Comment on Life and art merge in ‘Backwards in High Heels’

Ahead of its European bow in San Sebastian as part of the fest’s New Directors Competition, Turkish writer-director Belkis Bayrak reveals the first look trailer for her riveting debut feature, “Gülizar,” shared exclusively with Variety. “It is, of course, an honor to be in competition at San Sebastian with my debut feature,” Bayrak relayed.

Catalan films have impressed at festivals and awards ceremonies around the world for years now as the region continues to punch far above its weight in the screen industries. As the fall festival season transitions into awards season, we wanted to take a look at the buzziest Catalan titles set to make their debut sometime […]

LEVELING UP Sony-owned anime company Crunchyroll has acquired North American and select international theatrical rights for “Solo Leveling – ReAwakening.” The presentation represents a recap of the “Solo Leveling” anime series’ hit first season and a sneak peek of the first two episodes of the second season. Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment will bring “Solo […]

Finnish director Samppa Batal finds sadness in romance and romance in sadness in the Helsinki-set “Apple Thieves.” “I see it as a romantic dramedy,” he says. “I believe we should embrace sadness [in relationships] because it will come. The problems start when we refuse to admit it. I don’t remember when, but I have learned […]

SAN SEBASTIAN —  Beta Fiction Spain, the distributor of the opening and closing films at this year’s San Sebastian Festival, Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle” and John Crowley’s “We Live in Time,” has tapped Arantxa Echevarría to direct its banner Spanish feature, “Dolores.”  Echeverría has already helmed for Beta Fiction “La Infiltrada,” about a police infiltrator in Basque […]

A teenage girl’s search for belonging brings her under the spell of a far-right eco-fascist group in Sunniva Eir Tangvik Kveum’s timely debut feature “Nipster,” which will be presented during a showcase of upcoming Nordic projects at Helsinki’s Finnish Film Affair. Taking its name from a slang term for Nazi hipsters, “Nipster” follows Chris (Saga […]