FIRED BY FINAS
The Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (FINAS), the government-backed agency that oversees the country’s film industry, has dismissed its CEO Nasir Ibrahim after less than two years in the job. It follows the return of Kamil Othman who was appointed chairman in February.
The latest move was announced on the organization’s Facebook page, along with the appointment of Rozita Waty Ridzuan as FINAS interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found.
The notice was vague on the reasons for Ibrahim’s early termination, explaining that it was part of a wider recalibration of creative industry policies. “This initiative will hopefully further help Malaysian filmmakers and industry players to produce quality films that have high value in both local and international markets,” the statement said.
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SWIMMING FURTHER
ZDF Studios has sold “The Swarm” (8 x 45 mins), by multiple Primetime Emmy award-winner Frank Doelger (“Game of Thrones”), to the Foxtel Group which will launch the series in Australia in June on Foxtel and its streaming service Binge. Foxtel is the country’s biggest pay-TV broadcaster with over 4.6 million subscribers across Foxtel and its streaming services.
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The psychological thriller, one of the most ambitious European productions to date, has previously been picked up in the U.S., U.K., Japan, Italy, France, Spain, Scandinavia and Central Europe. ZDF Studios and Beta Film are handling world sales.
EUROPEAN SALES
U.K.-based TV distributor Abacus Media Rights, an Amcomri Entertainment Company, has sold 740 hours of content across multiple genres to leading broadcasters and platforms throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Companies including HBO Europe, Viasat World, Pickbox, Dox TV, AMC Networks, HRT and Kino Polska have acquired a varied line-up of non-fiction titles such as “Bankrupt Billionaire,” “The Frontier,” “Hitler’s Secret Sex Life,” “Vikings: The Rise and Fall,” “The Queens That Changed The World,” “Life in Colour with David Attenborough,” “Bloodline Detectives S3” and multiple seasons of “Outback Truckers,” as well as scripted series such as “The Syndicate,” “Maxine,” “Deadline” and “Trickster.”
TRAINING
Future Film Academy has launched a film education platform offering content and resources to help filmmakers navigate the industry landscape. These include masterclasses from industry leaders on topics such as film financing and budgeting. More information can be found here.
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The U.K.’s ScreenSkills High End Television Skills Fund and BAFTA-winning, disabled-led organization TripleC, working with delivery partners Deaf & Disabled People in TV (DDPTV), Brazen Productions, C Talent and Access All Areas are launching a five-month paid program for deaf, disabled, autistic and/or neurodivergent people to train as access coordinators working in television. More details here.
FILM SEASON
London’s Barbican Cinema has programmed Eat the Screen: Films to Feed Conversations About Food (July 1 – Aug. 24), a season of films about food and food culture.
Tom Boothe’s “Food Coop” looks at all aspects of New York’s Park Slope Food Coop from shelf-stacking to cheese-buying, compost detail, and the disciplinary committee; Daniele De Michele’s “The Villains” considers whether traditional Italian ingredients and cooking can survive; Fred Wiseman’s 1976 documentary “Meat” is an account of the making, selling and marketing of meat; Jumana Manna’s “Foragers” considers the right to gather wild food; Carla Simon’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs” tells her personal experiences of the pressures of market forces on her family’s peach farm; from Tokyo John Daschbach’s “Come Back Anytime” looks at the role of food and restaurants in creating community; and in “Gleaners and I,” Agnes Varda interviews an array of foragers, freegans and activists all upholding the ancient French tradition of “gleaning”.
CONCERT SCREENING
A concert in Kanagawa, Japan, featuring BTS member Suga, also known as Agust D, will also be screened simultaneously worldwide in cinemas on June 3 or 4, depending on time zone. The concert, which is part of Suga’s D-Day tour, will screen theatrically in selected cinemas across Asia, Europe, North, South and Latin America.
RETURN
“One Question” is returning to Channel 4 with host Claudia Winkleman, who has just one question for the contestants hoping to win £100,000 ($120,000). The six-episode season is produced by Chalkboard TV and Motion Content Group, with Mike Benson and Bill Hobbins exec producing for Chalkboard and Martin Oxley for Motion Content.
The show is licensed globally by NBCUniversal Formats.
