SPANISH ELITE RETURNS FOR EIGHTH TIME
Netflix‘s “Elite” is officially getting an eighth season.
The streamer announced on Wednesday morning that production on Season 8 will commence in August. Episodes for the upcoming season will be directed by Daniel Barone, Ginesta Guindal, Jota Linares and Elena Trapé. New characters will include Ane Rot (“Killer Book Club”) and Nuno Gallego (“UPA Next”). Mina el Hammani will also return to the series to reprise her role of Nadia.
“Elite,” created by Carlos Montero and Jaime Vaca, is Netflix Spain’s longest-running fictional series. Set at Las Encinas, an elite high school, the series follows a group of working class students at the school and their relationships with their wealthier classmates.
Premiering on Netflix in 2018, the series was met with critical acclaim. At the time, PvNew‘s Caroline Framke hailed the series as “tantalizing and whipsmart,” writing: “’Élite’ does indeed include countless teen show clichés, but it also relishes the opportunity to dig a bit deeper and twist them into more interesting shapes. It interrogates the very tropes it indulges by finding new gears in old plot engines. And with the addition of a smart flashback structure keeping its central murder mystery afloat, Darío Madrona and Carlos Montero’s drama quickly proves addictive enough that it’s hard to stop watching before the end of its eight-episode conclusion.”
Though the series’ stars come and go, recent featured players include Omar Ayuso, Valentina Zenere, André Lamoglia, Carmen Arrufat, Álex Pastrana, Álvaro de Juana, Ander Puig, Ana Bokesa, Nadia Al Saidi, Mirela Balić, Gleb Abrosimov, Fernando Líndez, Alejandro Albarracín, Iván Mendes, Maribel Verdú and Anitta.
MonKEY BUSINESS AT NYAFF
The New York Asian Film Festival has set the Anthony Stacchi-directed “The Monkey King” as its closing night film.
The animated comedy adventure film includes an all-Asian American voice cast headed by Jimmy O. Yang as the titular Monkey King, Bowen Yang as an eccentric Dragon King and Jolie Hoang- Rappaport as a catalytic small-town girl. Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong also round out this talented cast. The film is produced by Chou Peilin whose credits include “Over the Moon,” “Abominable” and“Kung Fu Panda 3.”It will play at an event on July 30 at Film at Lincoln Center. The screening will be preceded by theNYAFF2023 Uncaged Awards Ceremony.
The jury includes British Chinese filmmaker Leong Po Chih, Rebecca Choi, VP of narrative film at Archer Gray; Anna Isabelle Matutina, an award-winning television director and filmmaker from the Philippines; Murata Chieko, a Japanese producer and head of the television & film business at Myriagon Studio; and New York-based film, television and stage actor Perry Yung.
The narrative shorts showcase awards, decided by a jury including Thai film critic Donsaron Kovitvanitcha, producer Ko Mori, and New York-based playwright and television scriptwriter Lauren Yee, will also be revealed.
ADVANCED BOOKING
The Osaka Asian Film Festival has set its dates for next year’s edition. The festival, which boasts competitive, indie forum and special screening sections, will run March 1-10, 2024.
ANIMATION FOR INDIA
Crunchyroll, the anime streaming platform controlled by Sony, is expanding its offering in India by producing a Hindi dub for season 1 of “Jujutsu Kaisen,” the hit dark fantasy action series. The Hindi version will premiere July 28.
“Jujutsu Kaisen” is the tale of a high-schooler who became a curse to end a curse. Season 1 is produced by Toho Animation and based on the best-selling manga of the same title written and illustrated by Akutami Gege. It was animated by Mappa (“Chainsaw Man,” “Attack on Titan Final Season”) and directed by Park Sunghoo. The screenplay and series composition are written by Seko Hiroshi (“Vinland Saga,” “Attack on Titan: Final Season”).
In the Hindi version, the character Itadori Yuji will be played by Vidit Kumar; Fushiguro Megumi will be played by Sahil Kulkarni; Kugisaki Nobara will be played by Suvela Sharma; Gojo Satoru will be played by Lohit Sharma (“Squid Game”) and Sukuna Ryomen will be played by Archit Maurya (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045”).
The film version, “Jujuts Kaisen 0” earned some $180 million at the global theatrical box office.
