INDUSTRY. BRIEFINGS
French film awards bans sex crime suspects The César Awards – France’s national film awards – has banned any nominee being investigated in connection with sex offences from this year’s ceremony, ‘out of respect for possible victims’. Announced 2 January, the ban also impacts people who have been convicted of acts of violence. The César Academy’s decision does not preclude actors, directors or producers subject to the ban from being nominated for or receiving awards. However, they won’t be invited to the ceremony and no speech will be given on their behalf if they win a gong. This means French actor Sofiane Bennacer will be barred from the ceremony, due to be held on 24 February in Paris. The 25-year-old, who had been shortlisted in the best newcomer category for his role in Forever Young , was dropped from the list of nominees in November 2022. The same day, he took to Instagram to deny the accusations against him. In 2020, the César Awards ceremony was thrown into turmoil after French-Polish director Roman Polanski won top awards, prompting walkouts from actors and protests outside the Salle Pleyel. Polanski’s film, An Officer and a Spy , won awards for best director, best costume and best adapted screenplay – controversial choices for the French film industry in the #MeToo era. Polanski, who did not attend the ceremony, pleaded guilty in the US to the statutory rape of Samantha Geimer when she was 13 years old in 1977. He fled the country before sentencing and has been a fugitive ever since.
ECOFLIX APPOINTS MIA AS CIO
Ecological streaming platform Ecoflix has named industry veteran Ray Mia as its chief innovation officer. The not-for-profit platform, privately funded and dedicated to the conservation of nature, provides filmmakers and viewers the opportunity to upload their own content relating to wildlife and the natural environment. In the newly created role, Mia will be charged with looking at the convergence between content, technology, commerce and communities through UX and UI. Earlier in his career, Mia was channel head of Richard Desmond-owned gaming
Reuters and the UN. He was also an award-winning UN TV producer and EVP of Universal Music Group, where he pioneered its immersive audio capabilities and launch strategy. Mia says Ecoflix, which recently celebrated its first birthday, welcomes user-generated content, new stories and innovative ways of telling them. “We want everything from super- sexy slow-motion drone footage over canyons and high-definition capture, to more diverse storytelling,” he said. “Not everyone has a Blue Planet budget. We are currently focusing on Ecoflix Originals, which are made more cost-effective by being the first streaming platform to advocate and support fully sustainable production techniques, using local content, producers and kit.” He added that Ecoflix is the first and only platform that donates 100% of its subscription fees to NGOs.
channel Xleague.tv. He later launched the low-latency livestreaming service Streamworks International – at one stage delivering live content for AP,
Sundance is back – with an Adobe record Sundance Film Festival is running from 19-29 January in Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah, with a record 67% of the 99 films that are set to premiere having used Adobe Premiere Pro or Frame.io Camera to Cloud. Movies that made use of the software suite include Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy , Palm Trees and Power Lines and I Didn’t See You There . “It’s truly an honour, and a bit humbling, for us to see their work come to life through our work,” said Paul Saccone, senior director of Adobe Pro Video Marketing.
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