Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Worldwide Rights to Pedro Almodovar’s “Strange Way of Life,” Starring Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal’s strange way of life will be on full display globally…

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the worldwide rights (outside of the UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Latin America) to Strange Way of Life, the buzzy short film starring the Chilean actor.

Pedro Pascal, Strange Way of LifeThe film, from Pedro Almodóvar, also stars Ethan Hawke.

The short will premiere as an official selection of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

The film, acquired at the pre-production phase, is slated for release this fall and will almost certainly be positioned for awards consideration, given the caliber of talent behind it.

Following two gunmen who reunite after 25 years, Strange Way of Life marks the latest in a long line of collaborations between Almodóvar and SPC, coming on the heels of the filmmaker’s first English-language project The Human Voice — a short also distributed by SPC, which starred Tilda Swinton.

Almodóvar describes the plot as follows: “A man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva, the rancher who rides out to meet him, worked together as hired gunmen. Silva visits him with the excuse of reuniting with his friend from his youth, and they do indeed celebrate their meeting, but the next morning Sheriff Jake tells him that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship…”

Produced by Almodóvar’s El Deseo and presented by Saint Laurent by Anthony VaccarelloStrange Way of Life also stars Pedro Casablanc, Manu Ríos, George Steane, José Condessa, Jason Fernández and Sara Sálamo.

Agustín Almodóvar produced, with Esther García as executive producer, and Bárbara Peiró, Diego Pajuelo and Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello as associate producers.

Four-time Oscar nom and regular Almodóvar collaborator Alberto Iglesias penned the score, with Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello handling the costumes.

Manu Rios Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Manu Rios has new representation…

The 24-year-old Spanish actor and singer, best known for his starring role on Netflix’s popular Spanish YA series Elitehas signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME) for representation.

Manu RiosRios portrays Patrick Blanco on the international hit series, which is heading into its seventh season on the streamer.

Rios will next be seen starring alongside Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal in the upcoming short film Strange Way of Life from Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodóvar. The short is set to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The story follows the reunion of an outlaw and a sheriff after 25 years apart, and the romance that followed them there.

Rios is also set to star in the upcoming Netflix limited series El Silencio from Aitor Gabilondo.

He was previously seen in the limited series La Edad de la Ira for Atresmedia.

Albert Serra Developing Bullfighting Documentary “Afternoons of Solitude”

Albert Serra is in a (bull)fighting mood…

The 47-year-old Spanish independent filmmaker plans to follow up his 2022 breakout film Pacifiction with Afternoons of Solitude, an impressionistic documentary that’ll explore bullfighting from the tormented perspective of the man in the ring.

Albert SerraBullfighting is one of the most excessive examples of the primitive origins of Southern European civilization,” Serra says of his longtime passion project. “It has a kind of showmanship on the edge of being art, and I like that idea. I like the violence of it. I like the pressure.”

“The film is about the spiritual pain of the torero,” he continues. “Of course we know about the animals’ suffering, but the humans involved suffer as well. I’m more focused on that than on the social debate about the practice.”

Produced by Serra’s longtime partners Luís Ferrón, Montse Triola and Pierre-Olivier Barde through their Andergraun Films banner, Afternoons of Solitude quietly began shooting last summer, and will pick up again in Seville, among other bullfighting meccas, once the season begins come spring.

Though Serra and crew will continue shooting through to fall, don’t expect the doc – which will recreate a series of acute mental states – to follow any kind of conventional production schedule.

“This is not a documentary where we follow the subjects for three days here and 10 days there, and then again three months later,” Serra says of his particular brand of slow cinema. “Instead, I want to be present, in the moment, living something unique while being able to manipulate, in a good sense, those feelings that intensify over this short period of time.”

“For me, this is where fantasy and fiction can evolve into something else,” he adds. “When you spend your time simply following people, it’s difficult to create that kind of fantasy, this kind of engagement. And I want to evolve the subject toward something very rough and wild and real. It’s a performance, after all.”

2022 proved to be something of a banner year for the Catalan auteur, who cracked the Cannes Film Festival competition for the first time, and later won France’s most prestigious film trophy, the Prix Louis-Delluc. Now banking on that greater renown, Serra is developing an English-language feature with international partners.

If many firm details remain distant and undefined (“My inspiration comes from being on set,” says Serra), the filmmaker envisions an English-language project with the same scope as Pacifiction and the same singular sensibility. “I will not renounce any elements of my style,” he promises. “And anyway, the new producers don’t want me to!”

Serra’s credits also include Story of My Death (2013), winner of the Golden Leopard at Locarno, Last Days of Louis XIV (2016), which won a Lumiere Award for best actor for Jean-Pierre Léaud, and Liberty (2019), which won the Special Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” Wins Three Awards at Tokyo International Film Festival

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s latest project has proved to be a beast in Japan…

The 41-year-old Spanish Goya Award-winning film director and screenwriter’s psychological thriller The Beasts has won three awards at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, including the Tokyo Grand Prix, best director and best actor for Denis Menochet.

