Medusa Deluxe: Last News

The BFI London Film Festival will present five feature films and documentaries by UK-based filmmakers at its fourth annual Works-in-Progress showcase. Scroll down for the lineup.

Sophia Scorziello editor “Dicks: The Musical,” the first film musical from A24, has everything: Megan Thee Stallion, a “Parent Trap” plotline, a pair of twins singing penis euphemisms, Nathan Lane and a cage full of mutant sewer boys. The independent banner released the first trailer for the R-rated comedy on Thursday morning, shortly following the announcement by the Toronto International Film Festival that the film will play in the event’s Midnight Madness section.

“All I wanna do is cut hair, and they keep dropping.” A24 has a knack for finding a lot of strange and weird films, and the new film, “Medusa Deluxe,” definitely fits that bill. A British murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing contest, the film is the feature-length directorial debut of Thomas Hardiman, known for shorts like “Pitch Black Panacea” (2020) and “Time on My Hands” (2012).

Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells’s debut feature Aftersun has bagged three awards in the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) craft categories, the year’s most wins.

The BFI London Film Festival will present nine new feature films and documentaries by UK-based filmmakers at its third annual Works-in-Progress showcase. Scroll down for the lineup.

Latest DealsA score or more of new deals announced since Sunday in exclusivity to Variety:*Germany’s Pluto Film has been in negotiations with several theatrical distributors on Locarno Piazza Grande title “Semret,” ahead of its world premiere on Aug. 10.

Guy Lodge Film CriticIn “Medusa Deluxe,” the serpents aren’t in the hair, but all around it: a writhing, hissing collective of human predators slinking around the various parlors and platforms of a high-level hairdressing competition. Most are venomous, and at least one is deadly, or so it seems when a star stylist is found, not just murdered but quite literally scalped, the night before his widely expected victory in the contest.

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.

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.

Marta Balaga Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival has revealed the lineup for its 75th edition, sticking to its promise of discovering new talent.A slew of debuting filmmakers will showcase their works, from Italy’s Nicola Prosatore with “Piano Piano” to Caterina Mona, focusing in “Semret” on an Eritrean single mother working at a Zurich hospital and dreaming of becoming a midwife.Thomas Hardiman’s U.K.’s proposition “Medusa Deluxe,” a murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing competition — boarded by New Europe Film Sales — is also bound to generate some excitement.“‘Medusa Deluxe’ is one of the coolest debuts of the year,” the company’s CEO Jan Naszewski enthused to Variety. “I’m sure it will rock the Piazza Grande and give the festival a great spark.”But Locarno will also bring in heavyweights, starting with a screening of the much-anticipated Brad Pitt vehicle “Bullet Train,” directed by “Atomic Blond” helmer David Leitch, and Olivia Newman’s “Where the Crawdads Sing” with Daisy Edgar-Jones and David Strathairn.Anna Gutto’s “Paradise Highway” packs star power as well, starring the likes of Morgan Freeman, “Captain America’s” Frank Grillo and Juliette Binoche, cast as a truck driver forced to smuggle illicit cargo to save her brother from a prison gang.In an interview with Variety earlier this year, the French actor described the role as a “worthwhile challenge.”“I never imagined I’d play a truck driver! I was drawn to incongruity and the prospect of embarking on a new adventure.

EXCLUSIVE: MUBI has acquired David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future for Latin America, Turkey, India and Malaysia.

EXCLUSIVE: Mubi has acquired Lukas Dhont’s Cannes Competion entry Close for the UK, Ireland, Latin America, Turkey and India.