Holly Jones: Last News

Holly Jones A chaotic and bittersweet love affair meets a compelling journey toward radical self acceptance in Brazilian writer-director Felipe Sholl’s second feature, “Glória,” which screens as part of Ventana Sur’s Primer Corte strand on Wednesday in Buenos Aires. Produced by Daniel van Hoogstraten at Brazil’s Syndrome Films, the plot follows bereft literature professor Gabriel as he moves to Río in an attempt to escape his close minded family after the death of his grandmother. There, he meets the enigmatic Monica (Diva Menner) who owns the neighborhood bar and becomes fast friends with regulars Mateus (Alan Ribeiro), Roger (Sandro Aliprandini) and Laila (Jade Sassará), who moonlight as sex workers.

Holly Jones An ailing mother and estranged sister (Paola Lattus) reluctantly coax prodigal daughter Silvia (Patricia Cuyul) home after her 30-year absence in “Death Brought you Back” (“La muerte te vio volver”), the debut film from emerging Chilean director Sebastián Cuevas, selected for Sanfic Industria’s Ibero-American Works In Progress lineup. In 2023, the film received financing from the Regional Audiovisual Fund and the Development Fund of the Audiovisual Fund of MINCAP, Chile after previously participating in film Labs in the region, including the Sanfic Lab, Lab Cinelebu and the 2nd CCC Co-Production Meeting, with mentorship from Christopher Murray and Jose Luis Torres Leiva.

Holly Jones David Baute’s searing animated climate crisis drama “Black Butterflies” (“Mariposas Negras”) bows to audiences at Annecy this week, competing in its Contrechamp strand alongside Isabel Herguera title “Sultana’s Dream,” . Based on Baute’s live-action inquiry, “Climate Exodus,” the film merges highly intimate and personal narratives from women across the globe forced to leave their homelands when natural forces render them uninhabitable.

Holly Jones “Lonely Hearts,” the highly-anticipated third feature from Brazil’s Berlinale-winner Caru Alves de Souza (“My Name Is Baghdad”), named among 10 Next Gen Talents to Track from the country by Variety in February, and a pair of additional homecoming narratives from burgeoning creatives, Uruguayan director Paula Botana’s“The Burned Women” and Dora Gomez’s “Blanca” out of Paraguay, are among the titles selected for Ventana Sur’s 2023 Punto Genero pitching sessions. Histories unearthed and intimate interpersonal relationships are dominant themes in the remaining selections with films like Argentina-Spain co-production “Brücher.

Holly Jones Continuing its quest to promote and center women in genre cinema, Sitges will hold its annual networking, scholarship, and conference strand, WomanInFan, which head of the industry department, Patricia Salvatierra declared “is growing by leaps and bounds.” The events take place over Oct. 6-8, as part of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, unspooling Oct.

Holly Jones Oh My Gómez! Films’ Ramiro Pavón, producer of Ana Katz’s Sundance title “El perro que no calla,” and Rocío Romero Quintana, behind 2016 Berlinale Generation 14+ winner “Las Plantas,” will both pitch their latest doc projects at this month’s Sanfic Industria, one of the biggest industry forums in South America. Another project at its Documentary Lab is sourced from Paula Zyngierman at Argentina’s MaravillaCine, which backed “That Weekend” and “Marilyn.” “This year we received a large number of applications from both directors and producers with large experience as well as projects by new talents,” Gabriela Sandoval, head of Sanfic Industria, told Variety, noting that some projects have been sourced from allied international industry platforms such as Industria Guadalajara, DocsMx, Fidba, Taller de productores de Panamá, Arca Residencia.

Holly Jones Basil Da Cunha’s third feature, “Manga d’Terra,” bowed in Locarno’s main Competition on Friday, a strand that highlights contemporary cinema and innovative global debuts from established and emerging cineasts. His debut, “After the Night,” played the Cannes Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight in 2013, while his follow-up, “The End of the World,” screened in Locarno’s main competition in 2019.

Holly Jones Tender father-daughter tale “My Dad, The Truck,” raucous coming-of-age series “Esther” and poignant docu-series “The Impossible Future” are among the projects venturing to Annecy’s Mifa Market for pitch sessions Wednesday as part of the Ibero-American Animation League’s annual forum. Simultaneously, La Liga will also launch Ibermedia Next to foster the development of innovative animated co-productions between Iberoamerican countries and Italy, Portugal and Spain, organized in tandem with IBERMEDIA and Premios Quirino. “This edition of Annecy holds immense significance for Latin America, with Mexico at the forefront as the country of honor,” Animation! head Silvina Cornillon told Variety. “Our dedicated Focus program perfectly captures the essence of Ibero-American animation’s dynamic and multifaceted creative spirit, reflecting its vibrancy and diversity in full measure.”

