Yahoo Finance Sundance London Adds ‘Pleasure,’ Phyllida Lloyd Masterclass to Program – Global Bulletin
SERIES
The U.K. premiere screening of Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut “Pleasure” and a masterclass with “Herself” director Phyllida Lloyd have been added to the Sundance Film Festival: London program.
“Host” director Rob Savage joins the previously announced horror panel, “Scare Tactics – Making Modern Horror,” which also includes “Censor” director Prano Bailey Bond.
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“Pleasure,” a deep dive into the world of adult entertainment, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema – Dramatic category at the Sundance Film Festival in January and won the FIPRESCI Award at the Göteborg Film Festival.
The “Shaping The Truth – Discussing Documentary Ethics and Filmmaking” panel hosted by Doc Society’s Shanida Scotland will feature guests including directors Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri (“The Most Beautiful Boy In The World”) and Sam Hobkinson (“Misha and the Wolves”).
The festival will open with Edgar Wright’s rockumentary “The Sparks Brothers” and the program also includes “Zola” and “CODA.”
Sundance Film Festival: London takes place July 29 – Aug. 1 at Picturehouse Central.
AUDIO ENTERTAINMENT
KC Global Media Asia, the company that owns pay-TV channels AXN and Animax in Southeast Asia, South Korea’s ONE and Japanese entertainment channel GEM, is launching into the podcast business.
Its first effort is “Fey Hollow: The Fairy Tale Murders,” an eight-part audio drama that is produced in conjunction with AXN. A crime thriller voiced by Lim Kay Tong, Naomi Yeo and DJ Joshua Simon, the story follows two detectives tracking down a sadistic serial killer who uses brutal fairy tale inspired rituals to murder his victims. But it offers listeners a choice of two endings.
“The entertainment industry has been dominated by the evolution of visuals and is now seeing a shift as we enter a new golden age of audio, with podcasts steadily gaining momentum among entertainment-seekers,” said George Chien, co-founder, president and CEO of KCGM Asia.
SERIES
Jessica Raine (“Patrick Melrose”) and Peter Capaldi (“Doctor Who”) will star in six-part Amazon U.K. original series “The Devil’s Hour.”
Written and created by Tom Moran, the series follows the story of Lucy, played by Raine, who is woken every night by terrifying visions at exactly 3.33am: the devil’s hour. When her name is inexplicably connected to a string of brutal murders in the area, the answers that have evaded her all these years will finally come into focus.
Capaldi plays a reclusive nomad driven by a murderous obsession who becomes the prime target of a police manhunt.
Additional casting includes Nikesh Patel (“Starstruck”), Meera Syal (“Yesterday”), Alex Ferns (“Chernobyl”) and Phil Dunster (“Ted Lasso”).
Filming starts this month in London and Farnborough Studios. It is produced by Hartswood Films (“Sherlock”). Executive producers are Sue Vertue, Steven Moffat and Tom Moran. The series will be produced by Ken Horn (“Line of Duty”) and directed by Johnny Allan (“The Irregulars”) and Isabelle Sieb (“Vigil”).
Meanwhile, U.K.-based production company One Big Picture has boarded BlackBox Multimedia and Stone Village TV’s series adaptation of “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (The Modern Prometheus)” as co-producer.
One Big Picture was co-founded by Otto Bathurst, BAFTA winning director of “Peaky Blinders,” who is now confirmed to direct. Bradley McManus (“Bodyguard of Lies”) will write the series.
The adapted series will be a fresh take on the book with added experiential elements to update the story for modern international viewers.
DEVELOPMENT
Noah Media Group has signed a multi-title development deal with Sky Studios, Sky’s production and development arm across Europe. The partnership will see the Noah team, which includes filmmaker Gabriel Clarke (“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”) and director/producer Torquil Jones (“Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager”), co-produce a slate of feature documentaries and series across a range of topics, several of which will be rooted in sport.
The projects are expected to target Sky’s factual channels across Europe and viewers around the world with NBCUniversal taking a first-look option for global distribution.
WRAP
Teng Teng Films, in collaboration with the BFI, BBC Film, and the Sundance Institute, have wrapped filming “Pretty Red Dress,” a first feature written and directed by Dionne Edwards (“We Love Moses”).
Leading the cast are rising theatre star Natey Jones (“Rockets and Blue Lights”), singer and West End actor Alexandra Burke (“The Bodyguard”) in her first screen role and new talent Temilola Olatunbosun.
“Pretty Red Dress” is the story of a South London family and how their lives revolve around one red dress. Newly released from prison, Travis (Jones) buys the dress for his girlfriend Candice (Burke), to audition for a musical about 1960s music, but is soon powerfully drawn to it himself. When Candice and their teenage daughter Kenisha (Olatunbosun) find Travis wearing the dress, it sends the family spinning.
Filming took place in London over eight weeks this spring. The film is produced by Georgia Goggin (“The Uncertain Kingdom”) with Bennett McGhee as executive producer.
World sales are being handled by Protagonist Pictures.
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