ARCHIVE
Netflix will be the first streamer in the world to have its series and films preserved in the British Film Institute (BFI) National Archive collection. Over the next five years, hundreds of Netflix U.K. productions deemed to be culturally significant and selected by BFI curators will be preserved in the BFI National Archive’s digital preservation infrastructure as part of the U.K.’s national collection of film, television and the moving image.
The first year of the partnership will include 146 hours of programming, across 26 titles including “Bridgerton,” “Top Boy,” “The Dig” and “Heartstopper.”
Anna Mallett, Netflix VP, production – EMEA, U.K. and APAC, said: “This is a historic moment for us as Netflix becomes the first streamer to have its productions included in a national collection. Our mission has always been to bring joy to our members, and I’m delighted that our productions are representative of British culture and will live alongside iconic British productions dating from the silent era to the present day.”
Arike Oke, BFI director of knowledge and collections, added: “We are so excited to bring a selection of Netflix’s fantastic U.K. productions into the national collection, they are a testament to Netflix’s investment in telling U.K. stories and bringing U.K. talent to a worldwide audience, capturing our contemporary times. This is a real milestone for the BFI National Archive and gives us a historical record for audiences in decades to come.”
RIGHTS
U.K. production company Freedom scripted, which has investment from the Channel 4 Indie Growth Fund, has acquired the rights to “Lucid,” the memoir by author andaward-winning journalist, Lucy Holden. Freedom scripted are making the book into a television series, with Holden attached to adapt.
The series will follow young, ambitious journalist Lucy over a decade, where living conditions are unstable, and love is swipeable. Life in the fast lane eventually veers into darkness, before the pandemic forces Lucy to a standstill, where she must face her own buried trauma.
PARTNERSHIP
Middle East focused entertainment company Rise Studios has signed a multiple-picture deal with Lagoonie Film Production, an Egyptian company founded by producer Shahinaz Elakkad, the outfit behind Cannes-winning film “Feathers.” The two companies will develop, produce and theatrically release multiple films over the next two years with a diverse mix of genres, including romcom, drama and comedy starring blockbuster talent.
Production of the first film – family comedy “Careful What You Wish For” (“Saaet Ejabah”), written by Mohamed Kheidr and Shereen Alaa, directed by Mostafa Abou Seif and featuring Selim Mostafa, Mourad Makram, Ghada Adel, Naglaa Bader and Sawsan Badr in the cast – started earlier this month. Further feature films will include a romantic drama based on the Egyptian novel “Anf wa Thalathat Ouyoun”) by Ihsan Abdel Quddous, adapted by Wael Hamdy, set to launch in 2024.
GRANT
The Film and TV Charity will launch the Horace Ové Grant at the end of November to help Black and global majority people working behind the scenes in film, TV, and cinema to access opportunity and navigate barriers to career progression. The fund is named in honor of Horace Ové, known as the godfather of Black British filmmaking, who directed the first Black British feature film, “Pressure,” in 1976.
In May 2021, the charity had committed that 30% of all grants budgets would be allocated to Black and global majority applicants. During the first financial year following that commitment, the charity underspent by 8% – some £13,000 ($15,000) against its target. The charity has topped up the amount available in the fund to a total of £50,000.
The maximum individual grant under the new scheme will be capped at £500 and grants will be awarded to support access to opportunities leading to paid work or to improving the chance of being offered paid work.
FESTIVALS
The 17th edition of Scotland’s Africa in Motion film festival (Nov. 11-20) will be a hybrid one featuring over 40 films from Africa and the Black diaspora. The festival will open with Amil Shivji’sTanzanian Oscar entry “Tug of War” and close withOmar El-Zohairy’s’ Cannes winner “Feathers.”
The festival’s competition jury comprises Sundance Momentum Fellow and BAFTA Breakthrough Ekwa Msangi, whose film “Farewell Amor” premiered in competition at Sundance, Angolan filmmaker Fradique, whose film “Air Conditioner” participated in more than forty film festivals and Libyan-South African director Khalid Shamis, known as a promo director in the satellite television realm.
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The Windsor International Film Festival has revealed that the winner of the 2022 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film is “Riceboy Sleeps” directed by Anthony Shim. The other nominees were: “Brother” by Clement Virgo; “Eternal Spring” by Jason Loftus; “Falcon Lake,” by Charlotte Le Bon; “I Like Movies” by Chandler Levack; “Norbourg” by Maxime Giroux; “North of Normal” by Carly Stone; “Something You Said Last Night” directed by Luis De Filippis; “The Swearing Jar” directed by Lindsay MacKay; and “To Kill A Tiger” by Nisha Pahuja.
APPOINTMENTS
Indian-themed character entertainment company Graphic India has hired Anshuman Misra as executive VP and country head for India. Misra will work closely with global founder and CEO Sharad Devarajan to expand the company’s operations in the region across animation, live action and the metaverse, to further Graphic India’s mission of creating original Indian superheroes, mythological worlds, and character entertainment franchises.
Graphic India recently created and produced streaming series “The Legend of Hanuman.” Other properties include “Chakra The Invincible” created by Devarajan and Stan Lee and “Baahubali The Lost Legends.” Devarajan and Graphic India are also a producer on upcoming Netflix live-action film, “The Archies.”
Misra has held senior management positions in Turner, Warner Media and BBC in India and Asia Pacific.
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IMG has hired Robert Klein as managing director, head of global football (soccer) for IMG Media. Klein served most recently asCEO of German soccer league Bundesliga International. Klein, who will start in early January, was responsible for setting up the Deustsche Fusball Liga (DFL), Bundesliga International, in 2017 to market the international media rights to Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches across all platforms, as well as global licensing and sponsorship rights.He also built the league’s global communications and marketing teams.