Holly Jones “The Invisible Ink,” a drama from Uruguay’s Mutante Cine co-founder Fernando Epstein (“Whisky”) and Cannes Camera D’Or winning Guatemalan director César Díaz (“Our Mothers”), was first pitched to international markets at last year’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment’s Co-Pro Series session, where it won double. It retained its momentum as it swept up a €50,000 Beta Development Award last month at Series Mania Forum’s Seriesmakers strand. “The truth is, when I found out about the award, I was very flattered. We have something strong on our hands,” Epstein told Variety. “I don’t want to fail to mention the excellent program devised by Series Mania and Beta Group, from the virtual talks to each session with our mentors; everything was impressively rich and generous.”

Holly Jones In a knock-out deal, Ignacio Cucucovich and Gustavo Hernández of Montevideo-based Mother Superior Films have acquired rights to Spanish boxer and entertainer José Luis ‘Dum Dum’ Pacheco’s life story, starting with his autobiography, “Mear Sangre.” “Dum Dum is a living reflection of a generation that’s managed to overcome many blows at a difficult time in history. He was born into a humble home, imprisoned at a very young age,” Cucucovich told Variety. “In addition, the era the story would encompass is fascinating to us, full of freedoms gaining ground, young people exploring and developing, in success and error, a lot of creative abundance, in a constant clash with what society then considered correct. It was a time of discovery and creation.”

Holly Jones “Championext”(“Campeonex”), the anticipated follow-up to Javier Fesser’s Spanish comedy triumph “Champions” (“Campeones”) which scooped Forqué, Goya, and Feroz awards for best picture and delighted audiences to the tune of a stellar €18.5 million ($21.4 million) box office grab, has been acquired for international sales by Latido Films (“The Beasts”).  Written by Fesser (“Camino”) and Athenea Mata (“El Secreto de Lilith”) in collaboration with David Marqués, the film follows nearly the same cast of beloved characters two years after they’ve left the fierce competition behind. A Los Amigos reunion will see “the landscape move from the world of basketball to the world of athletics for people with disabilities while making room to explore the fascinating world of metaverses and virtual reality,” Fesser revealed in a statement. 

Holly Jones Supremely diabolical Star Original series “El Encargado,” directed by innovating Argentine creative duo Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat (“The Man Next Door”), teased a first episode as part of the Capítulo Uno strand of soon-to-bow series at the 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria, which unspooled Sept. 27-30 in Madrid. The series opens with protagonist Eliseo preparing dinner in a spotless kitchen, calling out to his family to set the table as he sips from a glass of wine. Every detail in his succulent pasta dish is fine-tuned. As he sits at the head of the table, the camera pans back revealing he’s alone. Thoroughly enjoying his own company, he finishes his exquisite meal, straightens up and leaves the borrowed space. Scenes of him feeding his Venus Flytrap, a carnivorous plant that mimics some of his darker inclinations, are laid into the title sequence, alluding to his reality as a sly inner predator, disguised as an everyman.

Holly Jones In recent years, Spain’s Basque Country has emerged as a hub for fresh talent, something that directors Mikel Gurrea (“Suro”), Estibaliz Urresola (“Cuerdas”) and Irati Gorostidi (“Contadores”) credit to robust mentorship programs, governmental financing campaigns and ever-maturing production and distribution initiatives as well as a tight-knit network of professionals woven into the fabric of the local industry. It’s an enthusiastic approach that fervently boosts new talent by firmly betting on strong local stories with universal appeal. Short films by up-and-coming helmers have gained traction, “Cuerdas” winning a Rails d’Or at Cannes Critics Week this year, while feature-length ECAM Incubator Selection “Lullaby,” directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, swept this year’s Malaga Film Festival, garnering rave reviews from critics and industry heavyweights.

Police are appealing for information after a fire ripped through a recycling centre in Stalybridge this morning (Saturday). Four fire engines were scrambled to Northend Road in Stalybridge at 8am.

Holly Jones In a deal negotiated by Leslie Cohen, senior vice president of acquisitions for HBO Max, the streaming platform has joined WarnerMedia OneFifty to acquire the poignant Vee Bravo documentary, “Primera,” a gripping look into the Chilean protests that proved a turning point in the fight against Pinochet-era induced economic strife.Immersive and raw, the film taps into the global collective’s urge toward positive change, following the heartbeat of this pivotal moment as local activists and citizens strive to upend a stagnant system and rewrite their constitution.“How can we trust the definition of freedom in a constitution that was written at a time when the entire labor force was kept through violence?” Bravo related. “The past is important, it informs how we move in the present.

