Switzerland: Last News

Marta Balaga Tom Hardiman’s feature debut “Medusa Deluxe,” which premiered at Locarno on Saturday, has already seduced multiple international distributors with its mixture of humor, grief and competitive hairdressing.Now Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has sealed further deals for the unusual murder mystery in Spain (Elastica Films), Benelux (Filmfreak), Scandinavia and the Baltics (NonStop Entertainment), Variety has learnt in exclusivity.As previously reported, A24 has acquired North American rights to the film, produced by Emu Films with the support of BFI, BBC Films, and Time Based Arts.MUBI holds the rights to U.K./Ireland, France, Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, India and Southeast Asia. “The buyers are excited about ‘Medusa Deluxe’ because it’s a quirky, original piece of cinema which can appeal to younger audiences, especially since A24 and MUBI will lead the way on global marketing,” said New Europe Film Sales CEO, Jan Naszewski.Hardiman, a self-confessed hairdressing aficionado, has joined forces with celebrity hairstylist Eugene Souleiman in order to show a community struggling with tragic loss yet still striving for perfection.“There is this cathartic moment at one point, two people genuinely caring about each other, and you have this hairstyle with a boat on the top.

Blumhouse founder and CEO Jason Blum is at Locarno where he is set to be feted with the Swiss festival’s Raimondo Rezzonico award for Best Independent Producer. Prior to the event — which will take place at a rainy Piazza Grande — Blum spoke to Deadline about a range of topics, including the status of his upcoming Exorcist remake, the evolution of his micro-budget producing philosophy, and his desire to win an Academy Award. Check out the full interview below.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent10 Swiss film festivals with international standing are joining forces on a symbolically significant screening series to be held in Locarno’s PalaCinema multipurpose venue which is also known as the Swiss lakeside town’s house of cinema.The innovative initiative – which is being launched with a press conference on Saturday at the Locarno Film Festival – is the brainchild of Nadia Dresti, the Locarno fest’s grand dame, who recently joined the PalaCinema board.The PalaCinema (pictured) houses the Locarno film festival offices, its film academy, the CISA film school, the Ticino Film Commission, Swiss pubcaster RSI, as well as several commercial cinemas and other screening venues.

Daisy Edgar-Jones adds some chic fringe to her look while being honored at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival on Friday (August 5) in Locarno, Switzerland.

Emiliano De Pablos Spanish company Du Cardelin Studio is finalizing production on doc-feature “Manolo Kabezabolo,” about the life of iconic Spanish punk singer, directed by José Alberto Andrés Lacasta.“Manolo Kabezabolo” is being introduced to the international market at Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival by Du Cardelin Studio’s Carmen Pérez Mata, one of the 32 producers selected for the new edition of Match Me! the Locarno’s networking forum which takes place Aug. 5-7.A Zaragoza-based production house, Du Cardelin has teamed with San Sebastián’s Maluta Films to co-produce the project.The documentary narrates the life story of Manuel Méndez Lozano, better known as Manolo Kabezabolo (Zaragoza, 1966), a punk artist who rather unpredictably has seemingly outlasted time, space and trends, without abandoning his essence and principles, to become a counter-cultural icon.

Marta Balaga It was all about Aaron Taylor-Johnson at Locarno’s opening ceremony, as the actor received the 2022 Excellence Award Davide Campari and introduced “Bullet Train.”“Sometimes, people ask me what I do. I say: ‘I am a dad and I do acting on the side, part time,” he told the crowd gathered at Piazza Grande before the screening.“Recently though, I have been feeling a subtle shift.

Good afternoon Insiders. We have truly entered holiday season but in TV and film Land things simply don’t slow down. I’m Max Goldbart and here’s your list of the week’s biggest headlines.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNew York and London-based TV and film investment fund APX Group has partnered with L.A.’s Decentralized Pictures (DCP) on a crypto currency scheme to help finance projects by up and coming directors.The initiative is being unveiled at Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival.APX, which was launched by Yona Wiesenthal, former CEO of the Israel Broadcast Authority and content chief at Israeli DBS platform YES and New York real estate entrepreneur Noam Baram, has become active recently in the universe of NFTs and crypto currency.The fund, which recently formed a U.K.-based division called Herd Productions with a starting budget of €100 million ($105 million), will collaborate with DCP — a non-profit headed by Leo Matchett and Mike Musante — to offer selected filmmakers awards totalling €5 million through DCP’s Web3 structure. Winning helmers and their projects will also be enabled by APX’s network of production facilities in Europe and the U.S.

