International online streaming service DramaFever has entered an exclusive licensing and distribution deal for Spanish mini The Time In Between. The award-winning period drama will begin airing on July 4 on the DramaFever platform, and will be syndicated through Hulu. The October 2013 debut of the 11-episode adaptation of María Dueñas’ novel was the most watched TV premiere in Spain ever. Adriana Ugarte stars as a young seamstress who leaves Madrid before the start of the Spanish Civil War. By twist of fate, she is forced to open a custom tailor workshop in Morocco where she becomes the most sought-after couture designer for the socialite wives of German Nazi officers. She also begins working for the British government, passing information to the Secret Service. This will be the 38th Spanish-language series streamed on DramaFever with English subtitles. The service gets about 20 million monthly unique visitors.
Content Media Corporation has entered a first-look deal with UK indie KEO Films Limited. Traditionally a factual specialist, KEO is now moving into scripted drama. The two companies will work together to jointly develop scripted material, with Content getting a first-look at international distribution rights. KEO has produced factual entertainment and documentary programs for broadcasters in the UK, Australia and the U.S. Among its credits are the River Cottage series and Scandimania for Channel 4.
Canadian distributor Mongrel Media is launching world sales arm Mongrel International to focus on the best in Canadian and world cinema. The outfit’s kick-off title is the Aisling Walsh-directed Maudie, a Canada-Ireland co-production starring Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins. Mongrel International will launch pre-sales at Cannes and its parent company will distribute in Canada. Maudie is an unlikely romance in which a curmudgeonly recluse hires a fragile yet determined woman as his housekeeper. Maudie turns out to be terrible at housework and instead of cleaning slowly starts to cover the walls of her employer’s tiny house with colorful paintings. He in turn slowly begins to fall for her. Based on a true story, Maudie is set in a small Nova Scotia town in the 1950s and 60s. Shooting is scheduled for July in Newfoundland. Sherry White penned the script. Walsh’s credits include feature Song For A Raggy Boy (2003) and 2005 BBC mini-series Fingersmith, which starred Hawkins. Bob Cooper of LA-based Landscape, Mary Young Leckie of Toronto-based Solo Productions and Susan Mullen from Dublin-based Parallel are producing. Executive producers include Heather Haldane of Toronto-based H Is4 Productions, Mary Sexton of Newfoundland-based Rink Rat Productions, Landscape’s Tyler Mitchell, and Parallel’s Alan Moloney and Johanna Hogan.
Sales and production company Bleiberg Entertainment is introducing buyers to Lulu Wang’s Posthumous at the Cannes Film Market. Jack Huston, Brit Marling and Lambert Wilson star in the film that is currently in post-production. A romantic dramedy set against the vibrant art mecca of modern Berlin, the story centers on a struggling artist played by Boardwalk Empire’s Huston. When his work skyrockets in value after he is mistakenly thought to have killed himself, the artist decides to keep up the charade by pretending to be his own brother. But his plan is put in jeopardy when he falls for a reporter (Marling). Tom Schilling and Alexander Fehling also star. Posthumous is writer/director Wang’s debut feature. She was the winner of the Ebert Fellowship at the Independent Spirit Awards this year. Flying Box Productions’ Bernadette Bürgi is producer. German co-producers are Skady Lis for Getaway Pictures, Andro Steinborn at Arden Film, and Frank Evers, Helge Neubronner and Kristian Stern of Cine Plus.
In other Cannes Film Market news, Archstone Distribution has acquired foreign rights to crime action thriller Gutshot Straight. It will kick off sales in Cannes. Directed by Justin Steele, Gutshot Straight stars George Eads, AnnaLynne McCord, Steven Seagal, Vinnie Jones, Stephen Lang, Ted Levine and Tia Carrere. The story sees Jack, a professional poker player, become mixed up with the underworld when he takes a wager proposed by a mysterious gambler. In order to protect his family and himself, Jack must outwit the gambler’s cunning brother and scheming wife as each attempts to force him into murdering the other.
Israeli competition format The Extra Mile has been sold to the Netherlands and Australia. The markets are part of the multi-territory deal between Extra Mile creators Studio Glam and Endemol that was signed at Mip-TV earlier this month. Endemol previously acquired rights for local versions in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Scandinavia. Studio Glam is also in advanced negotiations with the U.S., Russia, India and Portugal on the format that challenges acrimoniously divorced couples to work together in order to win prize money that is destined for their children. The Extra Mile launched in Israel last week, making history on Channel 10 with a record breaking average rating of 26.6% and a 37.7% share. The second episode had a 22.4% average.
Julie Walters (Harry Potter, The Hollow Crown), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Harry Potter, Madame Bovary), Jemima West (The Borgias, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones), Nikesh Patel (Bedlam), Roshan Seth (A Passage To India) and Lillete Dubey (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) have been set to star in Masterpiece and Channel 4’s 10-part epic drama co-production Indian Summers. Set against the Himalayas and tea plantations of northern India, the drama tells the story of the decline of the British Empire and the birth of modern India, from both sides of the experience. It hones in on the implications and ramifications of a tangled web of passions, rivalries and clashes that define the lives of those brought together over the summer of 1932. Indian Summers will shoot this summer for broadcast on the UK’s Channel 4 and Masterpiece on PBS in 2015. Also in the cast are Alexander Cobb (Mr Selfridge), Craig Parkinson (Line Of Duty), Fiona Glascott (Episodes), Amber Rose Revah (What Remains), Aysha Kala (Shameless), Olivia Grant (Endeavour) and Edward Hogg (The Borgias). The series will be produced by UK-based New Pictures and is created and written by Paul Rutman (Vera). Red Riding’s Anand Tucker is directing with Endeavour‘s Dan McCulloch producing. Executive Producers are Charlie Pattinson, Elaine Pyke, My Week With Marilyn’s Simon Curtis, and Rebecca Eaton for Masterpiece. All3M International is handling sales.
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