Holly Jones Screenwriter and director Ignacio Pavez and the team at Chile’s Gallo Negro Producciones (“Intiwawa”)  are readying to produce Pavez’s next feature, “Un Amputado” (“An Amputee”).Creative director at Gallo Negro, Pavez bows his second feature, “Vieja Viejo,” at Sanfic 18, the Santiago International Film Festival, which runs through Aug. 21 as a hybrid event.

Holly Jones With a knack for forming tight bonds with rightfully-elusive subjects, Spanish filmmaker Kike Maíllo, who shot to fame with sci-fi debut “Eva,” takes an engrossing and sympathetic look into haute-crime as it pertains to one of the world’s preeminent art forgers, Oswald Aulestia Bach.In “El Falsificador,” Maíllo hones in on the deviance, excess, and deterioration of a con, deconstructing a cult of personality along the way by following Aulestia Bach, a gifted artist in his own right, and two accomplices, Elio Bonfiglioli and Michael Zabrin, as they recount forging and distributing dupes of Picasso, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dali while raking in millions.Throughout the film, family members, reporters and law enforcement officials appear near-jovial while recounting the case and how much the international syndicate accomplished before the FBI caught wind of the scheme close to a decade later. Presented by Filmin and produced by Playtime Movies, Maíllo and Toni Carrizosa’s Sábado Películas (“42 Segundos”) and The Mediapro Studio-acquired El Terrat (“Mira lo que has hecho”), the project marks Filmin’s first original documentary production.

Holly Jones In tandem with its world premiere in competition at the Young Audiences Short Film Strand at Annecy, the team behind the tender Argentine short title, ‘La Calesita,’ will be offering up a bit of magic to those attending the screenings: Customized tickets for a ride on the town’s ornate, family-owned carousel.The short, written and directed by Annie Award-nominated filmmaker Augusto Schillaci and produced by Reel FX Animation associate producer Oliver Benavidez, tells the heartwarming tale of a proud and determined carousel-keep who finds immense joy in maintaining family tradition by operating the neighborhood merry-go-round.In “La Calesita,” his dutiful and attentive nature is on display as he joyously rides through vivid and colorful Buenos Aires streetscapes en route to work, where he takes a keen interest in the families that visit each day. He plays matchmaker, confidant, and watchful eye, with dignity.

Holly Jones In collaboration with Hot Docs 2022, Chiledoc announced that the Toronto-based festival will showcase seven Chilean documentaries as part of its Made In Chile strand. Screening from April 29, the selections highlight the burgeoning global impact of Chile’s spirited documentary film initiative, encompassing diverse and bold perspectives from new voices nationwide.As North America’s largest documentary film festival, conference and market, Hot Docs strives to forge essential relationships that lead to production opportunities for documentary filmmakers with a keen eye on the global market.“We are excited to celebrate and spotlight this new movement of documentary filmmakers from Chile,” shares Shane Smith, director of programming for Hot Docs. “Their bold and daring approach to reexamining their country’s multifaceted history while crafting powerful and distinctively Chilean stories is making the documentary industry, and the world, take notice.” Made in Chile bows, indeed, just days after “My Imaginary Country,” from Patricio Guzmán, the doyen of Chilean documentary filmmakers, was selected for a special screening at the Cannes Festival.Paula Ossandón, director of Chiledoc, the sectorial brand for Chilean documentary, elaborates on the state of documentary filmmaking in Chile: “The production of documentaries in Chile is prolific.

Holly Jones In anticipation of screening at Cannes’ MipTV market, Beta Film, which handles distribution, has provided Variety exclusive access to the international trailer for Greek abduction thriller “Silent Road.”Written by Melina Tsampani and Petros Kalkovalis and directed by Vardis Marinakis, the series dissects the entangled lives of an affluent family in Athens after a school bus carrying their children is held hostage, the kids and bus drivers inside being abducted and held for ransom. A slight nod to the eerie legend, turning on the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the town must come to grips with the event while police dig into the crime, desperate to resolve the atrocity.“While shaping the idea for ‘Silent Road,’ we wanted to use a fairytale in the narration, as a bridge that connects the world of adults to that of the children.

Holly Jones An idyllic private island retreat sees a set of estranged, longtime companions reunite after nearly 30 years of jobs and distance pulling them in opposite directions. Amidst the celebration, nefarious footage of a transgression against a female friend mysteriously resurfaces.