International
Kirsten Dunst’s film to open 57th San Francisco International Film Festival
MUMBAI: In a statement released this week, the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) held from 24 April – 8 May, announced its highly-anticipated Opening Night and Closing Night selections.
SFIFF kicks off with the Opening Night presentation of Hossein Amini’s (The Wings of the Dove, Drive) gripping adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling novel, The Two Faces of January starring Oscar Issac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman trilogy) gorgeously filmed on location in Greece and Turkey. The film is set in 1962 where a well-heeled couple (Mortensen and Dunst) come to know an American expatriate acting as an Athens tour guide (Isaac). But an incident at the couple’s hotel puts all three in danger and creates a precarious interdependence between them.
The Festival will come to a stirring conclusion with Chris Messina’s (The Mindy Project, Argo) drama Alex of Venice, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Messina and Don Johnson (Django Unchained). With this film, Messina creates a winning mix of wistful comedy and heartfelt drama in this tale of accepting the unexpected. The film revolves around Alex (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an environmental lawyer whose job often keeps her away from the home she shares with her son, husband (Messina) and actor father (Don Johnson). When her husband rebels against being a stay-at-home dad and takes a time out from the marriage, Alex’s world quickly becomes very complicated.
“We are delighted to offer these exceptional films by first-time directors who are best known for their work in other areas of the film world,” said San Francisco Film Society Executive Director Noah Cowan in the statement. “Championing talented artists who aren’t afraid of taking risks is at the heart of the Film Society’s mission and our ongoing support of filmmakers around the world. I can’t think of a better pair of films to kick off and wrap up what is going to be an amazing festival.”
The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival, organised by the San Francisco Film Society, runs at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Castro Theatre and New People Cinema in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, the festival is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities, featuring 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards and nearly $40,000 in cash prizes, upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests and diverse and engaged audiences with more than 65,000 in attendance.
International
Council of Europe to unveil new TV and streaming co-production convention
Series Mania Forum to host landmark signing to boost global TV collaboration
LILLE: The small screen is getting a big policy push. At this year’s Series Mania Forum in Lille, Alain Berset will take centre stage to chair the opening ceremony for a new international convention aimed at reshaping how television and streaming series are co-produced across borders.
Set for March 26 at the Théâtre Marie Curie in Lille Grand Palais, the signing marks the debut of the first legal framework dedicated specifically to the independent co-production of series. In an industry where stories travel faster than ever, the move aims to make collaboration smoother, fairer and more transparent.
Backed by the Council of Europe, the convention is designed to strengthen cultural ties, give independent producers a firmer footing, and bring greater clarity to deals in a rapidly evolving content landscape. With streaming platforms fuelling a surge in global storytelling, the timing feels deliberate.
Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset, underscored the cultural heft of series today, noting how they carry voices and viewpoints across borders. He called on member states and countries beyond Europe to sign on, framing the initiative as a way to turn culture into a tool for cooperation and democratic exchange.
For Series Mania founder and general director Laurence Herszberg, hosting the signing is both symbolic and strategic. She described the convention as a step that could widen the range of stories reaching audiences, staying true to the forum’s long-standing mission of championing diverse storytelling.
The ceremony will unfold alongside the Lille Dialogues, a high-level summit that gathers policymakers and industry leaders to debate the future of Europe’s audiovisual sector. Berset is also set to deliver the opening address there, adding political weight to a week already rich in creative ambition.
In short, as screens multiply and borders blur, Europe is putting a framework in place to ensure that storytelling keeps pace, collaboratively and coherently.
