APC, Hat Trick & DCD Joins Forces For London Screenings
A trio of distributors will join forces to showcase their latest wares at next year’s London TV Screenings. About Premium Content (APC), Hat Trick International (HTI) and DCD Rights will combine to introduce buyers to content at an event on Tuesday, February 25 at the Vue West End in Leicester Square from 4.30pm-7.30pm local time. APC co-founders Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boisse and HTI chief Sarah Tong noted how combing efforts would allow time-stretched acquisitions execs access to more programming during an increasingly busy week of international screenings. DCD Rights and Hat Trick have jointly screened at the Vue for the past two years. DCD Rights CEO Nicky Davies-Williams said she was “pleased to have APC join us and HTI for our annual screenings and drinks at the Vue, which has proved to be a must attend event over the past years.” Guilbart Boisse added: “We are conscious of the draw on buyers’ time with so many shows to screen across the city as the London Screenings continues to grow so we hope this offers a practical and useful opportunity.”
Jio Studios Film ‘Bun Tikki’ Gets Palms Springs World Premiere
Jio Studios and Manish Malhotra’s Stage5 Production’s coming-of-age feature Bun Tikki, exploring the father-son bond, will get a world premiere at the 36th Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) in California on January 5, 2025. Plot follows seven–year–old Shanu and his father, Sidhant, as Shanu grapples with self-discovery amid societal challenges and Sidhant navigates grief and societal pressures as a single parent trying to understand his child. Directed by Faraz Arif Ansari, who is making their debut as a feature film maker, the Indian film stars Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman and Abhay Deol along with Nushrratt Bharuccha and Rohaan Singh. Producers are Jyoti Deshpande, Dinesh Malhotra, Marijke deSouza and Manish Malhotra. Jio Studios and Stage5 previously teamed for Saali Mohabbat, which premiered at the ongoing The International Film Festival of India.
‘Pulp Fiction’ Producer Lawrence Bender Boards October 7 Drama
Lawrence Bender, producer of several Quentin Tarantino films, has boarded an Israeli drama about the October 7 attacks, Red Alert. He will executive produce the five-part Keshet 12 and Keshet International series as an executive producer alongside Jordana Reuben Yechiel, Lisa Boyan, Mika Rodeh, Kevin Brown; the Israel Entertainment Fund’s Nati Dinnar and Russel Robinson; Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir; Keshet Broadcasting’s Karni Ziv, Yuval Horowitz and Eze Sakson; and Keshet International’s Keren Shahar and Kelly Wright. Israel’s Green Productions is making the show alongside Bender Brown Productions, and is created, written and directed by Lior Chefetz (The Stronghold). Ruth Efroni is co-creator and Kineret Peled and Ivan Hubel are co-writers. Green Productions’ Maya Fischer, Shani Ettinger Sror, Roi Kurland and Gal Greenspan are producing. Developed in collaboration with survivors and victims’ families, the series is based on the events that transpired during the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, and focuses on five citizens unexpectedly trust into the center of the invasion and confronted with life and death situations. Shooting is set for Spring 2025 and will be filmed in Hebrew, Arabic and English. “Red Alert will embark on an intense and emotional journey that explores the indomitable human spirit,” said Bender, who is known for producing Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Good Will Hunting and Inglorious Basterds.