International Insider: Berlin Kicks Off; Indie Creativity; Breaking Baz Meets Rishi Sunak

Festival season 2024 is well underway, Insiders, as our team decamps to Berlin. That and plenty more news to report from around the world to follow. Jesse Whittock with you. Sign up for the Insider newsletter here.

Berlin Kicks Off

Protests on the red carpet: The build-up to the 74th Berlin Film Festival has been highly politicized and Thursday evening’s opening ceremony was no different. The ceremony began with a red carpet awash with political statements. The festival held what it described as a ‘Filmmakers for Democracy, Diversity, and Peaceful Togetherness’ demonstration featuring between 50 and 60 filmmakers. Meanwhile, a series of attendees used their time in front of media pens to display their own political messages. The most eye-catching included American filmmaker Eliza Hittman, last at Berlin with her Silver Bear-winning Never Rarely Sometimes Always, who had ‘ceasefire now’ stitched to the back of her dress. The message was a reference to the current global grassroots campaign calling for political action to end the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Pheline Roggan pulled up to the carpet donning a ‘FCK AfD’ necklace, while model Papis Loveday joined her holding a large placard that read ‘No Racism, No AfD.’ Talk surrounding this year’s Berlin Film Festival, the last for co-heads Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek, has largely been overshadowed by the furore over opening ceremony invitations to the controversial far-right AfD political party and criticism from festival workers over the festival’s stance on the conflict in Gaza. No AfD members were present at the opening, as all invitations were rescinded following a massive public outcry that was sparked by Deadline’s in-depth reporting (hat tip Andreas and Zac). We understand there was also internal pressure to ban AfD members from the festival as Berlinale workers “demanded” Chatrian and Rissenbeek ensure invitations were revoked. We break down the inside story of the internal tussle between Chatrian and Rissenbeek and staff at length here.

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Package deals: Away from politics, a red-hot EFM officially opened this week with a slew of buzzy projects. There are a host of A-lister-led, commercially-oriented packages floating around; the type that haven’t often made it to market in recent years. There are new projects for Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Margot Robbie and Dave Bautista. The market’s biggest budget project — we hear it’s in the $80M range — is Sugar Bandits, a cop thriller with Will Smith attached to star. The pic is at EFM with AGC Studios and CAA Media Finance. Such has been the buzz in Germany that we’ve described the environment as a “turbocharged market” in Andreas and Zac’s early festival analysis. Check here for a full run down of the buzziest packages and more views from sellers and agents. Full Berlin coverage is accessed here.

Creativity Counts

From Koalas to Big Safari: Speak to those in the know and they’ll tell you the only way to be a successful indie right is to follow the mantra of ‘diversification, diversification, diversification.’ Indie film veterans Richard Kondal and Patrick Fischer know that better than most. Having started out with a post-production company, Creativity Media, in 2010, they have since entered the international sales, VFX, project financing and co-productions spaces. “What we feel we have built now is an ecosystem that can offer a variety of solutions to the independent producer,” Kondal told Diana in her latest International Disruptors article. The interview delves into recent developments such as a stake in Koala VFX and plans for new co-pro business Big Safari, which is out of the gate with film projects starring the likes of Nick Frost, Aisling Bea, Rosalind Halstead and Poppy Delevingne. It seems like a smart strategy, given the grim state of the UK indie film sector.

Lessons for TV: Creativity’s approach to film could easily apply to those working in TV, who desperately need cash flow to see out a brutal period for the sector. Consider the head of Channel 4, Alex Mahon, who gave an on-record interview to the Guardian on Saturday where she said there were “too many producers to be sustained” with the market as is. It’s not fun out there. Channel 4’s problems remain headline news too, with Max and Jake revealing on Monday morning that drama boss Caroline Hollick and head of youth network E4 Karl Warner are expected to leave the UK broadcaster as part of cuts that will see up to 250 exiting and the famous Horseferry Road London headquarters sold off. As Insider went to press, Max also reported on the rough headwinds hitting sports production, with London’s IMG Studios set to lay off up to 5% of staff.

Breaking Baz Mets Rishi Sunak (Via Christopher Nolan)

‘Loves his cuppa tea’: Our roving International Editor-At-Large Baz Bamigboye was in lofty company this week when he attended a prestigious film industry event in London, where Oppenheimer helmer Christopher Nolan received the British Film Institute Fellowship Award. On hand to say a few words was none other than British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose comedy work is apparently a tad more effective than his political nous. Guests joining Baz included Cillian Murphy, Barbara Broccoli and Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve, and our man couldn’t help but stir the James Bond pot. He got little back on the future of the world’s best-known British spy from producer Broccoli, but Villeneuve was effusive in his praise for the character. We might not know any more about the identity of the next Bond actor, but have we just discovered the identity of the director? Not only that, but Baz spilled the, er, coffee beans on Nolan’s penchant for a good ol’ cuppa tea. Read on for more fun.

Frei Crackles On ElectionLine

A View From Abroad: With the U.S. election nearing by the day, Deadline has been looking at how the world outside the States has been observing the race. This week, Jake spoke with Channel 4 News anchor Matt Frei, the veteran UK journalist who has chronicled Donald Trump’s GOP career, about how things are shaping up. Back in 2013, the former BBC Washington correspondent sat down with Trump, who’s almost certain to be the Republican candidate facing Joe Biden. Jake’s article includes that interview, which is a fascinating reminder of a different time, when Trump’s ultra-divisive politics hadn’t developed to the extent of today. Read the article here and find all of our ElectionLine coverage here.

House Builders

Put your mortgage on it: House Productions has quietly built one of the best credit lists in British film and TV over the past seven years — very quietly. When Stewart sat down with the bosses of the Sherwood, Iron Claw and The Zone of Interest producer, it was the first interview Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell had ever given as a company. The chat revealed their dedication to authorship, protecting creative voices and building a diverse set of shows and films. Read on for news of their newest projects, and views on the wretched state of the UK film and TV market.

Exploring Pangaea: Another interview out of the UK came when I sat down (virtually) with husband-and-wife duo Luke Hyams and Sunita Mirchandani Hyams, who called in from a holiday in Jamaica. After getting over my jealousy, we discussed their new indie Pangaea, which this week saw its first doc, The Sidemen Story, launch on Netflix in the UK and hit number one in its local film chart. (Disclaimer: In a moment of madness genius, Luke had asked me last year to appear as a talking head in the doc, and my 15 minutes of fame has finally come to pass.) Hyams, a former YouTube originals boss, veteran TV producer Mirchandani Hyams revealed more projects and provided views on successfully launching an indie in a market that’s seemingly hostile to all comers. More here.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Max and I revealed plans for a new Gavin & Stacey Christmas special in the UK. What’s occurring?

🌶️ Another: John Simm and Nikki Amuka-Bird will lead UKTV and Federation Stories thriller series I, Jack Wright.

🌶️ Hot, Hot, Hot: Bill Bryson’s book ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ is being adapted into an animated TV series.

🏋🏼 Heavyweights: German TV giants Nico Hofmann and Jan Mojto joined forces.

📈 On the up: ProSiebenSat.1 Media posted preliminary Q4 numbers that appear to show the European network is recovering from a brutal 2023.

🎓 Honorary president: David Harewood has succeeded Kenneth Branagh as President of UK drama school RADA.

🤝 Done deal: Germany’s Augenschein sold a minority stake to Erfttal Film, per Andreas.

⬅️ ➡️ One in, one out: Millennium Media President Jeffrey Greenstein stepped down, as Jonathan Yunger replaced him. Greenstein then unveiled his own indie.

👩 New job: SVT drama chief Anna Croneman is the popular choice as new CEO of the Swedish Film Institute.

🤨 Investigation: Jake’s latest report on under-fire agency Bodhi Talent revealed can be found here.

🍿 Box office: Bob Marley: One Love had global audiences Jammin’ with nearly $5M banked just a day after its overseas release.

💰 Do ya think I’m wealthy?: Rod Stewart reportedly sold his song catalog for nearly $100M.

🕯️ RIP: Legendary BBC radio DJ Steve Wright, who died aged 69, and Anton’s widely respected TV drama exec Sarah Doole, who passed away age 63.

🎥 Trail: For Gael García Bernal, Renate Reinsve and Bérénice Bejo feature Another End.

Zac Ntim contributed to this week’s Insider

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