Marta Balaga Tom Hardiman becomes a director to track with “Medusa Deluxe,” a deliciously dark murder mystery set in the competitive hairdressing competition which is about to bow at Locarno.MUBI holds the rights to U.K./Ireland, France,Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, India and Southeast Asia. The film was developed and financed by the BFI and BBC Film.“I really care about hairdressing, it’s something I am really passionate about,” admits Hardiman, who “picked up their language” over time.“When they talk about Russian weaves [in the film], that came from a hairdresser in Peckham.

Christopher Small For the tenth time in 11 years, the Locarno Film Festival is hosting 10 international film critics from various stages of development during the 10 days of the A-list Swiss festival.Coming from places as far from the Swiss resort town as Bangalore, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro and Jakarta, and from an even more varied matrix of backgrounds, disciplines, writing styles, and interests, participants in the anniversary edition of the Critics Academy will have the chance to interact face-to-face with a wealth of major critics, programmers, and filmmakers in attendance at Locarno.Returning after one aborted edition in the first year of the pandemic and another for which there was no public call for applications, Locarno’s incubator for aspiring professional critics takes place once again in the midst of an extraordinarily trying moment both for the art and commerce of cinema but also, perhaps even more acutely, for writing about it.

Shania Twain has had quite the eventful few weeks, and it was capped off in the best way possible when it was announced that she was among the class of musicians being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.MORE: Shania Twain gets candid about divorce from ex-husband Mutt Lange in new documentaryThe singer shared a photograph of some of the inductees on her Instagram Stories, which included a beautiful black and white shot of hers as well.VIDEO: Trailer for Shania Twain's new Netflix documentaryShe reacted to the big honor with a message of gratitude, saying: "It feels really, really good to be among so many of my songwriting idols and for my own songwriting to be celebrated."Shania even added a hint as to what was to come with new music of her own, saying: "Ironically I was at home in Switzerland writing when this was announced!"MORE: Shania Twain shares revealing insight into rarely seen son EjaThe Canadian star also touched on how big of an honor it was that she had been inducted as a woman, alongside prolific songwriter Hillary Lindsey, given that it had been a few years since that had happened."It's been a while since a woman has been inducted into this," she wrote.

Paramount+ is performing “above expectations”  in the UK, Ireland and South Korea, according to Bob Bakish, who forecast a “big year” for Western Europe to come and talked up local language content.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson has the support of his wife on his big night!

Locarno kicked off its latest edition on Wednesday evening with the international festival premiere of David Leitch’s latest action-comedy Bullet Train and a surprise video call from Brad Pitt to celebrate the event’s 75th anniversary.

Palaye Royale have unveiled details of an extensive European and UK tour for 2023 – check out the dates below.The band will tour from January to March and in the UK, they will play a night at London’s Brixton Academy.You can get tickets for the shows here from August 12 onwards.Palaye Royale European and UK Tour 2023:JANUARY21 – Krakow, Poland22 – Warsaw, Poland24 – Berlin, Germany26 – Copenhagen, Denmark28 – Stockholm, Sweden29 – Oslo, NorwayFEBRUARY5 – Cologne, Germany7 – Manchester, UK8 – Glasgow, UK10 – London, UK12 – Wolverhampton, UK13 – Paris, France15 – Barcelona, Spain17 – Lisbon, Portugal19 – Stuttgart, Germany20 – Zurich, Switzerland25 – Munich, GermanyMARCH1 – Vilnius Lithuania2 – Riga, Latvia3 – Tallinn, Estonia4 – Helsinki, Finland7 – Sofia, Bulgaria8 – Bucharest, Romania10 – Istanbul, TurkeyIt comes after the band recently announced the release of their fourth studio album ‘Fever Dream’, their first since 2020’s ‘The Bastards’.The band have released four singles in support of the album so far, including, its title track, ‘No Love In LA’, ‘Punching Bag’, ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Broken’.The album is out on October 28 via Sumerian Records and was made in collaboration with producer Chris Greatti, who has worked with the likes of Yungblud and Willow.Speaking about the new album recently, the band said: “Making this record felt like getting back to when we first fell in love with music.“This record is very much about self-belief and self-empowerment, and overcoming all the obstacles that life throws at you. It’s the first time we’ve really taken a hopeful approach in our music.”The band are currently playing festivals in Europe before they head on their North American from September.

