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variety • 3 u

Panama is making new plans to grow its film industry and attract more people Panama is working to strengthen its film industry with new initiatives led by Vice Minister of Culture Arianne Benedetti. Enhanced incentives are being proposed, including increased cash-back rebates and more support for the Panamanian Film Fund.

variety • 4 u

Co-production boost and solid financing system feed a healthy harvest of Swiss films at Visions du Réel The Visions du Réel film festival in Switzerland, taking place from 4 to 13 April 2025, will feature 31 Swiss productions and co-productions, including the opening film "Blame" by Christian Frei.

cineuropa.org • 1 d

German home video market sees record growth despite slower expansion in 2024 In 2024, the German home video market reached a record turnover of €4.5 billion, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year, but a slowdown compared to the 13% growth in 2023. Growth was mainly driven by streaming services, while physical media declined further.

cineuropa.org • 2 d

UFO Sweden is the first film to change language thanks to a visual dubbing system with artificial intelligence The Swedish science fiction film “UFO Sweden,” directed by Victor Danell and produced by Crazy Pictures, is the first film to use an AI system for visual dubbing. The technology syncs actors’ lip movements and facial expressions with the English language.

cineuropa.org • 4 d

The Cannes Film Festival Residence unveils its 2025 selection The Cannes Film Festival Residence has selected six directors for its 49th session to work in Paris on their first or second feature film. Also participating are Andrea Gatopoulos, Simon Maria Kubiena, who is writing 'The Flowering of a Chimera', and Rodrigo Ribeyro.

variety • 1 w

Deming Chen's 'Always' wins top prize at CPH:DOX while Mstyslav Chernov wins F:ACT Award for '2000 Meters to Andriivka' The top prize at the CPH:DOX documentary festival in Copenhagen went to "Always" by Chinese director Deming Chen. The film, which follows the life of eight-year-old Youbin in a remote village in Hunan, combines lyrical beauty with stark reality.

cineuropa.org • 1 w

When the Light Breaks crowned Film of the Year and Touch dominates with ten wins at Iceland's Edda Awards At the Edda Awards in Reykjavík, Rúnar Rúnarsson's "When the Light Breaks" won the Film of the Year award. Lilja Ingolfsdottir's "Loveable" was named Best Foreign Language Film.

variety • 1 w

Digital takes over as India's media and entertainment sector hits $29 billion India’s media and entertainment sector is set to reach $29.4 billion in revenue by 2024, according to the annual FICCI-EY report. For the first time, digital media surpassed television as the largest segment, accounting for 32% of total revenue.

nu • 1 w

Gérard Depardieu denies sexual misconduct: 'Why would I do that?' Gérard Depardieu denied allegations of sexual misconduct in a Paris court on Wednesday. He insisted that he had never committed sexual assault and said he was always in company on film sets. However, dozens of women have accused him of misconduct, including rape.

cineuropa.org • 1 w

The Netherlands Film Production Incentive has now generated over €1 billion in spending Since its launch in 2014, the Netherlands Filmproduction Incentive has generated over €1 billion in local spending for the audiovisual industry. More than half of the supported projects were international co-productions.

cineuropa.org • 1 w

Women win in Sofia, with Honeymoon winning the Sofia City of Film Award and Cat's Cry the Special Jury Award At the 29th Sofia International Film Festival, held at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, awards were mainly given to female filmmakers.

filmkrant • 1 w

Settlers attack director Hamdan Ballal, army arrests him Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was attacked in his home on Monday night by about 15 masked Israeli settlers. His home was damaged and his car was vandalized.

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