Nigerian Production Powerhouse FilmOne Brings Slick Commercial Slate to EFM (EXCLUSIVE)
Christopher Vourlias, provided by
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One year ago, as thousands of global film and TV industry reps descended on Berlin for the European Film Market, executives from Nigerian production and distribution powerhouse FilmOne Entertainment had good reason to feel optimistic. The company had recently unveiled a $1 million film fund with China’s Huahua Media and South Africa’s Empire Entertainment, an unprecedented pact for the Nigerian movie industry. Production on the first film financed by the fund had just begun, and it looked like the start to a promising year.
Despite Pandemic s Setbacks, Polish Filmmakers Forge Ahead With Busy 2021 Slate
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The coronavirus pandemic couldn’t have arrived at a worse time for Leszek Bodzak, the producer behind Jan Komasa’s Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi.” With just five days to spare before principal photography was set to begin on “Leave No Traces,” the latest feature from acclaimed director Jan P. Matuszyński (“The Last Family”), Bodzak was forced to postpone the shoot.
Yet in the four months of hand-wringing before cameras finally began to roll last July, Bodzak’s French co-producer, Les Contes Modernes, was able to secure additional financing from Arte and regional French funds, giving the film’s budget a much-needed boost. “That was something unexpectedly good from the pandemic,” says Bodzak, whose Aurum Film is also prepping Komasa’s next project, “Shine of the Sun.”
Scandinavia Powers Forward With New Pics, Positive Outlook for 2021
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Scandinavia’s film industry has proven resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, bolstered by well-established production and sales banners, as well as high-profile talent who have seized opportunities from streamers and broadcasters.
Spanning Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland, the Nordic film biz has been able to ride through the health crisis better than those in many
other territories.
The industry’s robustness lies in the strength of a handful of local players, including vertically integrated powerhouses such as SF Studios, which is delivering some big-budget local and international movies including “Omerta 6/12,” “The Emigrants” and “The Pact”; and Nent Group’s streaming service Viaplay, which is releasing original movies.
Pawel Maslona to Direct Big-Budget Drama on Revolutionary War Hero Kosciuszko (EXCLUSIVE)
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Polish director Paweł Maślona (“Panic Attack”) is prepping a lavish period drama about the American Revolutionary War hero Tadeusz Kościuszko.
Produced by Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Hickinbotham for Aurum Film, the production house behind Jan Komasa’s Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi,” the historical epic with the working title “Scarborn,” from a script by Michał A. Zielinski received development funding from the Polish Film Institute. Aurum is now searching for international co-production partners, with an eye toward filming in 2022.
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The film tells the story of the war veteran Kościuszko, a trusted ally of Gen. George Washington’s and a colonel in the Continental Army, who returns to his native Poland with his valet and confidante, Jean Lapierre, a Black man who was known as Domingo. Together th