Recent articles
September 14, 2026
MoreThan Films Acquires Serville Poblete’s Buzzy Toronto Hangout Comedy ‘Sunburn’ (EXCLUSIVE)
International sales agency MoreThan Films has acquired the rights to “Sunburn,” by award-winning director Serville Poblete, ahead of its world premiere as part of the Centrepiece strand of the Toro...
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September 14, 2026
‘The Nature of Invisible Things’ Director Rafaela Camelo Lines Up Luciana Paes and Sundance-Winner Camila Márdila For ‘The Favorite Daughter’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Luciana Paes (“Friendly Beast”) and Camila Márdila (“I’m Still Here”) have been cast in “The Favorite Daughter” (“A Filha Favorita”), the new film by rising Brazilian director Rafaela Camelo. The f...
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September 12, 2026
‘On Behalf of My Son’ Director Gabriel Martins on Black Brazilian Representation in His Films: ‘It’s a Life Project To Me, Not Just Cinema’
In 2022, Gabriel Martins made waves at the Sundance Film Festival with “Mars One,” a sprawling ensemble drama chronicling the life of a Black Brazilian family. At that time, the industry was still ...
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September 8, 2026
Ellen Burstyn Says Method Actors Today ‘Don’t Know Anything and Just Make a Lot of Noise’
Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn laid out her reservations about method acting during a masterclass at the Venice Film Festival. The actress, who is in Italy as the recipient of the festival’s G...
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September 6, 2026
‘September 5’ Director Tim Fehlbaum Working on a ‘Historical Film’ Set in Berlin as Swiss Filmmakers Take on Challenges and Opportunities of Shooting in English
Some of the main breakouts of Swiss cinema in 2026—and the few years that precede it—share one striking commonality: they are either entirely in English or feature large chunks of English. Think Pe...
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September 4, 2026
Édgar Ramírez and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart to Star in ‘Land of the Savages’ by Venice-Winning ‘Blanquita’ Director Fernando Guzzoni
Four years after “Blanquita” won the Silver Lion for best screenplay, Chilean director Fernando Guzzoni returns to Venice. The filmmaker is set to present his latest project, “Land of the Savages,”...
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August 28, 2026
Cronenberg Meets Activism in Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli’s Queer BDSM Drama ‘London’
As they worked on their long-gestating first feature, “London,” Brazilian filmmakers Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli dove headfirst into cinematic portrayals of disability. What they found was f...
variety.com
August 27, 2026
Miyu Distribution Acquires Fernanda Salgado’s ‘Ana, en Passant’ Starring Lauded Brazilian Actress Zezé Motta (EXCLUSIVE)
Global indie animation powerhouse Miyu Distribution has acquired international rights to Fernanda Salgado’s “Ana, en Passant” ahead of its world premiere at the Brasília Brazilian Film Festival and...
variety.com
August 22, 2026
Emily Watson Says ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Season 2 Will Have ‘Lots of New Elements,’ Led Her on ‘A Quest in a Way Actors Always Get to Do and Actresses Don’t’
Starring in HBO Max’s “Dune: Prophecy” has been a major “departure” for Emily Watson, whose lauded career was built upon major independent and arthouse successes such as Lars von Trier’s “Breaking ...
variety.com
August 21, 2026
Woody Harrelson Ready to Direct Another Live Film, Compares Jason Bateman’s ‘The Cackling of the Dodos’ to Martin McDonagh and the Coen Brothers
Almost a decade after taking on an unusually challenging directorial debut with the world’s first live-streamed feature film in “Lost in London,” Woody Harrelson is finally ready to direct again. T...
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August 19, 2026
Emily Watson Says Growing Up in a Religious Cult Almost Stopped Her From Starring in ‘Breaking the Waves’: ‘I Was Like a Piece of Wire That Had Been Unplugged’
Emily Watson is one of the most lauded actors working today, having earned multiple Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, as well as winning a Silver Bear in Berlin, a European Film Award and ...
variety.com
August 18, 2026
Woody Harrelson Talks ‘Brothers’ With Matthew McConaughey: ‘If You’re Looking for ‘True Detective,’ It’s Not This’
The applause thundering within the Sarajevo National Theater could be heard from a mile away on Tuesday afternoon. The reason? Woody Harrelson. The actor, who is at the festival as the recipient of...
variety.com
August 15, 2026
Urša Menart Recalls Finding Inspiration on Influencers’ Fake Tragic Life Stories for Intimate Dramedy ‘Everything That’s Wrong With You’
Right before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, Slovenian director Urša Menart came across a curious phenomenon on the internet: young people, mostly women, making up tragic life stories to...
variety.com
August 14, 2026
Golden Lion Winner Milcho Manchevski Talks ‘Giving a Voice’ to Pulse Nightclub Survivors With ‘Good People’: ‘Our Job Was to Stay Out of the Way’
It took over three decades for Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski — whose debut feature “Before the Rain” won the top award in Venice in 1994 and was Oscar nominated — to direct his first docum...
variety.com
August 12, 2026
‘The Best Mother in the World’ Standout Shirley Cruz to Star in Clara Ferrer and Tainá Bevilacqua’s Trans Coming-of-Age ‘The She-Devil’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Shirley Cruz, who delivered an acclaimed central performance in Anna Muylaert’s 2025 Berlinale drama “The Best Mother in the World,” is set to star in Clara Ferrer and Tainá Bevilacqua’s “The She-D...
