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LevelK continues to terrify international distributors with Finnish horror “The Knocking,” directed by Max Seeck and Joonas Pajunen.

The film has now been sold to over 70 countries, Variety has learned, with the company sealing further deals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Alamode Film), Latin America (Gussi), Cis (Capella Film), France (Kmbo), Indonesia (Pt. Falcon) and Taiwan (Av-Jet International Media).

“We have been looking at many Nordic projects, especially the Finnish ones. We definitely see a shift in not just more genre projects emerging, but also in the subjects and the creativity,” says CEO Tine Klint.

“‘The Knocking’ ticks those boxes in providing a Nordic horror with an original story, told through classic genre tropes, which is exactly what the buyers are looking for at the moment.”

The film is produced by Markus Selin and Jukka Helle for Helsinki-based Solar Films, also behind Mika Kaurismäki’s “The Grump: In Search of an Escort,...

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Don’t Look Up, Black-ish and Pachinko were among the winners of the 46th annual Humanitas Prizes announced Friday from a luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

The awards, honoring the craft of screenwriting, featured winners in nine juried categories spanning film and television. These included Don’t Look Up from writer Adam McKay for comedy feature film, The Starling from Matt Harris for drama feature film and Encanto from Charise Castro Smith and Jared Bush for family feature film.

On the TV side, Black-ish writer Robb Chavis prevailed for comedy teleplay, Pachinko creator Soo Hugh won for drama teleplay and Women of the Movement creator Marissa Jo Cerar was tops for limited series, TV movie or special.

Larry Wilmore hosted the event, and presenters included Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Humanitas board president Jenny Bicks. Also honored were...

Retiring ABC series “Black-ish” picked up one more honor on Friday, a Humanitas Prize for comedy teleplay, while Apple TV+’s “Pachinko” and ABC’s “Women of the Movement” also were recognized at the event.

Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and hosted by comedian Larry Wilmore, the 46th annual Humanitas Prize event centered on awards and 10,000 cash prizes to screenwriters across ten categories. In addition, Humanitas board president Jenny Bicks presented Filmmakers for Ukraine with the Kieser Award “in recognition of their work to connect the Ukrainian film and TV community impacted by the Russo-Ukrainian War with resources, jobs, and funding to meet basic needs.”

And Jasmine Cephas Jones presented Starz with Voice for Change Award for its #TakeTheLead initiative. Starz president/CEO Jeffrey Hirsch accepted the prize on the network’s behalf. Nkechi Okoro Carroll oversaw the New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Award presentations.

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Humanitas has revealed the nominees for this year’s Humanitas Prizes, which recognize “television and film writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced way.” The award is given out in nine categories, including comedy, drama and limited series.

This year’s nominees include “Maid,” “This Is Us,” “Queen Sugar,” “Pachinko,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Somebody Somewhere” and “Black-ish.” Winners will be announced at an in-person awards luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on September 9, 2022.

“The Humanitas Prizes were created to recognize writers whose work explores the beauty and complexity of the human experience and the 2022 nominees do just that,” said Michelle Franke, Humanitas Executive Director. “Ranging in scope, style, and perspective, these stories underscore our bonds, our history and responsibility to each other in the present as well as possibilities for the future. Especially during challenging times, writers dedicate themselves to the stories that connect and entertain us.”

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After a two-year hiatus, Humanitas has revealed the nominations for its 2022 Humanitas Prizes in nine categories

Winners will receive their trophies during a September 9 in-person ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.

Launched in 1974, the Humanitas Prizes honor film and television writers whose work explores the human condition, with recipients receiving a trophy and a cash prize.

Here are the nominees for the 46th annual Humanitas Prize:

Children’s Teleplay

El Deafo: Written by Cece Bell and Will McRobb

Karma’s World: “Hair Comes Trouble” – Written by Kellie R. Griffin and Halcyon Person

Snoopy Presents: To Mom (and Dad), with Love: Written by Alex Galatis

The Babysitters Club: “Claudia and the Sad Goodbye” – Written by Sascha Rothchild

Comedy Feature Film

Don’t Look Up: Written by Adam McKay

Everything Everywhere All At Once: Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

Queen Bees: Written by Donald Martin

tick, tick…Boom!:...

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Humanitas has announced the nominees for the 46th annual Humanitas Prizes, which celebrates the craft of screenwriting. Across nine juried categories, which include both television and film, 45 writers are nominated for their work.

Among the nominees are Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson (comedy teleplay) and Academy Award-winning Coda writer-director Sian Heder (drama feature film). Adam McKay, who was nominated for an Oscar this year for Netflix’s Don’t Look Up, also received a nom for comedy feature film, along with Everything Everywhere All At Once scribes and directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.

“The Humanitas Prizes were created to recognize writers whose work explores the beauty and complexity of the human experience and the 2022 nominees do just that,” said Humanitas executive director Michelle Franke in a statement. “Ranging in scope, style, and perspective, these stories underscore our bonds, our history and...

