Cannes Closer
OSS 117: From Africa With Love, the latest entry in the spy series starring Jean Dujardin, will bring the curtain down at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film will be shown in the ‘Final Screening’ slot on July 17th in the Grand Théâtre Lumière at the Awards Ceremony. Nicolas Bedos directed the franchise’s most recent edition, which again follows the adventures of Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath. This time, the famed secret agent is dispatched to Kenya, where he teams up with a young agent (Pierre Niney).
Caroline Norton Biography Optioned
Sharon Stirling has optioned the screen rights to author Antonia Fraser’s latest biography The Case of the Married Woman. The book charts the life of Caroline Norton, the celebrated author who found herself at the centre of one of the most scandalous court cases of the 19th century. “Caroline Norton was a family relation of mine, so I’ve known her story for a while, but it wasn’t until I read Antonia’s engrossing and stunning biography that I understood just what Caroline was up against and how she forever changed the way that women were viewed. With everything that has happened in the last few years, her story must resonate with a modern audience – Think Bridgerton meets A Very English Scandal,” said Stirling.
Adriatic Festivals Audience Award.
The Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region, a collective of local film events including Sarajevo Film Fesitval, Zagreb Film Festival, Serbia’s Auteur Film Festival and Montenegro Film Festival, has announced a new audience award for 2021. The audiences of the four festivals will together select the winner from a special program that will screen at each fest for the first time. The prize will be worth €5,000 for distribution in ex-Yugoslavia.