variety.com
August 11, 2026
‘The Secret Agent’ Star Maria Fernanda Cândido to Lead ‘Lost Objects’ by Brazilian Director Luiz Fernando Carvalho (EXCLUSIVE)
Maria Fernanda Cândido, the veteran Brazilian actor who rose to major international projection last year thanks to a key role in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Oscar-nominated “The Secret Agent,” is set t...
variety.com
July 29, 2026
Brazilian Erotic Thriller ‘The Riverbank’ Boarded by Premium Films, MPM Premium Ahead of Locarno Competition Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
Paris-based Premium Films, together with its feature film sales division MPM Premium, has acquired international sales rights to Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho’s “The Riverbank” (“A Margem do Ri...
variety.com
July 24, 2026
Inside Costa Rica’s Alcatraz and Another 5 Top Locations
The same crystalline waters swooshing the pebbled coast of San Lucas Island were once murked by the crimson red of blood. From 1873 to 1991, the island served as Costa Rica’s principal penitentiary...
variety.com
July 24, 2026
Film Commissions Step Up Role to Accelerate Growth In Central America and the Caribbean
The Ibero-American Film Commission Network, a non-profit organization that brings together film commissions and film offices across Ibero-America, took place in the Costa Rica Media Market for the ...
variety.com
July 24, 2026
Andrés Madrigal Explores Costa Rica’s Little-Known Queer History Through Personal Doc ‘Lost Men’
When his grandfather passed away, director Andrés Madrigal felt an urge to pick up his camera and capture every possible moment of that immediate grief. This archival impulse would eventually becom...
variety.com
July 22, 2026
Dos de Patos, Expansiva Cine Board Luis Diego Pérez’s Desde El Centro Winner ‘The Beast Is Not to Blame’
Costa Rica’s Dos de Patos has joined Páramo Films as co-producers of Luis Diego Pérez’s “The Beast Is Not to Blame,” which was recently awarded a film residency prize at the Desde El Centro showcas...
variety.com
July 18, 2026
Utopia Distribution Exec on Shifting Releases Towards Eventification to Cater to ‘Fandom’ and Younger Audiences: ‘Everything Is Being Destroyed to Be Rebuilt’
The years that directly succeeded the COVID pandemic were marked by a dire, almost apocalyptic view on the future of cinemagoing. Audiences who were already thinning out before global lockdowns bec...
variety.com
July 16, 2026
‘Romería,’ ‘The Blood Countess,’ ‘Resurrection’ Set for Costa Rica Film Festival as Event Focuses on Afro-Caribbean Cinema and Female Filmmakers
The Costa Rica Film Festival kicks off next week with a program featuring major festival hits such as Carla Simón’s “Romería,” Bi Gan’s “Resurrection,” Diego Céspedes’s “The Mysterious Gaze of the ...
variety.com
July 15, 2026
Disney Exec, Top Producers Say ‘Real Competition Is No Longer in Tax Incentives’: Local Talent and Efficient Film Commissions and Producers Are Key
In the almost 30 years since Steven Spielberg’s “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” was shot in Costa Rica, much has changed in the country’s film industry. From a virtually nonexistent market in the l...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Puerto Rico Film Festival Welcomes Costa Rica as Official Country in Focus (EXCLUSIVE)
The Puerto Rico Film Festival has announced Costa Rica as the official country in focus for its upcoming 17th edition, taking place August 19–23. The announcement marks the first time the festival ...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Ana Istarú to Appear Alongside Director Daughter Ardélia Istarú in ‘Quemada’ Via Valentina Maurel’s Tres Tigres Label (EXCLUSIVE)
Renowned Costa Rican actor, playwright and poet Ana Istarú will appear alongside daughter Ardélia Istarú in the latter’s next directorial outing, “Quemada.” Valentina Maurel’s production company Tr...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Fantastic Lab Winner ‘We Won’t Let the Goat Die’ Bolstered by New Partners, Santiago Durán (EXCLUSIVE)
Four years after Ariel Escalante’s “Domingo and the Mist” premiered to acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, Costa Rica’s flourishing Incendio Cine label continues to strike key co-production deals ...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s ‘Spells to Revive a Witch,’ About Mythical Fortune Teller Soralla de Persia, Gets Backing from Spain, Uruguay (EXCLUSIVE)
Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s upcoming “Spells to Revive a Witch” has found new partners in Spain’s Testaferro and Uruguay’s Guay Films. The hybrid documentary, headed to the Costa Rica Media Market,...
variety.com
July 12, 2026
Emerging Directors Need to Be ‘Brave,’ ‘Curious,’ ‘Pushy’ and ‘Fearless,’ Say Industry Leaders Behind Future Frames Program
During this year’s banner 60th anniversary edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Variety hosted a panel in collaboration with Allwyn to discuss the longstanding success of the Eu...
variety.com
July 9, 2026
Acclaimed Chilean Filmmaker Valeria Sarmiento Bids Farewell to Directing With Affecting Childhood Sexual Abuse Drama ‘Behind the Rain’
Renowned Chilean filmmaker Valeria Sarmiento has a long history of prodding at memory in her films. The veteran has directed more than 30 features addressing the situation of women in a patriarchal...
variety.com