On this week’s episode of The Screen Podcast, the team discusses the emerging narratives in this year’s awards race, before FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner shares his insights ahead of the American Film Market (AFM).

Watch above on video, or listen to below.

 

First, Screen contributing editor Wendy Mitchell, editor-in-chief Matt Mueller and deputy editor Louise Tutt are joined by awards and box office editor Charles Gant to discuss the early shape of the awards race. 

They debate whether big studio films are at a disadvantage, whether Wicked: For Good can pull off a Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King -style victory lap, and the leading country contenders in the best international feature race. They also discuss the nominations for this year’s British Independent Film Awards (Bifas) and why they ended up being so heavily male-skewed.

“There were some really good female-directed films and female-oriented narratives that were overlooked,” argues Tutt.

Next, Screen’s Americas editor Jeremy Kay is joined by FilmNation Entertainment CEO and founder Glen Basner ahead of the AFM in Los Angeles to hear the sales veteran’s thoughts on the current marketplace, why Southeast Asia is proving to be a tricky market right now, and whether next year’s TIFF: The Market is going to be a welcome addition to the calendar for international buyers and sellers.

“People are trying to understand all the change going on in the marketplace – there’s a lot of noise going on with layoffs at Paramount and Amazon and things that make people feel on shaky ground,” says Basner. “We are focused on what really makes a film theatrical these days in an environment that feels hit or miss.”

FilmNation Entertainment has produced, financed and handled international sales on titles such as Anora, Conclave and Maria. It also houses genre label Infrared Pictures, whose first film Novocaine was released earlier this year through Paramount.

The Screen Podcast is produced and hosted by Wendy Mitchell and edited by Ellie Calnan. New episodes every other Thursday.

For editorial enquiries about The Screen Podcast, please email matt.mueller@screendaily.com and indiewendy@gmail.com; for sponsorship opportunities, please contact scott.benfold@screendaily.com.

Topics