FESTIVAL
The world premiere of Scottish writer-director Johnny Barrington‘s debut feature “Silent Roar” will open the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival on Aug. 18. Billed as a “teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire” set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, the film stars emerging actor Louis McCartney as Dondo, a young surfer struggling to accept his father’s recent disappearance at sea. Caught up in grief, he is brought to his senses by rebellious crush Sas (Ella Lily Hyland), a high achiever who dreams of escaping the island. When an oddly-behaved new minister arrives on the island, Dondo begins to have cosmic visions.
The film is produced by Scottish producer Chris Young (“The Inbetweeners Movie”) and was made with the participation of Screen Scotland, BBC Film and BFI. MK2 Films is handling sales.
The festival is returning for its 76th editionfollowing financial difficulties. Last October it was revealed the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), which produces the festival, had appointed administrators, leaving the future of the festival in doubt. In March, the festival said it would be returning for a special one year-iteration as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, which runs from Aug. 18-23.
The festival program will be led by its new directorKate Taylor, who takes over fromKristy Mathesonwho was unveiled asthe new directorof the BFI London Film Festival.
SINGAPORE SLING
Cathay Cineplexes, the Singapore and Malaysia exhibition chain owned by mini-conglomerate mm2 Asia, is pulling out of operations at the multiplex cinema at the Cineleisure building in Singapore’s Grange Road. Management will pass instead to a combination of Singapore’s multiplex leader Golden Village and indie operator The Projector. Another of Cathay Cineplexes’ venues, at the national monument The Cathay building, will close from August for 18 months of renovations. Mm2 Asia acquired Cathay Cineplexes in Singapore in Nov. 2017. Before the latest changes the group operated seven locations in Singapore under Cathay Cineplexes and twelve locations in Malaysia under the mmCineplexes brand. It is due to open one more in Singapore’s Tampines New Town by the end of the year.
STILL SINGING
CJ ENM’s reality TV competition format“I Can See Your Voice,” has been licensed for adaptation in Mexico and in Spanish in the U.S. by TelevisaUnivision networks. Celebrity guests have to identify whether the contestants are good or bad singers without ever hearing them sing. The primary goal is to weed out the poor singers and keep the one talented singer as the winner. Produced by TelevisaUnivision with the consultancy services of Fremantle Mexico, the adapted series is set for a fall premiere on Univision in the U.S. and on Las Estrellas in Mexico. The format has been licensed to 28 different countries in total, including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Israel, and Thailand.
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS
LilCritterWorkshop, a creative animation production house with studios in Malaysia and the U.K., has unveiled two strategic developments. In Malaysia, it has launched Lil Critter Digital, a digital-first production studio. In its U.K., where it last year set up a production unit in Bristol, it has appointed Jan Stradling as consultant development executive. Stradling has previously held been commissioning editor/executive producer at the ABC in Australia and senior network producer at Walt Disney Television, Australia and New Zealand. LCD’s first project is “Lawak Campus,” a 104-part series of 15 second comedies for tweens that launched on TikTok. The show will next play as a 52-part series in English and in Bahasa Malaysia exclusively on Astro later this year.
FORMAT
EndemolShine Germany, part of Banijay Germany, will produce “Save The Date” for VOX. Originally created by Endemol Shine Israel, and first produced by Endemol Shine Finland, this is the third iteration of the dating and relationship format, following the launch by Shine Iberia in Portugal on TVI earlier this month.
In this social experiment, singles tired of the dating world, gain total control of their love lives by setting a wedding date, before they have even begun dating a partner. Each single has a short time to find their perfect match and plan the wedding.
PLATFORM
Crew United, the online platform connecting filmmakers across Europe, has launched in Italy, Spain, Greece, Romania and Lithuania, joining the already established ones in the German, French, Polish and English languages. The European development of Crew United is supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA program.
Each country launch will be supported by a dedicated team of native-speaking experts who are ingrained in the local film industries. These teams will establish partnerships with film organizations, associations, and film commissions in their respective countries, ensuring a tailored and collaborative approach to address each market’s specific needs and challenges. The new launches are expected to add substantially to the platform’s 44,000 members.
