Global Flicks: Bobi Wine Fights Against Repression in Uganda in NatGeo's Documentary
Niyi Akinmolayan
Africa: Nigerian filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan’s upcoming kids-centered live-action film, Mikolo will release nationwide on August 18. The film will feature Nollywood stars Etim Effiong and Yvonne Jegede alongside talented young actors like Fiyinfoluwa Asenuga and Oluwapamilerinayo.
Nigerian director and filmmaker Benneth Nwokike has shared the first trailer for his upcoming debut movie, Insecure. The film revolves around a woman who fights heartbreak and betrayal while confronting her insecurities. Abdul Tijani-Ahmed produces the film and stars Efa Iwara, Beverly Naya, Venita Akpofure Ade Laoye, Demi Banwo, Michael Ejoor, Darasimi Nadi, Tunbosun Aiyedehin, Daniel Abua, Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, and Tope Olowoniyan.
Pop star and politician Bobi Wine faced a dangerous upward battle for the Ugandan presidency against Dictator Yoweri Museveni, as starkly portrayed in National Geographic’s documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President. Wine was first elected to parliament in 2017, attracting overwhelming support from voters, and among those he inspired was Ugandan native Moses Bwayo, who co-directed the documentary with Christopher Sharp. The documentary shows how Wine’s charismatic presence boosted rallies with performances of his songs containing pointed political lyrics. The scale of the challenge emerges in the documentary, which tracks Wine’s run against Museveni in the 2021 presidential election.
Dulquer Salmaan - Dulquer Salmaan
Asia: Dulquer Salmaan will star in Kaantha alongside Rana Daggubati (Baahubali). Selvamani Selvaraj (Nila) will direct the film, and the story details are under wraps. The project was revealed on Salmaan’s birthday.
Director Ram Kamal Mukherjee and actor Rukmini Maitra are collaborating again on Draupadi an adaptation of the ancient Indian epic “Mahabharata” from Draupadi’s point of view will be based on Pratibha Ray’s 1984 Odiya-language novel “Yajnaseni: The Story of Draupadi.”
Dalian Wanda Group is selling a 49% stake in its investment arm China Ruyi Holdings to reduce debt. Wanda is selling the stake in Beijing Wanda Investment for $315M to repay debt of $400BN. Wanda Investment owns a 20% stake in the group’s Shenzhen-listed entertainment division Wanda Film, which operates a cinema chain in China, finances films, and retains a stake in Legendary Entertainment.
Indonesian genre specialist Timo Tjahjanto has begun production on The Shadow Strays. The production is handled by Frontier Pictures, with Wicky V. Olindo and Anne P. Ralie. No release date has been revealed. The cast includes Aurora Ribero, Hana Malasan, Ali Fikri, Adipati Dolken, Kristo Immanuel, Andri Mashadi, Taskya Namya, Agra Piliang, Daniel Eka, Tanta Ginting, Chew Kin Wah, Arswendy Bening Swara, Hiroaki Kato, and Nobuyuki Suzuki.
Rana Daggubati is poised to make a superhero-sized impact at San Diego Comic-Con. His Spirit Media company will unveil film, TV, and comic-book projects. Spirit Media is developing Hiranyakashyap and will be directed by Trivikram. The film is inspired by Amar Chitra Katha’s comics of the mythological figure, Hiranyakashyap and his plan to destroy Lord Indira’s kingdom. Spirit Media and streamer SonyLIV will produce the historical epic Lords of the Deccan. The series is based on the novel of the same title, the show takes place back in time to witness the birth of the Chalukyas, a dynasty that shaped southern India for centuries.
Indian actor Arshad Warsi stars in JioCinema series Asur, one of the most-watched Indian shows of the year. The series is set in the northern Indian city of Varanasi as forensic expert investigators engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer.
Indian sci-fi epic Project K has been revealed as Kalki 2898 AD at San Diego Comic-Con. The film is directed by Nag Ashwin and produced by C. Aswani Dutt’s Vyjayanthi Movies. It stars Indian A-listers Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, and Disha Patani.
God Is a Woman
Europe: God Is a Woman premiere at the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week. Swiss-Panamanian filmmaker Andrés Peyrot directs the film about Pierre Dominique Gaisseau’s 1975 journey to Panama with the island-dwelling Kuna people. Gaisseau was a French explorer and filmmaker who lived with the Kuna people on a Panamanian island for a year and filmed their ceremonies. He ran out of funding and a bank confiscated his reels, which Peyrot unearthed 50 years later.
French director Xavier Gens’s Thailand-set Farang has shown independent action films can hold their own in cinemas. Farang combines the talents of French director Xavier Gens and UK action designer Jude Poyer who both worked on Sky Atlantic and Gangs of London.
Anywhere, Anytime, shot in recent weeks and until August 4 in Turin by Iranian newcomer Milad Tangshir. The film was written by Tangshir, Daniele Gaglianone, and Andrea Giaime Alonge. The film revolves around Issa, an 18-year-old illegal immigrant who manages to find a job as a rider with the help of a friend on the first day of work, someone steals his bicycle. The cast of Anywhere, Anytime were only non-professional actors, including the protagonist Ibrahima Sambou, a Senegalese assistant cook in Turin.
Mutt
Latin America: The debut feature Mutt by Chilean-Serbian director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz will premiere Friday, August 18, at Film Forum in New York City. Past and present collide in the heartfelt character study of a recently transitioned man, starring Lío Mehiel, and distributed by Strand Releasing.
Paris-based sales agent, The Party Film Sales has acquired world rights for Heartless (Sem Coração). The film, directed by Nara Normande and Tião, the story is set in the summer of 1996 on the north-east coast of Brazil, where Tamara (Maya de Vicq) is enjoying her last weeks in the fishing village she lives in before leaving for Brasilia for her studies. One day, she hears about a teenager nicknamed Heartless (Eduarda Samara) after a scar she has on her chest.