Moving Bangladesh wins $20,000 Sloan Fast Track Grant.

Projects from the UK, Bangladesh, Greece and Trinidad & Tobago were among 15 selected for Film Independent’s 19th Fast Track Film Finance Market that took place online from November 15-18, the organisation said on Friday.

The four-day programme connected participating filmmakers with financiers, production companies, agents, managers and other film industry professionals from, among others, A24, Decal, Maven Screen Media, Searchlight Pictures, Venice Film Festival, and Hollywood agencies.

Recent Fast Track projects completed include Bing Liu’s 2019 Oscar-nominated documentary Minding The Gap; Hikari’s 2019 Berlinale jury prize and audience award-winning debut 37 Seconds; Kirill Mikhanovsky...

Participants must be fully vaccinated and will be required to show CDC vaccination card and picture ID.

Slamdance Film Festival 2021 grand jury winner Taipei Suicide Story and other fan favourites will be feted at an inaugural outdoor public showcase in California’s Joshua Tree from September 24-26.

Besides the major winner by Keff, the Slamdance Joshua Tree best of fest public event will also feature Justin Monroe’s audience award winner Holy Frit, Angela Wasko’s Workhouse Queen, End Of The Line: The Women Of Standing Rock by Shannon Kring, and short works from the inaugural Unstoppable programme created by filmmakers with disabilities.

By Glenn Dunks

The politics of protest are always going to provide filmmakers with the sort of loaded emotions that make for good movies. Even when peaceful, the fractured dynamics of a society that continuously pits side against side in the fight for progressive ideas have long produced the sorts of anger and fierce determination that explode on camera. Racial equality, queer rights and women’s liberation have all been seen in compelling documentaries for decades.

But as environmental issues become more engrained as a fixture in the political and societal landscape, the street-battles to protect the only Earth we have are just as pertinent even if they perhaps lack the more personal connections that so many of us find in narratives of struggle and protest. In fact, Shannon Kring’s End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock finds much of its power in the way race, gender...

More than just about any existing film festival, Slamdance was started with an eye toward inclusion. In the case of the Park City festival, which was founded as a more freewheeling alternative to Sundance back in 1995, that sense of inclusion largely pertained to the filmmakers themselves: first-timers, experimentalists and enterprising directors without much in the way of resources to have their films shown in a proper theatrical environment. For Slamdance’s president and co-founder Peter Baxter, however, the ongoing pandemic provided an opportunity to consider how its open-door policy ought to work both ways.

“Independent film should be seen as inclusive, but in a lot of ways it’s been very exclusive,” Baxter says. “You look at film festivals, you look at Park City — you’re in a privileged situation if you’re able to go to Park City and experience Sundance and Slamdance. The travel, accommodations, time away from...

Like all festivals, the Slamdance Film Festival is set to shift to a hybrid fest for its 27th edition — but it isn’t holding back on its programming as it will feature 20 feature film premieres while highlighting diverse voices and accessibility. With the theme “Greenlight Yourself,” the indie-driven fest will also launch a new program titled Unstoppable, a showcase for creators with disabilities.

The fest will run February 12-25, 2021 with all films, Q&As and panels available virtually via Slamdance.com, AppleTV, Roku, Firestick, and YouTube. In addition, there will be a two-night drive-in presentation in Joshua Tree, CA open to the public on February 13-14 as well as the closing-night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on February 25.

“Our theme this year was inspired by the incredible resilience and creativity evidenced by our community and our team over the past few unprecedented months,” said Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter.

Women In Film, Los Angeles has revealed the recipients of its 33rd annual Film Finishing Fund, which awards cash grants and production services to complete works-in-progress films that are by or about women.

A total of nine grantees were chosen by an industry jury for the calendar year 2018. This edition’s crop emerged from 390 feature-length narrative films, documentaries and shorts, submitted from 22 countries.

“The 2018 grantees tackle some of society’s most pressing issues and work in innovative ways to tell excellent stories that matter,” Wif executive director Kirsten Schaffer said. “Through the Film Finishing Fund, we are able to support these filmmakers at a crucial moment of their journey to help ensure their voices are heard. We, along with our partners Stella Artois, are proud to support them and look forward to their success.”

Previous Wif grantees have gone on to win Oscars, Emmys and festival awards. Last year’s...

Grantees selected from 390 feature-length narrative films, documentaries, shorts submitted from 22 countries.

Women In Film, Los Angeles on Wednesday (16) announced nine recipients of the 33rd annual Film Finishing Fund.

The grantees were selected from 390 feature-length narrative films, documentaries and shorts submitted from 22 countries. The Fund provides cash grants and in-kind production services to complete films that fit the established criteria of being by or about women. The works-in-progress are viewed by a special jury of women in the industry who select the winning films.

The 2018 Women In Film Finishing Fund winners are:

Stella Artois Grants

Decade Of Fire by Gretchen Hildebran...