A TURNING POINT FOR SA’S FILM INDUSTRY
IPO Deputy Chairperson Jahmil XT Qubeka speaks to the Location Guide in this article on how the current political and economic turbulence is testing the resilience of South Africa’s film industry.
KOREAN FILM GUILDS CALL FOR URGENT REFORM OF BUSAN FESTIVAL
Some 18 film industry guilds and trade associations are calling for urgent structural reform of the Busan International Film Festival following a succession of management missteps in recent weeks.
SAG-AFTRA CONTRACT TALKS TOWARDS A FAIR DEAL
The latest on the American labour union SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, where the guild’s members voted 97.9% in favour of authorising a strike if an acceptable deal isn’t reached by the end of the month when the current contract expires.
THE OSCARS BEST PICTURE RULES ARE CHANGING
The theatrical requirements for movies vying for the Oscars top prize are getting a little tougher. This AP article looks at how it’ll affect contenders and movie theatres going forward.
EMMYS: WHO IS ON TOP AS NOMINATION VOTING COMES TO A CLOSE?
Pete Hammond chronicles events and conversations on the awards circuit in this informative and detailed column for Deadline.
‘SPIDER-MAIN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE’ BACK INTO BOX OFFICE TOP SPOT
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” slung its webs back atop the box office ranks while “The Flash” saw a drop faster than the film’s speedy character. The Spidey animated sequel Sony film has reached $317.1 million in the USA and an impressive $560.3 million worldwide.
DIRECTOR HUGO RUIZ UNPACKS TRIBECA WINNER ‘ONE NIGHT WITH ADELA’
Spain’s “One Night With Adela” the feature debut of Hugo Ruiz, came pretty much from nowhere to walk off with the Tribeca festival’s best new narrative director award. Ruiz speaks to Variety about the film.
ENID BLYTON’S CLASSIC ‘FAMOUS FIVE’ STORIES TO BE BROUGHT TO SCREEN
The beloved “Famous Five” stories of Enid Blyton are being reimagined for the BBC and ZDF by Nicolas Winding Refn. The 3 x 90′ series is based on the 21 “Famous Five” novels and short stories Blyton wrote between 1942 and 1963. Filming is currently underway across the southwest of the U.K.
AFRICAN FILMS SHINE AT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
The 2023 Cannes Film Festival saw a record breaking number of African films premiering, with two featuring in the main competition. The bumper crop of titles from Africa and its diaspora included the first Sudanese film ever to make the French fest’s official selection — Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia” — as well as the second ever film directed by a Black woman to compete for the Palme d’Or: “Banel & Adama,” the feature debut of French Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy. Read about it in this article.
THE PERKS AND CHALLENGES OF JOZI’S FILM INDUSTRY
An interesting article written by Evan-Lee Courie takes a critical look at the perks and challenges facing the film industry in Johannesburg.
UK SET TO DOUBLE FILM STAGE SPACE
The UK is set to double its film stage space within two years and aims to grow the creative sector by fifty billion Euros and create one million jobs within seven years. In an article for Deadline, newly appointed culture secretary Lucy Fraser says this comes “in the wake of studios springing up in the likes of Birmingham, Scotland and Hertfordshire, as huge projects have moved to the UK”. She hailed “there is a world-over demand for high-end British productions.”
MALTA ATTRACTS FOREIGN FILMMAKERS THANKS TO INCENTIVE SCHEME
Malta is attracting big-budget shoots with aggressive incentives and adaptable locations. “In January 2019, Malta increased its rebate to a base of 30% for all eligible expenditures, with two potential 5% bumps, one for features set in Malta or local use of facilities and another for maximization of local resources, bringing the maximum payout to 40%” writes Todd Longwell in an article for Variety.
STRONG SUPPORT FOR IRELAND’S FILM SECTOR BREEDS SUCCESS
The phenomenal success of Ireland’s film industry evidenced by the constellation of award-nominated Irish stars at the Oscars and Baftas reflects a huge amount of creative talent behind this golden age of Irish screen. The number of trophies acquired this year alone across diverse categories is exhilarating but not entirely unexpected. It’s the culmination of years of hard graft by screenwriters, film-makers, visual-effects artists and many others, coupled with arts grants, tax-break initiatives and greatly improved third-level film education. Read more about what’s driving the Irish industry in this article by the Irish Times.