Author: SD

Dag Johan Haugerud’s Dreams (Sex Love) was awarded the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin International Film Festival tonight (February 22). Scroll down for full list of winners Dreams (Sex Love) sees Haugerud complete his Sex Love Dreams trilogy with the story of a young woman whose writings about a crush on her French teacher shock her mother and grandmother, causing them to re-examine their own fantasies. M-Appeal are handling sales. Haugerud said on stage that it was “beyond [his] wildest dreams” to win the Golden Bear, and speaking in his other life as a librarian and novelist, recommended…

Romanian writer-director Radu Jude’s social satire Kontinental ’25 has sold to a slew of European territories after world premiering in Berlin Film Festival’s competition.  Paris-based Luxbox, which is handling international sales, has sold the film to France (Météore Films), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), Poland (Aurora), Portugal (Films4you), Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark (Njutafilms), Greece (Cinobo), Estonia (Filmstop), Lithuania (Scanorama), Hungary (Mozinet), Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania (MCF), Slovenia (Fivia), and Bulgaria (Beta films). Other territories are currently in negotiations. The film follows a bailiff who tries to find ways to ease her troubled conscience after…

With the Bafta results shaking up the awards race once more, many of the key categories still remain up in the air according to Screen’s awards-season experts. In our latest Screen Awards Podcast for the 2024/25 race, Screen’s editor-in-chief Matt Mueller and awards & box office editor Charles Gant are joined by Vue International CEO Tim Richards to break down the Bafta winners and what it means for the final stretch of awards season.  The trio discuss whether the Oscars and the Baftas need to expand the minimum number of screens eligible titles play on and what impact the awards…

Disney has named former Paramount top executive Daria Cercek president of its live action theatrical division. Cercek will oversee the studio’s live action theatrical slate, development and production of films inspired by the intellectual property stable, and champion original projects. She reports to president of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios David Greenbaum. The upcoming Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios’ slate includes the third entry in the Avatar franchise towards the end of the year, as well as Snow White, Lilo & Stitch, Tron: Ares, Predator: Badlands, The Devil Wears Prada sequel, the live-action Moana feature, and…

Ethan Hawke, speaking at the Berlinale press conference for Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, said audiences needed to care about offensive art if they wanted it to keep getting made. “You guys, the community, has to make it important for offensive art to have a place in our conversation. It has to be cared about,” Hawke said. He plays songwriter Lorenz Hart as he battles with alcoholism and depression on the opening night of Oklaoma! which was co-written by his former creative partner Richard Rodgers. “When we prioritise money at all costs, what we get is generic material that appeals to the most people…

Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail has taken the lead on Screen’s Berlin jury grid with a strong 3.4 while Ari, Dreams, The Ice Tower and Reflection In A Dead Diamond also land. The Blue Trail received four four stars (excellent) and five three stars (good), already beating the score of last year’s joint winners My Favourite Cake and The Devil’s Bath with 3.1. Denise Weinberg stars in the dystopian fable as a 77-year-old who embarks on a journey through the Amazon. Click on the image above for the most up-to-date version of the grid. Close behind was Michel Franco’s Dreams which secured an…

Conclave and The Brutalist shared out the major prizes at the 2025 Bafta Film Awards, with four prizes each. Scroll down for full list of winners The event was held tonight (February 18) at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank, with David Tennant hosting for the second time. More to follow. Full list of nominations Best Film Anora  The Brutalist  A Complete Unknown Conclave Emilia Pérez Leading Actress Cynthia Erivo – Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths Mikey Madison – Anora Demi Moore – The Substance Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun Leading Actor Adrien Brody – The…

A languid EFM was heating up a time of writing as at least three companies were believed to be locked in a bidding war for the Lena Dunham-Natalie Portman rom-com package Good Sex, with offers understood to be in excess of $45m heading into Saturday night. According to sources Netflix, Warner Bros and Amazon are believed to be in pursuit of the project, which FilmNation and CAA Media Finance took out to the market on the eve of Berlin. Portman will play a near-40-year-old therapist on the rebound who falls into a steamy fling with a young hipster at the…

Timothée Chalamet says he does not know if he will do many more films that require the investment that Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown has done. Speaking at the Berlinale press conference for James Mangold’s film, where Chalamet represented the film alone, Chalamet detailed the emotional and time investment the project has required from him. “This is the last word – I’ve been going around the world talking about this for two months,” said Chalamet. “I love this man [Dylan] so much and this movie so much, I would do it for a year.” Such efforts cannot be repeated…

Action-comedy Hitman 2 dominated the Korean box office for a second consecutive weekend, claiming 28% of admissions. The film earned $1.3m from Friday to Sunday (February 7 to 9), according to Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s box office tracking service. The sequel has grossed $15m since its January 22 release, surpassing original Hitman: Agent Jun, which took $14.1m in 2020, and pushing the film past its break-even point of 2.3 million admissions. Kwon Sang-woo reprises his role as secret agent-turned-webtoon artist who, in this instalment, is falsely accused of plotting a terrorist attack. Ranking second was mystery romance Secret: Untold…