MAKING MAGIC
To mark the 25th anniversary of the “Harry Potter” books being published in the U.S., the Empire State Building is set to be lit up in Hogwarts house colors at sunset on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
Viewers outside of New York can watch the building’s Tower Lights shine red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff, blue for Ravenclaw and green for Slytherin on the Empire State’s live cam. For those in New York, there will be a magical pop-up cart on the 86th Floor Observation Deck where fans will be able to pick up free copies of the book and bottles of Butterbeer. Costumes and wizard robes are encouraged.
CRYPTO SCAM
BBC One have set a documentary on alleged crypto-scammer Sam Bankman-Fried. Produced by Bitachon365 (“Secrets of Prince Andrew”), the 60-minute doc will air under the BBC’s “Panorama” strand on Sept. 25. A 90-minute cut will be available on the BBC’s streaming service iPlayer.
Among the contributors are former colleagues, crypto insiders and others including YouTuber Tiffany Fong, business partner Anthony Scaramucci and reporter Ian Allison, who first uncovered the hole in Bankman-Fried’s finances.
Bitachon365’s Sheldon Lazarus said: “We’ve used the very best investigative journalism and some of the greatest current affairs minds, to bring to television the very first in-depth look at how Sam Bankman-Fried went from having it all, to losing it in a matter of days and the lives impacted along the way.”
Fifth Season are handling global distribution.
DISTRIBUTION
EXCLUSIVE: Buffalo 8 has acquired the worldwide rights to psychological thriller “Mindwash.” Starring “Katy Keane’s” Camille Hyde and Ben Edlin from “Chicago Med,” the feature was written, directed and produced by Beatrice Brigitte (“Gotham”).
Kazy Tauginas (“The Equalizer 2”) and Freya Saxon produce alongside Brigitte’s The Arcane Company.
“Camille Hyde and Ben Edlin deliver gripping performances in this thought-provoking psychological thriller about the fragile boundary between individuality and conformity,” said Buffalo 8’s head of distribution, Nikki Stier Justice.
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EXCLUSIVE: Dartmouth Films have acquired Sheila Hayman’s feature documentary “Fanny: The Other Mendelssohn” for U.K. distribution. The doc, about Felix Mendelssohn‘s sister Fanny, herself a prolific composer, is set to get a theatrical release in the U.K. on over 100 screens nationwide.
Produced by Mercury Studios, the doc also stars Isata Kanneh-Mason performing some of Fanny’s works. Mercury’s Alice Webb, Marc Robinson and Steve Condie and Annabel Hobley and Maureen Murray serve as executive producers.
“Mercury Studios is thrilled to partner with Dartmouth Films, one of the U.K.’s leaders in the independent documentary space, to bring the untold story of Fanny Mendelssohn to the big screen,” said Alice Webb, CEO and co-president of Mercury Studios. “We hope Fanny’s journey and Isata’s performance surprises and delights audiences throughout the country.”
LFF FOR FREE
The BFI London Film Festival (Oct. 4-15) will feature more than 50 events that are free to the public. Highlights include a preview screening of episodes 1 & 2 of Marvel Studios’ “Loki” Season 2, at an event which will be introduced by director of episode 2, Dan DeLeeuw and executive producer, Kevin R. Wright; two “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” model-making workshops; a dance class inspired by Aurora Gossé’s film “Dancing Queen”; and Robot Dreams: Make Your Own Robot Friend, a workshop where attendees can construct a robotic companion.
Free festival talks include a conversation between Michael Morpurgo and Frank Cottrell Boyce, the writer of “Kensuke’s Kingdom” and screenwriter of its film adaptation, and The Ghibliotheque Guide to Miyazaki Hayao; a guided tour through the work and worldview of the Studio Ghibli co-founder; African-American poet and Nikki Giovanni will join the directors of documentary “Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project”; and Chasing Identity: Queerness and Empowering Ourselves Through Film will be a discussion with the director of “Chasing Chasing Amy, Sav Rodgers.”
There are also talks by talks by Polly Bennett (choreographer, “Saltburn”), Shaheen Baig (casting director, “The End We Start From”), Begona Fernandez Martin (SFX make-up artist, “Aquaman”), Joanna Fahy (home economist, “Sky Peals”), Guiomar Alonso (stunt coordinator, “Bourne Ultimatum”), Louise Kempton (intimacy coordinator, “Hoard”), Ian Baillie (production designer, “Atonement”), Zac Nicholson (cinematographer, “One Life”) and Phil Canning (music supervisor, “In Camera”).
INDIAN EPIC
Indian filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, director of the Oscar nominated “Lagaan,” will next direct “Shankar,” a biopic of 8th century Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher, Adi Shankaracharya. The film will be produced by Ashutosh Gowariker Productions in association with Acharya Shankar Sanskritik Ekta Nyas.
MAKING MUSIC
Bollywood star Sunny Kaushal (“Shiddat”) has turned musician with his debut single, Punjabi-language hip-hop rap number “Jhandey,” under his music name SunSunnykhez. The song is produced by Bharg Kale and will release Sept. 28.
