Hollywood
Trinity International Film Festival showcases cinema from 14 countries
New Delhi: At the eighth annual Trinity International Film Festival, Get A Job directed by Maui’s Brian Kohne took top honours for a full feature film while The Doorman by director Serena Dykman took top accolades for a short film at the eighth annual Trinity International Film Festival held at the Carr Art Center in Detroit in the United States.
“The mission statement of the film festival is to provide a multicultural festival experience,” said festival co-director Gregory Taylor. He continued, “With the showing of all these culturally diverse independent films, I know we hit the mark. If people are entertained we did our job.”
Over 40 films from 14 countries were juried and showcased and over 100 entries were received.
Director Walter V. Marshall of Michigan got a special award as Best New Artist for the full feature, A Love That Hurts.
Raymond Rolak, one of the producers from Get A Job said, “The people of Hawaii were the real stars of the film. Also, Brian Kohne weaved the musical talents of Willie K and Eric Gilliom along with the other world class island entertainers masterfully. The film and music video were giant grand slam homeruns. The jokes, pratfalls and island humor in the screenplay are all added value to leaving viewers thoroughly entertained.”
French born Serena Dykman said at the afterglow, “I am totally thrilled for my cast and crew. This award really validates all the hard work that went into the project. Manhattan was the star of our project. As a writer I see so many more stories coming from New York City. This award documents a team effort”
Winners of this year’s best feature and short film categories received a professional prize pack from Sony that included more than $3,500 worth of Sony Vegas editing software and sound effects.
Marshalle Montgomery, festival co-director added, “We tried to expose a wide variety of feature and short films for people to enjoy, everything from action, drama, animation and comedy — we definitely have movies that captured attention.”
Nate Hapke of Los Angeles got the special Emerging Talent Award for the short Alvie.
I Am Sami by Kae Bahar of the United Kingdom, Let Be by Matt Boatright-Simon (USA, Wisconsicn) and featuring actress Val Vega, along with Trapped: The Ultimate Sacrifice by Carlonese Powell (USA, Detroit) were all 15 minute shorts judged as exceptional and got festival choice awards.
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance secures financing for Warner Bros Discovery deal
Debt syndication and new loans push $111 billion merger closer to close
WASHINGTON: Paramount Skydance has taken a major step towards its planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, securing fresh financing and completing the syndication of its bridge loan facility.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed that the bridge facility has now been distributed among a group of 18 banks, reducing total commitments to $49 billion from an earlier $54 billion. The move spreads risk across lenders and signals growing confidence in one of the year’s largest media deals.
Alongside this, the company has finalised permanent financing arrangements, including $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility. A previously planned $3.5 billion credit line has been dropped as part of the restructuring.
The loans are secured against key assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros post-merger, underlining the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The financing push follows a competitive bidding process earlier this year, which saw interest from players such as Netflix before Paramount Skydance emerged as the frontrunner. The deal, valued at $111 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Adding to the momentum, the company has also secured significant equity backing, including investments from Middle Eastern funds, with support from billionaire Larry Ellison, who has guaranteed the equity portion of the transaction.
Commenting on the development, Paramount Skydance chief strategy officer Andy Gordon said, “Our successful debt syndication and new debt facilities represent another important milestone towards the completion of our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.”
Once completed, the combined entity is expected to carry net debt of just under $80 billion, reflecting the sheer scale of the merger.
As Hollywood continues to consolidate in the streaming era, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape, with Paramount Skydance betting big on scale, content and financial muscle to take on global rivals.