Wilson Chapman editor“Emily,” a biopic starring Emma Mackey as “Wuthering Heights” writer Emily Brontë, will have its world premiere through Toronto International Film Festival’s Platform program, the festival announced Wednesday.Platform, which was established in 2015 and is named after the 2000 film by Jia Zhang-ke, screens eight to 12 films from a diverse range of global filmmakers with rising careers. After the screenings, the Platform Prize, an award of $20,000 CAD, is given to one film selected by an international jury.

Marta Balaga Alliance 4 Development, a co-development initiative for film projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland hosted by Locarno Pro, has revealed 11 titles selected for its 7th edition.The majority of the projects will be directed by women, from Giorgia Wurth’s “Allegra” about a late-life sexual awakening to Malina Mackiewicz’s “Bottom of the Ocean Electric Fish” and Mariko Minoguchi’s upcoming “Element.” The latter will address some environmental fears as a team of scientists tries to ensure that Earth’s water supply won’t suddenly disappear.Minoguchi, who previously co-wrote the script to Tim Fehlbaum’s “The Colony,” is hoping to develop a German science fiction film that “doesn’t shy away from big emotions or images,” she stated, “that makes you think and reflect and, above all, is a moving and impressive cinematic experience.” Big emotions will also fuel Manon Coubia’s “Songs of the Fallen Mountains,” with old lovers reunited on a mythical mountain, and Stéphane Riethauser’s “Orpheus” about a relationship between a young dancer and his choreographer.“‘There is no love; there are only proofs of love.’ These words by Jean Cocteau will guide me to direct my first fiction feature,” he promised, calling it “a film beyond labels, barriers and genres. A film that reminds us that freedom to love is the most precious thing we have.

Universal Pictures continues to build on its strong relationships with filmmakers as it has closed a deal for an exclusive five year pact with directing duo, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, and their producing partner Jonathan Wang.  Daniels unique brand of award-winning storytelling across visual media platforms has spanned music, television and film, most recently with the breakout success of Everything Everywhere All At Once, which has grossed more than $100 million globally becoming indie studio A24’s biggest film ever.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterDaniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directing duo known collectively as Daniels, signed an exclusive five-year partnership with Universal Pictures.The agreement, which includes their producing partner Jonathan Wang, comes shortly after their latest film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” cleared a major box office milestone, crossing $100 million in global ticket sales. It’s the first A24 movie, as well as the first independent movie in pandemic times, to hit that box office benchmark.“Daniels are creators who have evolved their craft with a distinct vision and singular voice that is unmistakable across the spectrum of content vying for viewers’ attention,” said Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.

Marta Balaga There has been an outpouring of love for Kelly Reichardt as of late, with the “Showing Up” helmer awarded a Carrosse d’Or at Cannes – only the fourth woman to be honored this way – and now a Pardo d’Onore Manor at Locarno.But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the U.S. director, described by the Swiss festival as a “committed, political and independent auteur.”“Things have gotten easier over time,” Reichardt tells Variety ahead of the event, looking back on her 28-year career.“I have done a lot of work in the last two decades and I work in a similar kind of mode and budget size. People are familiar with my producers and know them to be very reliable people.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Locarno Film Festival’s StepIN think tank on the state of the indie film industry is set to take the pulse of the theatrical landscape, the flow of production, how film festivals and markets are faring and where things stand on gender equality and social impact.After a taking a break last year from its strictly business focus to zero in mainly on mental health and envisioning a more humane work environment, the Swiss fest’s unique initiative is back to delving into the industry’s most pressing operational issues and what lies ahead.“Now that the worst moments of the global pandemic seem behind us — and after a Cannes Film Festival in full gear — the film industry is questioning its future,” said StepIN project manager Marcello Paolillo, who is an Italian producer. As Paolillo puts it in his introduction, the basic overarching theme at StepIN is “Putting The Pieces Together in a Post-Pandemic Puzzle.”Now in its tenth year, StepIN is an interdisciplinary and international think tank, where some fifty European and international invited industry players — distributors, exhibitors, producers, sales agents, film institutions, financiers, streaming platforms, broadcasters, and film festival and markets reps — participate in closed working sessions to exchange thoughts on practices and business models and propose new ideas and strategies.The day-long event on Aug.