gan Foundation Award for Distribution Le Pacte, French distributor for 'Left-Handed Girl' by Shih-Ching Tsou SACD Award Guillermo Galoe and Victor Alonso-Berbel, authors of 'Sleepless City' Canal+ Award for Short Film 'Erogenesis' de Xandra Popescu Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes Critics' Week Awards Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's ‘A Useful Ghost'
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's 'A Useful Ghost' has picked up Critics Week's Grand Prize. The film has been picking up fans among journalists since the premiere, intrigued by its absurd yet sweet story of a woman who dies from dust pollution and a husband who's shocked to find out her spirit has been reincarnated – in a vacuum cleaner. More from Variety 'Romería' Review: A Budding Filmmaker Pursues Her Parents' Obscured Past in Carla Simón's Lovely, Pensive Coastal Voyage 'My Father's Shadow' Producer Funmbi Ogunbanwo Headlines Inaugural African Producers Accelerator Program (EXCLUSIVE) Mórbido TV and Screen Capital Unveil Umbra, a Genre-First Streaming Hub for the LatAm Market (EXCLUSIVE) 'A ghost-possessed vacuum cleaner might sound like standard horror fare, but in the hands of Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, it transforms into a sly commentary on pollution, power dynamics, and the cost of living crisis in Bangkok,' wrote Variety's Naman Ramachandran earlier this week, with the director adding: 'Thailand is well known for horror cinema, and we also have a genre that might not travel abroad very much – horror comedy. But with this film, I try not to follow the conventions of both paths. One of my first ideas was wondering how a ghost could exist in contemporary society. Do they need to work? Because the cost of living here is now very expensive.' The jury, presided over by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and featuring Jihane Bougrine, Josée Deshaies, Yulina Evina Bhara and Daniel Kaluuya, also awarded 'Imago' by Déni Oumar Pitsaev. In the film, Déni inherits a patch of land in the wild valley of Pankissi and sees a chance to finally build the house in the trees that he's dreamed of. But nothing in the rugged Caucasus is ever simple. Returning to a village just across the Chechen border where he was born, Déni stirs up old feuds. The Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award went to Théodore Pellerin for 'Nino' by Pauline Loquès. Among other partners' prizes, the SACD Prize, awarded by France's Writers' Guild, went to Guillermo Galoe & Victor Alonso-Berbel, co-scribes of Sleepless City ('Ciudad sin sueño). Directed by Galoe, the Spanish-French feature delivers a lyrical, stylish but heavily grounded vision of a increasingly fissiparous Roma family in La Cañada Real, said to be the biggest shanty town in Southern Europe, whose way of life is disappearing as its residents are moved to sterile high-rise apartment blocks on the outskirts of Madrid. . Le Pacte, French distributor for 'Left-Handed Girl' by Shih-Ching Tsou, was awarded the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution. Here's the full list of awards: Grand Prize 'A Useful Ghost' by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke French Touch Prize of the Jury 'Imago' by Déni Oumar Pitsaev Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award Théodore Pellerin for 'Nino' by Pauline Loquès Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film 'L'mina' by Randa Maroufi Awards given by partners Gan Foundation Award for Distribution Le Pacte, French distributor for 'Left-Handed Girl' by Shih-Ching Tsou SACD Award Guillermo Galoe and Victor Alonso-Berbel, authors of 'Sleepless City' Canal+ Award for Short Film 'Erogenesis' de Xandra Popescu Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
See - Sada Elbalad
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Penélope Cruz to Star in Los Javis' Next Movie "La Bola Negra"
Yara Sameh Penélope Cruz has signed on to star in 'La bola negra,' a new feature film written, directed and produced by celebrated Spanish filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, collectively known as Los Javis. The film is co-produced by Movistar Plus+, Suma Content FilmsFrance's Le Pacte, with French sales company Goodfellas taking sales rights outside Spain and France. 'La bola negra" was announced in Cannes on Monday and will premiere exclusively in cinemas in 2026 before arriving on Movistar Plus+ sometime later. The film boasts a star-studded cast that includes Miguel Bernardeau ('Elite'), Carlos González ('Veneno'), and acclaimed actress Lola Dueñas, known for her award-winning performances in 'The Sea Inside' and 'La Mesías.' Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist Guitarricadelafuente will also make his screen debut in the feature. 'We wrote Penelope's role specifically for her. Her humor and elegance make it a pleasure to work with her,' said Javier Calvo. Inspired by Federico García Lorca's unfinished play 'La bola Negra' and 'La piedra oscura' by Alberto Conejero, the film weaves together the lives of three men across three different time periods. Their stories are intimately connected through sexuality, desire, pain, and legacy. 'The creative process began with historical research, which we merged with a beautiful literary collaboration with Alberto Conejero,' Javier Ambrossi said. 'It includes elements of theater adaptation, imagination, and introspection, allowing us to infuse each plotline with our identity. It's incredibly exciting to present part of the cast here in Cannes, there are still many surprises to come.' 'Writing 'La bola negra' has been an emotional and complex experience,' Calvo added. 'We didn't feel like we were creating a story, but rather uncovering it, excavating characters, dialogue, and a wound that somehow always existed within us. It's a deeply personal text that reminds us why we do this work.' 'La bola negra" is the first film from the Javis at Suma Content Films, the new cinematic division of Suma Content, the production company founded by Ambrossi and Calvo. Following the critical and award success of their series 'La Mesías,' which premiered at San Sebastián, screened at Sundance, and won six Feroz Awards and three Forqué Awards, 'La bola Negra' marks a major return to feature filmmaking for the duo. The film is set to begin production in August and will shoot across various locations in Spain and Europe. Returning behind-the-scenes collaborators from "La Mesías" are Gris Jordana (cinematography), Roger Bellés (art direction), Ana López Cobos (costume design), and Raül Refree (original score). read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies
