News

As the appetite for non-fiction continues to grow, non-fiction producer Celia Aniskovich (Face to Face with Scott Peterson, Beanie Mania) is launching a digital magazine intending to publish stories that can also be eyed as IP for future film and TV projects.

Switchboard will launch in January 2025 as a monthly magazine. Each issue will feature a long-form feature, a profile, a “from the stacks” story (pieces of work sourced from capstone projects from University journalism programs), and a short doc film.

“Switchboard isn’t just a digital publication; it’s a launching pad for rich, cinematic IP,” says Aniskovich. “Our stories are designed to spark not only engagement but also long-term success in the entertainment industry, making this a game-changer for producers, writers, and audiences alike.”

Added Sara Ganim, one of Switchboard’s editors, “We’re identifying the kinds of true stories that have both narrative depth and cinematic appeal,...

On Monday November 25 2024, Oxygen broadcasts Face to Face With Scott Peterson!

The People v. Scott Peterson Season 1 Episode 2 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Face to Face With Scott Peterson,” titled “The People v. Scott Peterson,” promises to delve into one of America’s most notorious murder cases. This episode will explore the tragic discovery of Laci Peterson’s body and how it transformed Scott Peterson into a figure of public outrage. As the investigation unfolds, the episode will highlight the intense media scrutiny surrounding the trial, capturing the nation’s attention.

Viewers will witness how Scott Peterson’s life changed overnight. Once a seemingly ordinary man, he quickly became the most hated man in America. The episode will detail the events leading up to the trial, showcasing the evidence presented against him and the emotional toll it took on everyone involved. The atmosphere in the courtroom was electric, with...

Daft Punk and Leiji Matsumoto’s 2003 anime film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem will screen in theaters worldwide for one night only on December 12th, 2024.

Essentially an anime visual album of Daft Punk’s seminal sophomore record Discovery, Interstella 5555 follows the abduction of an alien music band by an evil human character with some dark plans. It was created by Daft Punk and Cédric Hervet in collaboration with Leiji Matsumoto (who passed away in early 2023) and Toei Animation, and was originally cut as individual music videos — now, fans will finally have the chance to view the film in its entirety.

Interstellar 5555 will be screened in over 800 cinemas in 40 countries on December 12th. A list of participating theaters and on-sale ticket info can be found here.

Following the one-day-only screening, Daft Punk will unveil a limited-edition physical release, Discovery: Interstella 5555 Edition, on December 13th. This special...

Daft Punk and Leiji Matsumoto’s 2003 anime film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem will screen in theaters worldwide for one night only on December 12th, 2024.

Essentially an anime visual album of Daft Punk’s seminal sophomore record Discovery, Interstella 5555 follows the abduction of an alien music band by an evil human character with some dark plans. It was created by Daft Punk and Cédric Hervet in collaboration with Leiji Matsumoto (who passed away in early 2023) and Toei Animation, and was originally cut as individual music videos — now, fans will finally have the chance to view the film in its entirety.

Interstellar 5555 will be screened in over 800 cinemas in 40 countries on December 12th. A list of participating theaters and on-sale ticket info can be found here.

Following the one-day-only screening, Daft Punk will unveil a limited-edition physical release, Discovery: Interstella 5555 Edition, on December 13th. This special...

Viaplay Lands in Germany

Viaplay Content Distribution has launched its Viaplay channel as an add-on subscription to Prime Video via Prime Video Channels in Germany. Prime Video Channel subscribers can access Viaplay’s offering of Scandinavian and European series and films starting today, Oct. 22.

Viaplay’s German offering includes high-quality and impactful Nordic series and films, including award-winning Nordic noir dramas such as “End of Summer,” “Face to Face,” “The Bridge,” “Gåsmamman,” “Furia,” “Trom,” “Stockholm Requiem,” “The Sandhamn Murders,” “Unit One,” “The Team,” “Wallander,” and “Darkness: Those Who Kill.” The platform will also host three films from the Millennium/The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo franchise.

Other titles included at launch are the YA series “Threesome” and “Delete Me”; dramas “Seaside Hotel,” “Love Me,” “Pörni Seasons,” “The Beach Hotel” and “Lyckoviken”; and documentaries “The Prize of Silence,” “Operation Cannabis” and “Wozniacki & Lee.”

BBC Back Catalog Deals

BBC Studios has closed...

Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, has passed away at the age of 91. She was a gospel singer and played a significant role in building the pop icon’s career. Cissy went on to form a family gospel group and released an album on RCA Records, making them one of the first gospel groups to do so. She also had a career as a solo artist, releasing her debut album Presenting Cissy Houston in 1970.

Cissy Houston in Eastman Theater | Credits: Tom Marcello, licensed under Cc By-sa 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

With her singing prowess, Cissy Houston guided her daughter in the right direction. Whitney Houston once revealed that she got her greatest singing lessons from her mother. While she had the talent inside her, it was her mother’s lessons in gospel singing that brought out her full abilities.

Whitney Houston Credited Her Mother Cissy Houston For Her Singing Skills...

Cissy Houston, the mother of the late singer and actress Whitney Houston, has passed away at the age of 91. Through the years, Cissy also made a name for herself as a soul and gospel singer. The singer’s daughter-in-law shared the news of what had happened in a statement.

The Singer & Matriarch Passed Away In Her New Jersey Home

Houston had died in her home in New Jersey on October 7. Her daughter-in-law Pat Houston shared that she had been under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease. She was 91 at the time of her passing.

As noted by People, Pat shared that, “Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family.” The statement continued, “Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade...

Cissy Houston, the Grammy-winning gospel singer and Whitney Houston’s mother, died Monday in New Jersey. She was 91.

The singer was in hospice, where she was receiving care for Alzheimer’s disease, at the time of her death. In a statement, her daughter-in-law, Pat Houston, said that she was surrounded by her family. “Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness,” Pat said. “We lost the matriarch of our family. … Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family,...

Twelve years after the death of her famous daughter, Cissy Houston has passed on.

The mother of the late Whitney Houston and an accomplished singer herself, Cissy Houston passed away on Monday, Oct. 7 at her home in New Jersey.

She was 91.

Her family confirmed the news, as well as the cause of her death in a touching tribute which they shared with the press.

Cissy Houston and daughter singer Whitney Houston attend the 2010 Keep A Child Alive’s Black Ball at the Hammerstein Ballroom on September 30, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) Whitney Houston’s Mother Remembered

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” shared daughter-in-law Pat Houston in a statement from the family.

Cissy died while under hospice care of Alzheimer’s disease, which she had been battling for a number of years.

“Mother Cissy has been...

Cissy Houston, a Grammy winner and mother of the late Whitney Houston, has passed away at the age of 91.

The two-time Grammy Award winning-singer died on Monday (October 7) at her home in New Jersey while under hospice care. She had been battling Alzheimer’s.

Keep reading to find out more…

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston, the daughter-in-law of Cissy Houston, said in a statement. “Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts. Her contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled. We are blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us and we are thankful for...

Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullman’s iconic film “Faithless” is now being remade into a limited series, continuing the trend of TV reimaginings of past Bergman features like “Scenes From a Marriage.”

“Faithless” is directed by “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “Let The Right One In” helmer Tomas Alfredson. Sara Johnsen wrote the script adapted from Bergman’s original screenplay for the 2000 feature. The official first look trailer is debuted by IndieWire below.

The “Faithless” series will premiere at TIFF 2024. Fremantle is handling the worldwide sales. The show is a six-part TV series.

The official synopsis reads: “In the present day, renowned director David Howard, 73, is reunited with his former great love, actress Marianne Vogler, 75 (Lena Endre). Their encounter forces them to confront the painful repercussions of their past relationship, not only for themselves but also for their families. 40 years prior, a young David (Gustav Lindh) and Marianne (Frida Gustavsson...

Earlier this month, Netflix released American Murder: Laci Peterson. And this week, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, Peacock dropped the three-episode docuseries Face to Face with Scott Peterson. The new doc recounts the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, but from the Pov of the killer, her husband Scott Peterson. Needless to say, it’s the documentary no one asked for. And it is wildly unnecessary.

About 20 years ago, Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, who was pregnant with their unborn son. After finding mountains of evidence against Scott, he was sentenced to death in 2004. The California Supreme Court overturned this sentence in 2020. Scott is now serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, Scott claims innocence even today, and continues fighting for hearings, retesting findings, and presenting new theories.

Face to Face with Scott Peterson features the first interview in decades from Scott.

The tragic case of Laci Peterson—a lady who vanished without cause in the winter of her life, heavy with a new life that would never see light—still lingers in the collective consciousness like a dark dream. Yet in the flooded canals of conscience where truth slowly sinks, do certainties still float or have facts grown waterlogged and dubious with the passage of the years?

Face to Face offers the elusive Mr. Peterson a chance to unburden himself of these heavy matters that have weighed upon his days. Through the iridescent veil of a prison video link, his form appears, grief-thinned and aged yet restless in search of solace. He recounts his odd motions on that dreadful day but brings no epiphany to ease the national heart, for memory is fluid and likes not to be confined, changing with each turn of the moon.

Did justice flow deep and clear,...

It’s been 22 years since all eyes of the nation were trained on Modesto, California, in the wake of Laci Peterson’s disappearance.

Lifetime and true crime networks have created an entire cottage industry about women being murdered, and the odds are always in favor that the husband or significant other did it.

That’s why, as the story surrounding Laci’s disappearance emerged, pointing a finger at her husband, Scott, we couldn’t get enough of it.

And he looked so damn guilty.

(Courtesy of Peacock)

My friend and I were actively discussing Face to Face with Scott Peterson when Variety dropped an article last night comparing Face to Face with American Murder: Laci Peterson, on Netflix.

We disagreed a bit about how it all went down, but we both knew that Scott was vilified in the public eye, and media coverage was rough. In the court of public opinion,...

The 2002 Laci Peterson murder case is back in the spotlight again thanks to the Netflix series American Murder: Laci Peterson. However, there is a second documentary that just popped up on a different streaming service, and it offers something brand new to the story. Scott Peterson is telling his side of the story, and he has a “theory” on who killed his wife.

Here is a look at the second documentary and what it offers fans of true crime.

Face To Face With Scott Peterson Hits Peacock

Face To Face With Scott Peterson offers a look at the other side of the Laci Peterson murder case. For the first time in 20 years, Scott is giving his thoughts on the case, and he has his theory of who killed his wife, as he still proclaims his innocence. However, Scott is almost unrecognizable in the interview, as he is gaunt and has lost weight over the years.

Nowadays, there’s always a little something extra we get with what might be called the “trial of the century.” It’s not just the endless media presence, the internet conspiracies or the water cooler stance of innocent vs. guilty – it’s the documentary. When we think of some of these trials tied directly to murder, a few names probably pop up more often than others: Casey Anthony, Amanda Knox, etc. And these subjects usually have no problem sitting down to again tell their side of the story and get the latest word in, even years after the conviction. The latest is Scott Peterson, who you probably remember was found guilty of both first- and second-degree murder of his wife, Laci, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her death.

Twenty years after the conviction, Scott Peterson – and the death of Laci – is the subject of two documentaries:...

Scott Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn child in 2004, maintained his innocence and put forth alternate theories regarding the death of his wife in the new docuseries Face to Face With Scott Peterson.

Directed by Sharon Anderson, the three-part series focuses on these alternate theories and features Scott’s first interview in over 20 years. The biggest question mark he, and others, raise surrounds a burglary that took place across the street from the Peterson home the morning Laci disappeared.

“There were a lot of people in that burglary,...

American Murder: Laci Peterson premiered on Netflix on Aug. 14 and remains atop the daily top 10 most popular shows on the streamer, even after the release of Emily in Paris season 4 part 1. The case continues to captivate the world over 20 years after it reached national headlines in 2002, so much so that another documentary series will release just one week later.

Whereas as Netflix's American Murder: Laci Peterson took a "very Laci forward" approach to telling her story, the latest docuseries tracking the case takes a completely different approach. Face to Face with Scott Peterson features the first interview with the convicted murderer in about 21 years. Likewise, the series will take a closer look at the case and consider new developments, particularly those that explore whether Scott could have been innocent.

Here's the full synopsis via Peacock:

It was a case that captivated the country. At 8 months pregnant, Laci Peterson went missing on Christmas Eve,...

In an exclusive sneak peek at Peacock’s three-part docuseries Face to Face With Scott Peterson, Peterson denies the speculation that he killed his pregnant wife Laci because he wasn’t ready for fatherhood.

Series director and co-executive producer Shareen Anderson has been investigating the infamous case for over a decade, exploring the possibility that Peterson might not be guilty. For the first time since 2003, Peterson is speaking on camera, sharing his side of the story and attempting to clear up misconceptions about what led to Laci’s death.

“They said that you killed Laci because you didn’t want to be married and you didn’t want to be a father,” the director tells Peterson during their on-camera chat from prison.

“That’s so offensive, so disgusting,” responds Peterson. “I certainly regret cheating on Laci, absolutely.” He pointed out that his adultery stemmed from being “childish, lacking self esteem,...

Peacock’s first official trailer for true crime docuseries Face to Face With Scott Peterson shares alternate theories on what could have led to the murder of his wife, Laci Peterson.

“The Los Angeles Innocence Project has come on board to help find all the things that were ignored by the Modesto Police Department,” says Peterson’s sister-in-law, Janey. One new piece of information is that there was a burglary next door. “The burglars may have abducted and killed Laci,” notes Peterson’s former defense attorney Lara Yeretsian. Bryan Spitulski, a former fire investigator for the Modesto Pd, questions, “There’s blood on a mattress in a van. Why didn’t this get brought up?” Yeretsian believes this is “exonerating evidence” that should have required DNA testing.

Besides presenting the theories, the trailer also shows new footage from Peterson’s first on-camera interview since 2003. “Why should anyone want to hear your side of the story?...

The Laci Peterson murder is back in the news due to two new documentaries, Netflix’s American Murder: Laci Peterson and Peacock’s upcoming Face to Face with Scott Peterson, 22 years after the case gripped America. In the new Netflix docuseries, Laci’s mom, Sharon Rocha, speaks about her daughter and the events surrounding her murder. Laci vanished on Christmas Eve 2002 while eight months pregnant, and her body was found four months later in the San Francisco Bay. Peterson’s husband, Scott, was convicted, though he still maintains his innocence. Sharon testified in the original trial against Scott and appeared at his resentencing in December 2021, when his death sentence was overturned and reduced to life in prison without possibility of parole. “You betrayed her, your son, and everyone else,” Sharon told Scott directly as she faced him at the hearing, per People. “You ended two beautiful souls.” Earlier this year,...

On Aug. 14, Netflix release one of its newest true crime documentary series, American Murder: Laci Peterson, a three-part retracing of the case that captivated the nation over 20 years ago. Over the years, Laci Peterson's story has been told in various documentaries and specials on television, and Netflix's own take on the tragic story comes a week out from another docuseries featuring an interview with convicted murderer Scott Peterson from prison.

Peacock's Face to Face with Scott Peterson drops on Aug. 20 and will surely find success with the added intrigue of hearing directly from Scott for the first time since 2003. American Murder: Laci Peterson manages to successfully share Laci's story and rehash all the ins and outs of the case without having that added perspective. But it wasn't completely off the table, as the docuseries' director reveals they spoke with Scott and he passed on participating.

As American Murder...

Just days after Peacock announced it would interview convicted killer Scott Peterson for its Face to Face docuseries, Netflix has unveiled the trailer for its own three-part documentary about the infamous Laci Peterson murder case. American Murder: Laci Peterson premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, August 14. The series will detail the disturbing disappearance and murder of Laci, who vanished in 2002 while eight months pregnant — their remains were later found in the San Francisco Bay. Peterson’s husband, Scott, was convicted, though he still maintains his innocence. The Netflix doc will feature first-time interviews with Laci’s friends and family, plus a new interview with Scott’s mistress, Amber Frey. The episodes will also air voice recordings from Amber and Scott from the time of their affair. Laci’s mother, Sharon, will also speak in the series. “I remember, before I met Scott, Laci telling me all these things about him,” Sharon...

Rivaling docu-series about the 2002 murder of Laci Peterson hopes to tell the complete story of the much-discussed case. Just a week after Peacock announced it will interview Scott Peterson for Face to Face, Netflix announced Tuesday that it will release a docu-series of its own, American Murder: Laci Peterson, out Aug. 14.

The Netflix doc, directed by Skye Borgman, seems to focus on Laci’s family and friends’ side of the story. Detectives and reporters discuss the pair’s relationship in depth and the media circus that ensued when Scott was arrested.

Scott Peterson, who is serving life in prison for the murder of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son, is finally speaking out after 20 years. A new docuseries will sit down with the convicted murderer to talk about his side of the story. Here are the details.

What Does Scott Peterson Have To Say 20 Years Later?

Face To Face With Scott Peterson is Peacock’s new true crime doc. The 51-year-old is breaking his silence about the murder of his wife and unborn child after 20 years.

The first teaser for the docuseries was released on Monday, July 29. In it, director Shareen Anderson asks Scott what his reasoning behind coming forward now is. She asked, “Why should anyone care about what you have to say 20 years later?”

Footage shows Scott Peterson in a prison visiting room, but he doesn’t answer Shareen’s question, not in the teaser trailer anyway.

Timed to the 20th anniversary of Scott Peterson’s conviction of the murders of his wife Laci and unborn son Connor, Peacock has set a summer premiere date for Face to Face with Scott Peterson, a three-part true crime docuseries that takes a new look at the notorious case and features Peterson’s first on-camera interview since 2003. The docuseries will also follow the latest developments after the Los Angeles Innocence Project announced they were taking Scott’s case in early 2024. It will premiere August 20, exclusively on Peacock. You can watch a teaser trailer above.

Face to Face with Scott Peterson features an exclusive series of intimate conversations between Director Shareen Anderson (EP The Murder of Laci Peterson) and Peterson, along with his sister-in-law Janey Peterson, former Modesto Police Department lead detective Al Brocchini and detective Jon Buehler, Scott’s former defense attorney Lara Yeretsian, and former ABC News Producer Mike Gudgell,...

Scott Peterson, a man convicted of killing his eight-month pregnant wife in 2002, is speaking out for the first time in nearly two decades. On Monday, Peacock released a teaser for Face to Face With Scott Peterson, a documentary series slated for Aug. 20 that reexamines Peterson’s case.

Face to Face will reveal new details about the criminal case, including the Los Angeles Innocence Project’s involvement since the organization, focused on overturning convictions of wrongfully convicted individuals, is investigating his claim that he’s not guilty of killing his wife...

The infamous Scott Peterson is going back on the record with his first on-camera interview since 2003.

In Peacock’s upcoming docuseries Face to Face with Scott Peterson (all three episodes drop Tuesday, Aug. 20), the streamer is taking a new look at Peterson’s notorious case and the murders of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son Conner. The series will also follow the latest developments after the Los Angeles Innocence Project in early 2024 announced plans to take the case on.

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Scott Peterson, who was convicted two decades ago in the murder of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son Conner, is talking. Peacock next month will air the three-part true crime docuseries “Face to Face With Scott Peterson,” which includes his first on-camera interview since 2003.

“Face to Face,” which premieres August 20, will include details about new developments in the case, which is now being re-examined by the Los Angeles Innocence Project (which announced earlier this year that they were taking on the case).

The docuseries is timed to the 20th anniversary of Peterson’s conviction, and will include what’s described as “an exclusive series of intimate conversations” between director Shareen Anderson (who was executive producer of “The Murder of Laci Peterson”) and Peterson. Anderson also talks to Peterson’s sister-in-law, Janey Peterson; former Modesto Police Department lead detective Al Brocchini and detective Jon Buehler; Peterson’s former defense...

Peacock has announced the lineup of movies, TV shows, and live sports that will be available on the streaming service in August. The Peacock August 2024 schedule includes Mr. Throwback, the Love Island USA Season 6 reunion, Bel-Air Season 3, and the new film The Killer.

For the crime junkies, all seven seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street make their streaming debut on August 19. The fast-paced police drama portrays the brutal detective work of a homicide department in Baltimore.

Additionally, mark your calendar for the action-packed streaming debuts of The Fall Guy and The Fall Guy: The Extended Cut on August 30. The Bikeriders also cruises onto Peacock for its exclusive streaming premiere on August 9, and the magic of the Harry Potter franchise returns to Peacock exclusively all month long.

August Highlights

August 8: Mr. Throwback (Peacock Original)*

August 9: The Bikeriders (Peacock Exclusive)*

August 15: Bel-Air Season 3 – Premiere (Peacock Original)*

August 19:...

Ingmar Bergman is the Oscar-winning Swedish auteur who helped bring international cinema into the American art houses with his stark, brooding dramas. But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden, Bergman started off as a screenwriter before moving into directing. His early hits “Summer with Monika” (1953), “Sawdust and Tinsel” (1953) and “Smiles of a Summer Night” (1955) helped make him a favorite amongst American audiences hungry for world cinema.

He hit his stride in 1957 with a pair of noteworthy titles: “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal.” Both films dealt with the absence of God and the inevitability of mortality — the former concerning an aging professor (Victor Sjostrom) coming to terms with his life, the latter focusing on a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) playing a game of chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot...

The Kinks were heading into uncharted territory in the Sixties. The London rockers blew up in the early days of the British invasion, topping the charts with violently rowdy bangers like “You Really Got Me.” But Ray Davies began to explore a new kind of introspective songwriting, telling stories of everyday heartbreak. “Waterloo Sunset” is his artistic triumph: the delicate 1967 ballad of a lonely man by a train station, watching lovers from his window. This one-time cult favorite has become the Kinks’ most beloved classic, setting a standard that all...

The first photos from the second season of Suspect have been released. The eight-part drama will be available to stream and watch live on Channel 4 in the UK this summer and will be available to stream on BritBox International in the US and Canada in the fall.

The second season picks up where the first left off, with Dr Susannah Newman on a quest to find the truth about her daughter’s tragic death.

When a mysterious new client Jon makes a disturbing confession under hypnosis, Susannah is forced to embark on her own deadly mission to save a life, the way she couldn’t do with her own daughter…

Also joining the cast for the second series are Ben Miller as Detective Superintendent Richard Groves, Tamsin Greig as Natasha Groves, Vinette Robinson as Louisa McAdams, and Eddie Marsan as Alistair Underwood.

Also on board are Celine Buckens as Sapphire,...

The Danish podcast company Podster has entered into a distribution agreement with Saxo, the company behind one of the most popular audio and book streaming services in Denmark. The deal encompasses three podcasts from Podster’s catalogue, which are already available on Saxo’s streaming platform.

Podster has succeeded in transforming local podcasts into international formats, releasing shows in the United Kingdom, the United States, Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.

They also gained acclaim for their Danish true crime show, Forhøret, which was published to the RSS feed through a collaboration with Acast, and strode to the top of the charts. The agreement with Saxo is Podster’s first distribution deal in Denmark.

”Our latest agreement marks three milestones for Podster. It is our first distribution agreement in Denmark, the first collaboration with a book streaming service and the first Podster original show to be released. We are...

Dominic Cooper, Tamsin Greig and Eddie Marsan are among the names joining Anne-Marie Duff on season 2 of Channel 4 and BritBox International drama series Suspect.

Filming on the drama’s second run is underway, with Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point, The Lazarus Project), Celine Buckens (Showtrial, The Ex-Wife), Nicholas Pinnock (Top Boy, For Life) and Gina McKee (Bodyguard, Our Friends in the North) joining Cooper (Preacher, Mamma Mia!), Greig (Friday Night Dinner, Belgravia) and Marsan.

Duff stars in the series as Dr Susannah Newman. In the eight-part series, she is on a desperate quest to track down a self-confessed serial killer before he kills again that night. When a mysterious new client Jon (Cooper) admits under hypnosis that he is a murderer and intends on killing another young female that evening, Susannah knows he must be stopped at all costs.

“Mamma Mia!” star Dominic Cooper has joined the second season of U.K. police drama “Suspect.”

Fronted by Anne-Marie Duff (“Bad Sisters”), “Suspect” tells the story of bereaved psychotherapist Dr Susannah Newman (Duff) as she tries to track down a serial killer before he strikes again. The Channel 4 show is an adaptation of Danish series Forhøret (“Face to Face”) created by Christoffer Boe.

Cooper joins as a mysterious new client, Jon Fallow, who claims under hypnosis to be a murderer. When he reveals his plan to kill again, Susannah knows he must be stopped. Before the police arrive Jon escapes and Susannah sets out on a deadly mission to save his next victim’s life.

“I’m so pleased to be returning to ‘Suspect’ to be able to dig deeper into the character of Dr Susannah Newman,” said Duff. “Expect lots of twists, turns and revelations alongside more questions to be answered.

The Danish startup Podster (founders pictured above) adapts one of the most popular Portuguese true crime shows to German. The original production is called ‘O Insolito’ and has more than half a million subscribers on Youtube. Acast is in charge of distribution and monetisation.

The exclusive partnership between Podster and Acast was established in June 2023. While Podster focusses on adapting great local podcasts into new global formats, Acast supports the Danish startup with marketing efforts. This makes it possible to reach new listeners, which generates a larger audience and revenue.

The two companies have already launched the show Forhøret in Denmark, which originates from Sweden, together. Now, Acast and Podster have chosen to test their collaboration on the German podcast market with the adaptation of the Portuguese show O Insolito, which will be called Ungewöhnliche Kriminalfälle in German.

“It felt great to release our first show with Acast in our home country.

Forhøret kommer oprindeligt fra Sverige, og har mere end 150.000 ugentlige lyttere. Nu vil globale podcast gigant Acast and Podster sammen gøre dette særlige show til en dansk succes.

Den danske start-up Podster specialiserer sig i at tilpasse stærke lokale podcasts til globale formater, så de kan nå en langt større lytterskare og omsætning i nye markeder. I dette eksklusive samarbejde med Acast i Danmark, har Podster mulighed for at tilgå alle Acast- markeder med deres shows, mens Acast understøtter med marketingindsatser for at nå nye, danske lyttere.

“Dette partnerskab er en fantastisk mulighed for både os og de lokale creators at nå et nyt marked. Acast forstår også, at skarpe lydformater kan krydse grænser, og med denne aftale bliver det muligt for os at understøtte hinanden globalt”, fortæller Henriette Høj Gharib, Co- founder og CEO af Podster.

Acast nåede for nylig en milepæl med mere end 100.000 podcasts i sit netværk,...

Of the 94 filmmakers who have clinched the coveted Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival, only 10 have achieved the honor twice. The latest one to follow the dual win precedent established by Alf Sjoberg (1944’s “Torment” and 1951’s “Miss Julie”) is another Swedish director, Ruben Ostlund, whose first and second victories came for 2017’s “The Square” and 2022’s “Triangle of Sadness.” The latter film has, by all accounts, become his most successful yet and is now in the running for three Oscars, including Best Director.

In this year’s directing Oscar race, Ostlund faces Todd Field (“Tar”), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”). The Daniels are also first-time Oscar nominees, while Spielberg stands as the only past directing contender in the group, with a pair of wins for “Schindler’s List” (1993) and “Saving Private Ryan...

In the time since Olivia Colman won the 2019 Best Actress Oscar for appearing in 49 minutes and 48 seconds of “The Favourite,” the academy has consistently given the same award to women with much higher amounts of screen time. All of the category’s last three champions delivered performances that are over 80 minutes in length and rank among the 22 longest ever honored here. Since four of the five current Best Actress nominees hit the 93-minute mark, this trend is practically bound to continue.

Reigning Best Actress victor Jessica Chastain earned the prize for her one hour, 36 minutes, and 42 seconds of work as Tammy Faye Bakker in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” which amounts to 76.45% of the film. Hers is the fifth longest of the 97 performances that have won this award, after those of Vivien Leigh (“Gone with the Wind”), Barbra Streisand (“Funny Girl”), Meryl Streep (“Sophie’s Choice”), and Olivia de Havilland (“To Each His Own...

The Kinks will mark their 60th anniversary as a band with a two-year celebration that kicks off this March with The Journey – Part 1, a two-disc compilation featuring songs handpicked by the surviving members.

Boasting tracks from the Rock Hall-inducted group’s first singles in 1964 to their 1975 concept albums, each side of The Journey – Part 1 — curated by Ray and Dave Davies and Mick Avery — follows a narrative arc, ranging from “Songs about becoming a man, the search for adventure, finding an identity and a girl” to “Days and nights of a lost soul,...

Fest focus on films by up-and-coming talent from Geman-speaking world.

Max Gleschinski’s Alaska won the top prize in the feature film competition at this year’s Filmfestival Max Ophüls, which was held in Saarbrücken on the German-French border from January 23-29.

Focusing on works by up-and-coming talent from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, the festival is considered the most important newcomer film festival in the German-speaking world.

Rostock-based Gleschinski’s second feature centres on a 40-something woman who slowly finds her way back into life after nursing her father for 20 years, and falls in love with another woman.

The...

The drama between Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock’s daughters is now in the past.

The “Magic Mike” actor recently shared that his nine-year-old daughter Everly and Bullock’s daughter Laila, 11, are now on good terms after the “Miss Congeniality” actress revealed last March that their little girls previously “got into a huge fight” while attending the same preschool.

Read More: Sandra Bullock Doesn’t Know If She’ll Be Comfortable Watching ‘Magic Mike 3’ After Working With Channing Tatum

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Tatum confirmed that there was more than just one “scrap” between their former preschoolers.

“Our daughters got into a couple scraps at school because they’re both very, very, very strong-willed little girls,” he said. “It was a very fun year that year.”

Tatum noted that Laila and Everly “love each other now” and “literally can’t get enough of each other.”

Read More: Sandra Bullock Came ‘Full On,...

Exclusive: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has unveiled the seven participants for the eighth edition of its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects ranging from Berlin Alexanderplatz to David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future to Amazon Prime Video hit We Children of Bahnhof Zoo.

This year’s edition, which is dubbed Face to Face with German Films – The Filmmakers, will showcase seven filmmakers who have made a lasting impact on the German film industry with their creative and artistic work. The initiative is considered a prominent platform for showcasing German talent to the international film and television worlds.

The participants this year are: screenwriter Sönke Anderson, who has worked on projects such as 2019 Grimme Award winner Familie Lotzmann Auf Den Barrikaden and upcoming opera film Orphea In Love; actor Welket Bungué, who has appeared in Berlin Alexanderplatz, Body...

‘Remarkable Places To Eat’ Moves From BBC To Channel 4

Fred Sirieix-hosted Remarkable Places to Eat has moved from the BBC to Channel 4. In a move that has become more commonplace in recent years, Channel 4 has commissioned the third season of Outline Productions’ format, which has been partly funded by Italian beer brand Birrificio Angelo Poretti. In Remarkable Places to Eat, British chefs and restaurateurs take First Dates host Sirieix to a city in the UK or abroad that is home to three of the restaurants where they most love to eat. The likes of Michel Roux Jr, Nisha Katona, Rachel Khoo, Angela Hartnett and Nadiya Hussein have all featured in the past, for the show that has been running on BBC Two and iPlayer since 2019. Past series have now been removed from BBC iPlayer and All3Media International is distributor. “I am delighted that this brilliant show will find...

There was a time when Fremantle was shorthand for the American Idol company. ABC’s iconic entertainment brand was undoubtedly a coveted calling card, but it also served to constrain perceptions of a company that harbored a grander vision.

Peter Bose, the preeminent Danish drama producer behind shows including Wallander, knows this better than most. He recalls a conversation he had with CAA in 2013 after telling his agent he wanted to sell his company, Miso Films, to Fremantle.

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Global production giant Fremantle has promoted Christian Vesper to CEO Global Drama.

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He will report directly to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle Group COO and CEO Continental Europe.

Based in London, Vesper and his team will continue to...

Fremantle has promoted Christian Vesper to the newly created role of CEO global drama, reporting into Andrea Scrosati, group COO and CEO continental Europe.

In the new role, Vesper will have direct oversight of some of Fremantle’s scripted labels, including Miso Film (“Face to Face”), Wildside (“My Brilliant Friend”), The Apartment (“Bones and All”), Element Pictures (“Normal People”), Lux Vide (“Medici”), Dancing Ledge Productions (“The Salisbury Poisonings”) and Passenger (“This England”).

He will also oversee Fremantle’s roster of talent partnerships and deals, which includes “Chernobyl” director Johan Renck and Michael Paret’s Sinestra, Michael Winterbottom’s Revolution Films, Afua Hirsch’s Born In Me and The Creatives, Fremantle’s three-year partnership agreement with a creative alliance of nine leading independent production companies.

Based in London, Vesper and his team will also work in close partnership with its regional drama heads across all territories in which Fremantle operates, including UFA in Germany,...

Denmark’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Holy Spider’ directed by Ali AbbasiThis crime genre drama labeled “Persian Noir” is based on a 20 year old case but is shockingly relevant, as is noted in this interview with producer Sol Bondy conducted by Marina Dallarosa.

US Theatrical Release October 28, 2022.

Producer Sol Bondy’s explanation of Holy Spider’s genesis and progress through the Covid infected era details the difficulties this film met at every step. However, once finished, it premiered in Cannes Competition and went on to play in the Jerusalem Film Festival, and in Toronto International Film Festival. He noted that the audience in Toronto; was 30–40% Iranians. Their ability to understand nuances and “code words” brought an element of laughter to an otherwise bloody crime film, labeled “Persian noir”.

The filmmaker Ali Abbasi is Iranian and lives in Denmark, the country submitting the film to the Motion Picture Academy for Oscar nomination. It could never have been shot in Iran due to its subject matter, though they did try, as they did in Turkey as well before shooting in Jordan. The production faced years of Covid‑19 surges, shooting delays, location changes and government resistance.

Holy Spider is based upon a true story of the infamous “spider killings” which took place while the director, Ali Abbasi, was living in the country between 2000 and 2001. It is produced by Germany’s Sol Bondy whose previous film Persian Lessons was also based on a provocative story and was Belarus’ 2020 submission for Oscars. Abbasi’s film Border was a Cannes winner of Un Certain Regard and 2018 Oscar nominated film.

A coproduction of Denmark, Germany, France, and Sweden, Holy Spider tells the story of Saeed Hanaei, a family man who embarks on his own religious quest to “cleanse” the holy Iranian city of Mashhad of immoral and corrupt street prostitutes. After murdering several women, he grows ever more desperate about the lack of public interest in his divine mission. In all, he murdered 16 women.

This genre film, with misogyny being the core theme, comes at a time where massive protests in Iran, following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini have unified the country in an unprecedented manner. While more and more protesters, many underage, are being killed by the regime, Holy Spider has met Iranian diaspora audiences with cheers.

During Cannes, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburgcelebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival. These were Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider in Competition, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness in Competition, Emily Atef’s More Than Ever in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Un beau matin in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s The Natural History of Destruction in Special Screenings, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ Mariupolis 2, in Special Screenings. Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding these films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”

At their celebration, I spoke with one of the most outstanding young actresses who played Zinab, a sex worker in the Holy Spider. German-based, Iran-born Sara Fazilat is also German Film’s Face To Face ambassador 2022. She is also the lead cast in Nico by Eline Gehring that was shown almost worldwide at numerous film festivals. Unfortunately Nico is not available online in the U.S…yet. It is about Nico who is enjoying the summer in Berlin with her best friend Rosa until a racist attack pulls her out of her carefree everyday life. Traumatized by the crime, the geriatric nurse decides never to be a victim again and begins to train with a karate world champion.

I also saw Sol Bondy of One Two Films, one of the lead producers of Holy Spider. Produced along with Jacob Jarek of Denmark’s Profile Pictures, coproducers were Nordisk Film Production, Wild Bunch International, Film i Väst, Why Not Productions, Zdf/Arte and Arte France Cinéma.

Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek also stand out as alumni of Berlinale Talents. They both co-produced Icelandic films The County and Under The Tree previously.

Jarek, who went to the National Film School of Denmark with Abbasi and was one of the producers of his debut feature Shelley, says the director “had this story in his mind for a long time but we officially started developing it in 2016”. After Abbasi’s second feature Border was an international success at Cannes and beyond in 2018, the filmmaker was in demand. He told Jarek, “Now’s our chance to make Holy Spider,” a project always close to his heart.

An Interview with Sol Bondy by Marina Dalarossa

Marina: So the first question is just about you and the producer Jakob Jarek. Could you talk a bit about how you actually came to work together?

Sol: We didn’t do the Berlinale Talents the same year. I did it relatively late in my career, and truthfully, mainly because of the woman who runs the program, she urged me to do it. I had worked for the talents for many, many years and quite a few of my friends had done it during film school and by the time I did it, I’d been out of film school running my company for 6 years already.

But we didn’t meet there. Jakob and I were both minor coproducers on an Icelandic film called Under the Tree. That’s how we met. And then we also were both minor coproducers on another Icelandic film called The County.

We knew of each other before, I knew some people that he worked with and thought they were doing really interesting films. And then in Cannes 2018, Border had just premiered a couple of days before, everybody was talking about it and Jakob asked me if I wanted to join the next film of Ali? I didn’t read a script or ask any questions; I also didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I said yes immediately. I sensed this could be a great opportunity.

And that instinct was right. The film was financed relatively quickly and within a year we had most of the budget together. But then Covid came. I’m sure we’ll get into that later!

Marina: Yes thanks. I want to know if you think being in Talents helped your career at all?

Sol: Well, given the very specific timing of it, I think it would have helped my career much more if I had done it earlier. But there are also other great intiatives out there, postgraduate training for producers. Before Talents, I did a program called Transatlantic Partners in 2013. That was really helpful and actually generated two big projects for me. One was Angry Indian Goddessesand the other was The Tale.

A couple of years later I did a program called Inside Pictures. It was also extremely valuable and really helped me make some really important business decisions going forward. Jacob also did this program but again, in another year. There are many great initiatives. Also I’ve always loved going to festivals. They make your network bigger and stronger.

Marina: You talked about how you came on board to produce Holy Spider, but what do you think made Jakob decide you should come in at that point?

Sol: He had a hard task producing and financing a film set in the Middle East without any Middle Eastern money. Also, with this topic it was clear you can’t just roll into Iran and make a film there.

On top of that, there had been a shift in the Danish government. Suddenly, to reach a certain amount of financing from the Danish Film Institute, the film had to be culturally relevant to Denmark. So I believe that halved the financing opportunities for Jacob in Denmark. He needed money from outside Denmark to make this film; he needed coproducers.

He’s well versed in international coproductions, so he knew when is a good time to attach coproducing partners and also how much time it can take. For instance, we often get approached with projects and they tell us they will be shooting in three months. We have to tell them that when we coproduce in Germany, we have deadlines and a lot of bureaucracy, so while we can do a lot — we’re very lucky with that — it still takes time.

To get back to the first question: We were ready to go, we had the budget we thought we needed to make the film and when Covid came and then Jakob found himself in a situation where two of his projects, a series and a feature film, were hit by Covid. And it was unclear how these massive losses were going to be covered. The world was in turmoil and Jakob’s projects in limbo.

It became clear, he could currently not commit to the project — such a challenging production by a very demanding director. Ali (the director) on the other hand, who could have chosen any project after his widely successful and much loved Border, was saying, “Guys, I get it, but I don’t care about circumstances. If you guys can’t figure out how we can make this film now, then it’s over, I’m out.”

And that put me under maximum pressure because making films is squarey our only source of income. I had three employees to pay, was expecting my second child, and at that pont, we didn’t know that the German government would be helping out companies like ours. Without this film, it seemed I would have to close my shop. So Jacob and I looked at what options we had and decided I would go for it. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, but I said, Ok, I’ll do it.

What was unfortunate at that time is that Jordan, during the first wave, basically closed the borders and would not let anyone in. So the country that we had scouted and wanted to shoot in was essentially shut down. We couldn’t really plan a production there because nobody knew when the borders would open again or if they might close again at some point.

So it was decided to go to Turkey. It didn’t look like Erdogan was going to close Turkey. So we went into Turkey and we scouted for weeks with a big crew, the cinematographer, the production designer, the line producers from Germany, the Turkish line producer who we hired to service the production. There was a big gang scouting different cities in Turkey. And although it was harder to match Iran, we found the right locations a couple of weeks later.

The crew was growing; we were exploring how to bring period cars over the border. Pre-production was basically in full swing, at the same time, we were waiting for a shooting permit, and this shooting permit never came. So I decided to do some more digging because this was making me very uncomfortable. I knew I couldn’t shoot without the permit. I was about to spend a significant amount of more money and I’d already spent around €50,000. Not being able to shoot the film in Turkey would mean that money would just be down the drain. Plus the entire production plan. You can imagine, with everything there, where we came from, the delays that we had already encountered, it was nerve-wracking.

We then basically found out behind the scenes that our application had gone from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Turkish Ambassador and he got the feedback that this film should not be supported.

I then took Ali and my two line producers and we flew to Ankara to meet with the Ministry of Culture. And they told us to speak to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that to get shooting permits we hd to speak with the Ministry of Culture. They basically used us like a pinball. We realiaed that we had been censored in Turkey. And it was a huge blow. I fet so hepless. Everyone was upset. Ali was furious.

It took some time to get the whole demoralized team back into the mental state to give it another go back in Jordan, where the borders had re-opened but which was logistically much more complicated.

And we went for it. We found new locations, hired local crews, got visas for our Iranian players and even managed to import Iranian cars to Jordan. You could make a documentary feature about just this aspect of the production of importing these cars. They arrived after a huge delay, when we were already shooting, but we managed to make it work.

Marina: This sounds intense. Were there other significant issues?

One of the most challenging aspects of the film was the casting, which was very complex, as we were mainly looking for Iranians who didn’t live in Iran. We knew participating in this film would be challenging for their future in the country. But Ali was adamant that his two main roles needed to be perfect in terms of their body language and the dialect. So we essentially needed people from Iran. We had found two who were willing to take the risk with all the consequences even potentially relocating after the shoot. The lead actress finally came for the makeup and hair test about 10 days before shooting. Couple days later she came to my hotel room crying and said, “I can’t do it. It’s too much.”

So we were a week before shooting and we didn’t have a lead actress. It was another massive blow. And this is when it was decided after bit of back and forth and deliberation that our casting director Zar Amir-Ebrahimi would step in and play the role. And she was rewarded in Cannes with the Best Actress Golden Palm. It’s a pretty crazy story.

And then, just two days before we were Finally going to shoot the film, Covid hit us in a way where couldn’t start shooting. I felt like I didn’t know if I was making a film or if I was in “Lost in La Mancha — Part 2”. My wife for months kept telling me I should have a documentary crew filming all this madness. I told her I was going to murder someone if I had a documentary crew around.

Marina: Wow! And after the film was completed, Denmark’s decided to submit your film to the Academy Awards. Do you know what went into their decision?

Sol: Well, the Danes may have one of the best track records in recent years when it comes to choosing the film and then being nominated or even winning. I think in the last 11 years they won twice. They got 7 nominations and I think 9 made the shortlist.

So this speaks to two things: First of all, the quality of the films they make in this small country. And then, they really look carefully at which films has the biggest chances. In our case: no other Danish film had been to Cannes competition. No other film had US distribution and played Telluride and TIFF. And already in Cannes, we had the fantastic PR of past successes like Drive My Car and Flee, so it made a lot of sense for them to choose Holy Spider. It’s still a very brave choice because it’s not a very Danish film on the outside. On the inside it looks different, you know the composer is Danish, the editor is Danish, the production designer, ok she’s Swedish, but Ali also has a Danish passport. Jakob is like me, a delegate producer and is Danish. So it has a strong Danish footprint.

Many outlets, like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter included the film in their predictions to get the nomination. So I guess all this helped the Danes come to this decision.

Marina: How does it feel to be chosen by the Danes and also to be chosen for Cannes and have gotten so many prizes already?

Sol: What can I say? It feels great! At the same time, it’s also a lot of hard work. And it’s something that we always had our eyes upon, also because Border won the Un Certain Regard. So after that, the next step is to be in Cannes Competition. Now I’ve seen this go both ways, The Icelandic film where Jacob and I were minority producers together: the filmmaker had previously done the film Rams, which had also won Un Certain Regard. We all hoped to go to Cannes Competition with this new film, The County. But we didn’t get into Cannes at all. We premiered in Toronto, which is good, but it’s not the same So looking coldly at that, you could say we failed.

Another example would be a finished film, that I was happy to be a coproducer on, called The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki . It won Un Certain Regard the year after Rams did. And so the director wanted his next film, Compartment No. 6, to go to Cannes Competition — and it did. It even won the Jury Prize! Sadly, I wasn’t involved in that production.

This is something we were discussing throughout this entire production. We were always saying the film was our chance to show the world Ali was not a one-hit wonder. You know, many people refer to Border as Ali’s first film, which it’s not. It’s his second film, his first film Shelley did well, but it wasn’t a massive breakout hit like Border was. It’s hard to follow up on a success like that.

So that fact that we succeeded in following up the Certain Regard win with getting into Competition was very exciting and rewarding. I also have to give credit to our French co-producers Wild Bunch and Why Not Productions. While they didn’t really have a lot to do with the physical production, they really helped in securing the world premiere. They gave us invaluable advice in the last stretch.

I can say that until now, we have achieved every goal that we had, and there are a few exciting steps ahead. The US release had a great limited opening weekend, the nominations at the European Film Awards are coming up and then there’s of course the Oscar shortlist of 15 films just before Christmas. We’re crossing our fingers!

Marina: I also have to ask, with the recent events in Iran, was this something you were thinking of making the film?

Sol: Well no, of course not! But the fact that our film is based on a 20 year old case — and has become so shockingly timely is incredible. Showing the film at festivals where many Iranians attend has been such an intense experience. People have thanked us for our courage to finally make a film that shows a (big) portion of their reality, one they don’t get to see in Iranian cinema. And of course the film’s main theme, misogyny, is squarely what is firing up this revolution in Iran. It really feels like the days of the Islamic Republic will be over, the different groups withing the Iranian society are more united then ever before, men are supporting women on the street and the next generation isn’t willing to give up. It’s insane what is happening there and honestly, more people should be talking about this. They are killing teenagers in the street.

Marina: The next couple questions I want to ask you are more general about your career. What did you think when you chose your career?

Sol: My parents are both filmmakers, but I never really cared too much about their work. I was quite oblivious to what was what was going on right in front of me.

But through my parents connections, I was cast as a child actor and did quite a bit of acting, so I always thought that after high school I would become an actor. But then I realized maybe I should also look for something behind the camera, because I remembered as a child actor, people were so nice and the jobs seemed fun and interesting and so I did an internship. And it became clear to me that I needed to become a director! I thought this would be the perfect way to combine all my talents.

It took three or four years and a lot of failed applications for directing to realize that I would not be studying film directing at any film school. But Reinhad Hauff, the head of the dffb, the Berlin Film School, said at some point after my second failed application that he thought I might be good for his producing class. And that’s how I got into producing after never having given it a thought before.

And I really came to terms with my profession the end of my second year while working with this one director, Grzegorz Muskala, I realized if I could find people like him, with an exceptional level of talent and tenacity and foresight I could be the right person to support them. I just needed to be very picky about who I chose to work with.

On the other hand, I also realized I have a real knack for distribution, because many producing students in my film school would just produce a film and then they would just produce the next film. And this was always crazy for me, because when the film is finished, finding distribution for your film is the most exciting moment. Like now we can do something, even for shorts! We can take the film to festivals, we can sell it to TV, this is the fun part. Of course you need to have the right film.

But I quickly earned a reputation of being somebody who took very good care of his films. All my films went to many festivals and won awards and did well. So at the end of my studies I graduated with a 1.2 million feature, which was a big achievement at that time, this was 2010. I also launched my company more or less at the same time. Since then we’ve produced or coproduced 16 films.

Marina: What do you think drives you now to continue?

Sol: There was a moment, a couple of years ago where I realized I needed to shift gears. I separated from my previous business partner with whom I had had set up the company. We built the company together, but I realized our visions weren’t really aligned anymore. I had this urge to do slightly bigger films and my little family was growing and I simply needed to make more money — while staying true to the films that I love.

So rather than diversifying with many small projects, I wanted to make fewer films but larger ones. That is also a bigger risk in a way. I wanted to take it a bit slower than the previous 10 years. Maybe also because my wife is a filmmaker. We’ve had two kids, and now it’s also her turn to go to the forefront and make more films.

Marina: And so now I guess one could say you’ve kind of made it to the top or at least you’ve checked off all those goals that you wanted to reach.

Sol: Everything that has happened with Holy Spider is really great. And having a film in Cannes Competition is quite special — who knows if it’s going to happen again? So maybe, maybe this is the top.

Marina: Do you have different kinds of goals now?

Sol: No I think I have similar goals. I like to aim high. I’m ambitious. But I also know what’s within reach. I wouldn’t set goals that are completely unrealistic in that sense.

Marina: And can you talk about what you are working on right now, so that we can start tracking it?

Sol: Yeah, so Northern Comfort is a is a fear of flying comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, the same Icelandic director of Under the Tree. And this is his English language debut because his previous films have been remade in the US. We thought, why not just shoot in English language in the first place?

A diverse group of people with a chronic fear of flying are stranded in the wintry north. That film is a lot of fun for a change! And I know there’s appetite in the market for comedies. We’re in the final stages of postproduction and hoping to show the film sometime early next year.

Köln 75 is our real passion project. It’s set in Germany. The story came to us through Oren Moverman who approached us because we had worked on The Tale together. He felt that we would be the right people to be producing this. It’s a beautiful and inspiring great true story about a 17 year old school girl who organizes one of the the world’s most famous concerts on German soil, the Cologne concert from Keith Jarrett in 1975 which is widely regarded as his masterpiece and sold nearly 5 mil. copies worldwide. It really was the soundtrack of an entire generation. So it’s really exciting. An uplifting and fun story with a fantastic script by Ido Fluk. We already have amazing partners to work on this film.

Marina: Is it different now working on German soil?

Sol: Well it’s not the first time, but it’s the first time in a couple years and it is different, yes. Production has exploded across the world with the arrival of the streamers. In Germany we really feel it. All the actors, all the crews, everybody is just like working like crazy. So you could say of course it’s a great time to be a producer. But for us it’s always hard to make a film. Always has been, always will be, there are really no free rides if you’re producing independent films.

Marina: And last question, what advice do you have for young filmmakers?

Sol: The most simple and striking advice that I received myself at some point, though at first I nearly missed it, was from Katriel Schory who ran the film fund in Israel for a long time.

Sydney knows him well I’m sure.

He gave this one inspirational speech at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 2006, when I was a film student. He said the most important thing for a producer is you always have to be nice, open and friendly. And I was like, well yeah… But the way that he explained it got to me. He said that everybody who’s in a certain position of power has a free choice who he wants to work with.

And these people are always going to choose to work with the people who are nice, open and friendly and if you are that person and if you are nice, open and friendly all the time, then you’re just more likely to climb the steps of your career. And at the same time you will make this industry a better place to work in.

I found it very compelling and striking and I’ve realized that that really is what brings you forward. And so I always tried to be that person. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, so I wonder if maybe I’ve lost it a little bit on the way. Producing Holy Spider was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and has surely made me very cynical at times, but that is definitely a good piece of advice for young filmmaker, I think.

Holy Spider, 115 minutes

Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden

Directed by: Ali Abbasi

Screenplay: Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami

Cast: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Nima Akbarpour, Sara Fazilat, Sina Parvaneh, Alice Rahimi, Mesbah Taleb

Cinematography by: Nadim Carlsen

Film Editing: Olivia Neergaard-Holm

Production Designer: Lina Nordqvist

Costumes Cesigner: Hanadi Khurma

Music: Martin Dirkov

Produced by: Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek

Co-producers: Fred Burle, Eva Åkergren, Vincent Maraval, Calle Marthin, Peter Possne, Olivier Père, Rémi Burah

Production Cos: Profile Pictures, One Two Films, Why Not Productions, Nordisk Film Production Ab

Backing: Danish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Moin Filmförderung, Dfff, Ffa, Nordisk Film + TV Fund, Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages, Film I Väst, Zdf, Arte, Arte France Cinéma

Isa Wild Bunch has thus far sold Holy Spider to Utopia for U.S., Cinéart for Benelux, A-One Films Baltic for Baltics, Academy 2 ror Italy, Alamode Filmsfor Germany, BTeam Pictures for Spain, Bir Film for Turkey, Camera Film for Denmark, Canibal for Mexico, Cinobo for Greece, Edko Films for Hong Kong, Falcon Pictures for Indonesia, Film Europe for Czechia and Slovakia, Fivia/Cenex for Yugoslavia, Gaga for Japan, Gutek Film for Poland, Independenta Film for Romania, Karma for Spain, Metropolitan Filmexportfor France, Mubi for UK Ireland, Malaysia, India; Nordisk and Mer for Norway, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, Pancinema for South Korea, United King Films for Israel, Vertigo for Hungary, Xenix for Switzerland, Front Row for Mena.