Ron Howard’s ‘Eden’ Makes Int’l Premiere As Opening Film Of Torino Film Fest

Rob Howard’s thriller Eden will make its international premiere as the opening film of Italy’s Torino Film Festival next month in the presence of the Oscar-winning director. The picture stars Jude Law, Ana De Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney as a group of people who flee 1920s Europe to start over and build paradise on the Galapagos Islands, with disastrous consequences. Italian rights for the film – which world premiered in Toronto – have been acquired by Italian International Film in collaboration with Rai Cinema, and 01 Distribution will handle the local theatrical release. The film was sold to Amazon Prime Video during Cannes in a multi-territory deal including the UK & Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Scandinavia, Spain, Latin America, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, India, Turkey, West Indies, and Asia pay-TV. The 42nd Torino Film Festival runs from November 22 to 30.

Leonard Cohen Drama Lands International Deals

Cineflix Rights has landed further deals on the Leonard Cohen drama So Long, Marianne. Australian network SBS has acquired the rights to the 8-episode drama while Movistar Plus+ has bought the Spanish rights with both launching this Autumn. They join the original coproducing partners NRK (Norway) and Bell Media’s Crave (Canada), ITVX for the UK, ARD’s Fabfiction (NDR, SWR, WDR, Germany), Cosmote TV and Star Channel for Greece, and Movies Best HD for Cyprus, VRT Belgium, SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark) YLE (Finland), and RUV (Iceland). So Long, Marianne tells the love story between Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen who inspired the titular song. Leading the cast are Alex Wolff (A Quiet Place: Day One, Oppenheimer, Hereditary) as Leonard, with Thea Sofie Loch Næss (The Last Kingdom, Delete Me, A Storm For Christmas) playing Marianne. Joining them are Anna Torv (The Newsreader, The Last of Us, Mindhunter) as Charmian Clift, Noah Taylor (Preacher, Peaky Blinders, Game of Thrones) as George Johnston, and Peter Stormare (American Gods, Fargo) as Irving Layton.

BIFAs Breakthrough Performance Longlist 

Twelve actors have been longlisted for this year’s Breakthrough Performance Award at the British Independent Film Awards. The longlist features Nykiya Adams (Bird), Jason Buda (Bird), Susan Chardy (On Becoming a Guinea Fowl), Joe Gill (Treading Water), Bilal Hasna (Layla) Deba Hekmat (Last Swim), Saura Lightfoot (Leon Hoard), Ruaridh Mollica (Sebastian) JJ Ó Dochartaigh (Kneecap), Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (Kneecap), Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Kneecap), and Jason Patel (Unicorns). The final five nominees will be announced on November 5. Winners will be revealed at the BIFA awards ceremony on December 8.

Vimeo Partners With European Film Academy

Vimeo and the European Film Academy are partnering to promote European cinema on both their platforms. Under the alliance, the website for the EFA’s upcoming European Film Awards will showcase a weekly selection of European Film Award-nominated short films and Vimeo Staff Picks. Vimeo will also serve as the exclusive title sponsor of the European Short Film category at the European Film Awards this December, in move that will see the category renamed “European Short Film – Prix Vimeo.” “We are deeply honored to collaborate with the European Film Academy to celebrate the visionary European filmmakers who are shaping the future of cinema,” said Philip Moyer, CEO of Vimeo. The European Film Academy is a long standing customer, using Vimeo’s OTT service to deliver video-on-demand to its members. Vimeo also hosts its European Film Club platform. “This expanded partnership with Vimeo marks exciting new steps for the European Film Academy,” said Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and Director of the European Film Academy.