TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL GOES DIGITAL: North America’s largest film festival is going virtual. The Toronto Film Festival announced that the show will go on(line) September 10-19th. Among the early movies confirmed for inclusion, per Deadline: Kate Winslet-starrer Ammonite, Thomas Vinterberg‘s Another Round, Concrete Cowboy with Idris Elba, Fauna from director Nicolás Pereda, Good Joe Bell starring Mark Wahlberg, Suzanne Lindon‘s Spring Blossom, True Mothers by Naomi Kawase and Halle Berry‘s directorial debut Bruised. About 50 filmmakers and actors will help the festival deliver its program.
#OSCARSSOWHITE’s APRIL REIGN LAUNCHES STUDIO: April Reign, the lawyer-turned-cultural leader who launched the #OscarsSoWhite movement, is partnering with Overture Global to launch a digital content studio. Dubbed Ensemble, it will work on developing projects with “people of various talents, backgrounds and cultures to create content that is inclusive, equitable, authentic and relevant for the masses.”
BAD BOYS FOR LIFE DIRECTORS SIGN ON FOR MUSLIM FAMILY DRAMA: Bad Boys‘ Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are set for Rebel, which is bowing at the Cannes Virtual Market. It is billed as an “immensely powerful and nuanced portrayal of a family torn apart over a little Muslim boy’s future,” and features song, rape and dance. Rebel will also star El Arbi, alongside Aboubakr Bensaihi (Black) and Lubna Azabal (Tel Aviv on Fire, Mary Magdalene, Incendies).”Rebel is a true passion project,” said Adil and Bilall, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jan Van Dyck and Kevin Meul. “It is deeply personal for us to be able to tell this story about our generation, and those who look for identity. We’ve assembled a powerful creative team and are excited to finally bring it to the big screen.”
SPIKE IN INTERNATIONAL CONTENT SEEN: Netflix reports that the company’s 183 million subscribers are watching more international fare during the coronavirus lockdown. CEO Reed Hastings said that La Casa De Papel (aka Money Heist), which has managed to garner 65M eyeballs, and that Germany’s Unorthodox and Italy’s Summertime are doing well too.