Fox International Productions ramps up in Russia and Brazil

Sanford Panitch’s Fox International Productions (FIP) is ramping up activities in Russia and Brazil, two territories that have brought the studio great success with local releases in recent years.

In Russia, FIP is lining up a trio of projects led by a remake of Working Girl. Rezo Giginieshvili, whose Heat (Zhara) is one of the highest grossing local films in Russia, will direct a new version of the film that originally starred Melanie Griffith as a secretary who rises through the ranks in corporate Manhattan.

FIP is reuniting with Lubby Dubby 3 (Love Carrot 3) partners Renat Davletiarov and Alexander Kotelevsky on We Are Family, a broad comedy about a hapless manager who goes to great lengths to impress his fiancée. Lubby Dubby 3’s Korotkov wrote the script and Leonid Yarmolnik (pictured) will star.

Yaroslav Chevazhevsky (Kuka) will direct Victory Day, a mob story to star Rimma Markova from local smash Night Watch and Gregory Dobrygin from Black Lightning. The story centres on a man who is pursued by mobsters as he takes his grandmother to a parade.

FIP’s noir thriller Alien Girl produced with Profit and Red Square is awaiting release and Lubby Dubby 3 is in the final stages of post. FIP’s LA-based Anna Kokourina is the company’s worldwide director of development.

Meanwhile FIP continues to assemble a formidable slate in Brazil, where the favourable tax incentive has enabled Fox to partner on 22 Portuguese language films over the past decade, yielding $94m and dominant local production market share for three of the past four years.

The production pipeline includes Tadeu Jungle’s drama Amanha Nunca Mais (Tomorrow Never Again) produced by Academia de Filmes; Marcos Paulo’s fact-based Assalto Ao Banco Central (Federal Bank Heist) produced by Total Entertainment; and Breno Silveira’s road movie A Beira Do Caminho (Roadsides) from Conspiracao Filmes.

Minhocas (Earthworms), Brazil’s first stop-motion animated film produced by Glaz Cinema, Animaking and Wizz Films, is being directed by Paolo Conti and Arthur Nunes.

Fox’s release schedule in Brazil includes Wagner De Asis’ drama Our Home from Cinetica Filmes based on a book by the late spiritist Chico Xavier, and Eu E Meu Guarda-Chuva (Me And My Umbrella), Conspiracao Filmes’ family adventure directed by Toni Vanzolini.