Rodrigo SorogoyenThe film, which premiered in an Out Of Competition slot at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, follows a French couple who move to Spain’s Galician countryside to run an organic farm, but receive a hostile welcome from the locals.

The Tokyo Grand Prix prize comes with a cash award of Y3M (US$20,400).

Iranian filmmaker Houman Seyedi’s satirical drama World War III took the Special Jury Prize at the festival following its wins in Venice for best film and best actor in the Horizons section. Tokyo’s Special Jury Prize comes with a cash award of Y500,000 (US$3,400).

Best actress went to Aline Kuppenheim for her role in Manuela Martelli’s 1976, in which she plays a woman sheltering a man during Chile’s Pinochet dictatorship. The best artistic contribution award went to Sri Lankan film Peacock Lament, directed by Sanjeewa Pushpakumara.

The festival’s audience award went to Rikiya Imaizumi’s By The Window, about a man confronted by his wife’s affair, which was one of three Japanese films to be selected for the international competition.

In the festival’s Asian Future competition, the best film award went to Butterflies Live Only One Day, directed by Iranian filmmaker Mohammadreza Vatandoust, who was on hand to accept the award in person.

Mariah Carey Partners with Chopard to Launch “Happy Butterfly” Jewelry Collection

Mariah Carey is spreading her wings in celebration of the 25th anniversary reissue of her Butterfly album.

The 53-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer has released a jewelry collection with Swiss luxury designer Chopard.

Mariah Carey, Chopard, Happy ButterflyThe “Happy Butterfly” collection includes 12 pieces featuring a butterfly crafted in “ethical rose and white gold” and is described in a release as having a “transparently openworked heart in which a dancing diamond nestles between two sapphire crystals.”

Bangles, pendants, rings, and earrings are available from $6,330 to $23,500.

Mariah Carey, Chopard, Happy ButterflyChopard is also releasing a one-of-a-kind asymmetrical diamond-paved “Haute Joaillerie” set for its Mariah Carey collection, consisting of a necklace, a pair of earrings, and a ring crafted with round-cut and heart-shaped diamonds and set in 18k white gold, which the brand says is “certified ethical.”

The pieces are co-signed by both the artist and Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele. Price available upon request.

“Mariah and I have been friends for many years and first connected through our love of jewelry and music. She performed at our party in Cannes in 2019, and we had always talked about designing together,” said Scheufele. The house’s creations are worn on red carpets around the world at events such as the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival.

Mariah Carey, Chopard, Happy ButterflyScheufele described the Chopard “Happy Butterfly” collection as a modern butterfly design paired with Chopard’s iconic “Happy Diamonds,” which are free-floating stones that move around as the wearer does. “Since Mariah has a personal passion for unique pieces, we knew we wanted to do a few one-of-a-kind creations that would be truly exceptional. This led to an extraordinary diamond suite,” Scheufele said.

Carey, who has sold more than 200 million albums with No. 1 hits like “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” sees the butterfly as a metaphor for spreading her wings after her divorce from former manager Tommy Mottola.

She also has a Van Cleef & Arpels butterfly ring.

Buffalo 8 Acquires North American Rights to Rodrigo Cortés’ Musical Drama “Love Gets a Room”

Rodrigo Cortéslove is heading to the U.S.

Buffalo 8 has acquired the North American rights to the 48-year-old Spanish film director’s musical drama Love Gets a Room, slating it for a limited theatrical release this fall.

Rodrigo CortésStarring Clara Rugaard and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, the film is a romantic tale of love and survival in the face of harrowing circumstances and encompasses themes of perseverance, resilience, and sacrifice. It’s set in 1942 and follows a group of Jewish actors who perform a theatrical play in the heart of the Warsaw Ghetto. Rugaard’s character must make a life-or-death decision in the middle of her stage show—to follow her heart, or to escape the Warsaw ghetto.

Love Gets a Room screened for buyers at the Cannes Film Festival after making its world premiere at the Festival de Sevilla.

Cortés wrote the film with David Safier. Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls produced, with Cortés executive-producing, and Miguel Angel Faura and Rugaard serving as associate producers.

“A true roller coaster of emotions, beautifully told and thought provoking,” said Buffalo 8’s Head of Distribution, Nikki Stier Justice, of the film. “I was really impressed with Cortes’ nuanced approach to direction and Clara Rugaard stole the show with her performance.”

Cortes’ previous projects include Buried, Red Lights and Down a Dark Hall.

Jayro Bustamante to Direct World War II Drama “Down Wind”

Jayro Bustamante is heading down wind

The 45-year-old Guatemalan film director and screenwriter, whose most recent film La Llorona made the Oscar international film shortlist, is partnering with Panama’s award-winning Hypatia Films and Jonathan Keasey of Mind Riot Entertainment to make the World War II drama Down Wind.

