Mary Berry’s New Series; Viacom Chilevision Deal – Global Briefs

Mary Berry BBC Series

Great British Bake Off alum and Britain’s Best Home Cook judge Mary Berry is reteaming with BBC One for Mary Berry’s Fantastic Feasts. The three-part series will also air on iPlayer. Berry will help novice chefs create a memorable meal for a loved one by showing them how to do it. Berry and two celebrity assisters will be present on the day. Mary Berry’s Fantastic Feasts is produced by Rumpus Media (The Misadventures Of Romesh Ranganathan, Mary Berry Saves Christmas). Kelly Sparks, Emily Hudd, and Kelly Sparks serve as executive producers. A call is open for applications from aspiring cooks. An air date has not yet been set.

Viacom Buys Chilean TV Network

ViacomCBS Networks International has closed previously announced acquisition of Chilevisión from WarnerMedia. The acquisition includes Chilevisión’s free-to-air television network, which is Chile’s most watched television channel this year to-date. The investment also includes Chilevisión’s library of content spanning multiple genres including sports, entertainment, and news, as well as its production capabilities. Chilevisión will fall under the leadership of Juan Acosta, President of ViacomCBS International Studios and Networks Americas. “Our investment in Chilevisión strategically expands ViacomCBS’ global ecosystem, strengthening our position as a leading Spanish-language content producer,” Raffaele Annecchino is President and CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International.

BBC Boards ‘Marie Antoinette’

BBC Two has snapped up rights to upcoming historical drama Marie Antoinette, from The Favourite writer Deborah Davis. The new, eight-part series follows the story of the modern and avant-garde young queen, played by Emilia Schüle (Ku’damm 63), who was just 14 years old when she left Austria to marry the Dauphin of France. Pete Travis (Bloodlands) and Geoffrey Enthoven (Children Of Love) direct from scripts penned by Davis, Louise Ironside (The Split), Avril E. Russell (All On A Summer’s Day) and Chloë Moss (Run Sister Run). Banijay Studios France and Les Gens are producing the project. This acquisition marks the first international deal with Canal Plus original.

EFA Prize For Susanne Bier

Oscar and Emmy winning Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, whose credits include The Night Manager, In A Better World and After The Wedding, will receive an honorary European Achievement In World Cinema award from the European Film Academy this year. As a guest at Berlin’s 34th European Film Awards Ceremony, the director will receive the prize.

SWR Media Rebrand

Emmy nominated UK indie SWR Media has rebranded as Dash Pictures. Based in London and Los Angeles and run by Daniel Sharp, the outfit has credits including Disasters Engineered, bought by Discovery UK and US. Upcoming are historical series Vikings: The Rise and Fall, and Fantastic Friends, about James and Oliver Phelps of Harry Potter fame, which will be launched at MIPCOM next month.

Red Sea Souk Lineup

Ahead of its debut edition, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has selected its projects for the Red Sea Souk, an initiative designed to discover and connect Arab and African filmmakers from the region. It will include a project market, screenings and discussions of in-progress films, as well as an exhibition space that hosts the major players from the region. There will also be panels, industry talks and networking opportunities. More than 350 professionals are expected to attend the fest. The Red Sea Fund will award three cash prizes, which will be decided by two juries. The Project Market’s jury will award $25,000 for development and $100,000 for production and the Films In-Progress jury will grant $30,000 for post-production. Additional awards may be given to projects that participate. The event will take place from December 8-11, 2018. Below are the selected projects:

Red Sea Souk Films in-Progress Workshop:

Contra by Lotfy Nathan (Tunisia, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany)
Fragments From Heaven by Adnane Baraka (Morocco, France, Qatar)
Abdelinho by Hicham Ayouch (Morocco, France)
Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous by Wissam Charaf (France, Lebanon, Italy)
The Cemetery of Cinema by Thierno Souleymane Diallo (Guinea, France, Senegal)

Red Sea Souk Project Market:

Coura + Ouleye by Iman Djionne (Senegal)
Akashinga (Working Title) by Naishe Nyamubaya (Zimbabwe, France, Germany, South Africa)
Passing Dreams by Rashid Masharawi (Palestine, United Kingdom, Sweden)
Zaïria by Machérie Ekwa (Congo)
Carnaval by Mohamed Siam (Egypt, Kuwait, France)
Montreal by Ameen Nayfeh (Jordan)
Birthday by Lara Zeidan (Lebanon, France)
Last Trip by Ziad Kalthoum (Syria, Germany, Poland)
The Seasons of Jannet by Mehdi Hmili (Tunisia)
Carnamal by Ali Kalthami (Saudi Arabia)
Aïcha by Mehdi M. Barsaoui (Tunisia, France)

The Project Market will also present the twelve Red Sea Lodge projects which have been developed throughout the year during intensive workshops, conducted in partnership with the TorinoFilmLab.

The Red Sea Lodge projects are:

Arab World:
The Zarqa Girl by Zaid Abu Hamdan (Jordan)
Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour (Egypt)
The Sea Needs to Heave by Zain Duraie (Jordan)
The Day of Wrath: Tales From Tripoli by Rania Rafei (Lebanon)
Road 250 by Haya Alghanim (Kuwait)
It’s A Sad And Beautiful World by Cyril Aris (Lebanon)

Saudi Arabia:
Fiery Eyes by Abduljalil Alnasser
Hala’s Aziz by Jowaher Alamri
Raoya – The Bookeeper by Mahmoud Zaini
The Photographer of Madina by Dalyah Bakheet
Within Sand by Moe Alatawi
Zeba by Abrar Abdulaziz

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