Jayro BustamanteThe film marks a rare collaboration between two major Central American filmmakers and an American writer-producer.

Bustamante will direct based on a screenplay by Keasey, who has also boarded as a producer.

The drama’s lead production company, Hypatia Films, run by Pituka Ortega Heilbron and Marcela Heilbron, is an associate producer on Claire DenisCannes Film Festival competition contender The Stars at Noon, which was filmed in Panama and on which Hypatia provided production services.

Inspired by true events, Down Wind (a working title) is sourced from an article concerning incidents that transpired in the U.S. Southwest towards the end of World War II.

Ortega Heilbron who hopes to shoot the film on location in New Mexico and tap its robust incentives.

For Bustamante, for what would be his first film in English, albeit with some Spanish dialogue, the idea of making Down Wind immediately appealed to him.

“My career has always been tied to themes of discrimination against indigenous people,” said Bustamante, who’s in post on his fourth film and prepping his fifth.

Noomi Rapace to Serve as Part of This Year’s Cannes Film Festival Jury

Noomi Rapace has joined a special jury

The 42-year-old half-Spanish actress has been named to this year’s jury for the Cannes Film Festival.

Noomi RapaceRapace, rose to acclaim for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film adaptations of the Millennium series: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, will serve alongside Rebecca Hall, Jeff Nichols, Asghar Farhadi, Deepika Padukone, Jasmine Trinca, Ladj Ly, and Joachim Trier.

Vincent Lindon will serve as its jury president for the 75th edition, which kicks off next month. He won the 2015 Best Actor award at Cannes for The Measure of a Man and starred in last year’s Palme d’Or winner Titane.

The festival also announced that Trinca’s debut feature film Marcel! will be presented as a Special Screening in the festival this year.

“It is a great honor and a source of pride to be entrusted, in the midst of the tumult of all the events we are going through in the world, with the splendid, weighty task of chairing the jury of the 75th International Cannes Film Festival,” said Lindon in a statement. “With my jury, we will strive to take the best possible care of the films of the future, all of which carry the same secret hope of courage, loyalty and freedom, with a mission to move the greatest number of women and men by speaking to them of their common wounds and joys. Culture helps the human soul to rise and hope for tomorrow.”

In keeping with tradition, French stars tend to be honored with the jury president role at anniversary years of the Cannes Film Festival. Isabelle Huppert was the last French star to preside over the Cannes jury back in 2009. Yves Montant presided in 1987 for the 40th festival; Gerard Depardieu in 1993 for the 45th festival; and Isabelle Adjani in 1997 for the 50th.

The Cannes Film Festival takes place from May 17-28.

Natalia Lopez Gallardo’s Feature Directing Debut “Robe of Gems” Officially Screens at Berlin Film Festival

Natalia Lopez Gallardo is celebrating her first gem

The Mexican-Bolivian writer, editor and occasional actress’ feature directing debut Robe of Gems has officially screened in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

Natalia Lopez GallardoSet in the countryside of Mexico, the film sees the fates of three women collide when the case of a missing person leads them on a path of pain and redemption.

Robe of Gems stars Nailea Norvind, Daniel García and newcomers Antonia Olivares and Aida Roa.

In the midst of divorce, Isabel (Norvind) settles in the countryside where she discovers that her housekeeper María (Olivares) has a missing sister. When Isabel offers her help, an unspoken pact to find the missing one is born between the two women. Meanwhile, Roberta (Roa), the local police commander, hopes to rescue her son from the criminal underworld, and ends up crossing paths with Isabel and María. Their destinies come together in a world of confusion and abandonment where, despite it all, the human spirit to rebel against misfortune persists.

López Gallardo’s editing credits include films by Lisandro Alonso, Carlos Reygadas and Amat Escalante. She also heads the high-end post-production studio Splendor Omnia, located near Mexico City.

As a director, her short film In Heaven as it is On Earth was selected for Critics’ Week at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

She says Robe of Gems is about “what we carry inside after years of accumulating, in our minds and dreams, infinite images of torture. Maps of clandestine graves, faces of missing people, homicides of men and women alike. My desire is to refer to a spiritual wound and its psychological dimension — the one that is not visible.”

Carlota Pereda Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Carlota Pereda has new representation…

The Latina writer-director, whose debut feature Piggy (Cerdita) recently made its world premiere in the Midnight Section of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Carlota PeredaIn Pereda’s acclaimed Spanish-language horror film, an overweight teen is bullied by a clique of cool girls while holidaying in her village—with the long walk home that follows changing the rest of her life.

The project was selected in 2020 at script stage for the Cannes Film Festival’s Focus Co-Production Initiative.

It expands on Pereda’s breakthrough 2018 short of the same name, which has won 90 awards, including the Spanish Academy’s Goya Award for Best Short Film in 2019, and the 2020 Slamdance AGBO Fellowship.

Pereda has also worked extensively in television—most notably directing episodes of the Spanish-language series Paco’s Men for Money Heist creator Álex Pina.