movies

San Sebastian Film Festival to Open With Fatih Akin’s ‘Ghost Song’

Published

4 minutes ago

August 19, 2026

The world premiere of the Fatih Akin film Geister (Ghost Song) will open the competitive Official Selection of the San Sebastián Festival’s 74th edition. The film directed by Akin will screen on 18 September at the Kursaal following the opening ceremony.

Akin will compete for the Golden Shell for the first time with a full-length film featuring Mariam Dawoud and Eren M. Güvercin on the cast. The young actors play Farasha and Faris, who meet at a graduation party and fall in love at first sight. When Farasha suddenly dies that same night, an extraordinary love story unfolds between two worlds, as she finds a way to meet Faris in his dreams.

Akin is one of the best-known German filmmakers on the international scene. He achieved world renown with Head-On

(2004), recipient of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale. He later won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Festival for The Edge of Heaven (2007) and the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Festival for Soul Kitchen (2009).

In addition to developing a solid career as a director, screenwriter, producer and actor, Akin has put his name to titles including The Cut (2014), premiered in competition at Venice; Aus dem Nichts / In the Fade (2017), which recognised Diane Kruger as Best Actress in Cannes and won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film; The Golden Glove (2019), premiered in Berlin; Rheingold (2022), watched by more than a million spectators in Germany, and Amrum (2025), which was also presented at the French festival.

The German director therefore completes the list of the 17 feature films to compete for the Golden Shell and other official awards at the San Sebastián Festival’s 74th edition. The competitive Official Selection includes the new works from Fatih Akin, Roberto Bueso, Fred Cavayé, Jesse Eisenberg, Nicole Garcia, Mikel Gurrea, Amanda Kernell, Pablo Larraín, Mike Leigh, Gabriel Martins, Hans Petter Moland, Benjamín Naishtat, Javier Ruiz Caldera and Yeşim Ustaoğlu, as well as the debut films from Ah Biao, Maha Harada and Tony Vahl.

movies

Apple Corps & Universal Music Group Set Merchandise Partnership

Published

12 minutes ago

August 19, 2026

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Universal Music Group (UMG) will handle all worldwide physical and digital merchandise, licensing, and e-commerce related to The Beatles as part of a new long-term partnership with Apple Corps.

The deal between the two entities was confirmed this morning. UMG already handles The Beatles’ music catalog and notably brought the band’s recordings to streaming sites for the first time in 2015.

This deal comes just before a series of high-profile cultural events related to the band’s history. In 2027, Apple Corps will launch The Beatles at 3 Savile Row, a new fan experience. The event will feature seven floors of never-seen-before material from Apple Corps’ extensive archives, rotating exhibitions, a fan store, and the recreation of the original studio where Let It Be was recorded.

Sam Mendes’ The Beatles – A Four Film Cinematic is also set for 2028. The project marks the first time Apple Corps Ltd and The Beatles have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film. Earlier this month, we reported that Mendes and his crew were heading to London’s Abbey Road this summer to shoot key scenes for the movie. Footage of the production recreating the iconic Abbey Road album cover has since made its way onto social media.

Paul Mescal (Gladiator II) plays Paul McCartney in the film. Joseph Quinn (The Fantastic Four: First Steps) is George Harrison, Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) is Ringo Starr, and Harris Dickinson (Babygirl) is playing John Lennon.

In addition to the Fab Four castings, several big names have been tapped to portray other important characters in The Beatles’ lives. Deadline broke the news that James Norton (Happy Valley) has been cast as Brian Epstein, The Beatles’ longtime manager, in the films. Additionally, Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) plays McCartney’s first wife, Linda McCartney; Mia McKenna-Bruce (How To Have Sex) will play Starr’s first wife, Maureen Starkey; Anna Sawai (Shōgun) will play Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono; and Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus) will play Harrison’s first wife, Patty Boyd.

movies

Mark Gatiss Drama ‘Bookish’ Returning For Third Chapter & Xmas Special

Published

19 minutes ago

August 19, 2026

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There’s a third chapter coming for Gabriel Book.

Mark Gatiss‘s cozy crime drama, Bookish, has landed a Season 3 order at UKTV‘s U&Alibi channel, and a two-part Christmas special for this year. The third season will run to six episodes and is set to launch in 2027.

Bookish: The Crown of Destiny, the festive special, will see bookkeeper Book (Gatiss) involved in a seasonal mystery, while the third season will go into production later this year. More details will come over the next few months.

Eagle Eye Drama, which is part of ITV Studios, makes Bookish in association with Happy Duck Films, and with supported from the Belgian Tax Shelter. Germany-based Beta Film handles world sales as international distributor and PBS Distribution holds North American rights.

Internationally, Bookish has shopped to over 100 territories, including to Radio-Canada in Canda, HBO Max in Australia, RAI in Italy and AMC Networks in Latin America.

The show follows Gatiss, who created the format, as unconventional bookshop owner Book, who helps police solve crimes in the years after World War II. He has a lavender marriage with Trottie (Polly Walker), which helps hide his sexuality during an era when homosexuality was illegal in the UK.

movies

The Sidemen & NFTS Team To Train New Unscripted Producers In UK

Published

56 minutes ago

August 19, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: They might be one man down, but The Sidemen are looking to the future of production.

The British YouTuber group’s Sidemen Entertainment has teamed with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to find the next generation of unscripted producers.

The move is part of The Sidemen’s belief that the TV, streaming and creator worlds are converging, given they began life as YouTubers before working on several unscripted series and a feature film on Netflix.

The NFTS x Sidemen Entertainment Unscripted Formats Programme will give every student on the NFTS’s one year Developing and Producing Unscripted Formats MA degree first-hand experience inside the influential creator-led Sidemen Entertainment.

Each student will experience a dedicated industry day and a one-week work placement with access to digital formats and professional production. The idea is to explore how concepts are developed, commissioned and delivered across platforms, and expose them to the creative, editorial production decisions that shape content.

The Sidemen – Simon Minter (Miniminter), Josh Bradley (Zerkaa), Tobi Brown (TBJZL), Ethan Payne (Behzinga), Vik Barn (Vikkstar123) and Harry Lewis (W2S) – have over 100 million subscribers across their platforms and accrued more than six billion global views.

The collective shrunk by one earlier this year when Olajide Olatunji (KSI) unexpectedly announced he was leaving back in June, explaining he had been “pulled in a lot of directions” over recent years as his TV and business interests expanded.

The others were blindsided, releasing a statement to followers saying, “This came as a surprise to us and we know it will be an adjustment for you, but we’ve got lots of exciting stuff planned that we can’t wait to share.”

Earlier this year, the collective launched Sidemen Productions, which will see them taking a more targeted approach to digital formats for global audiences. This followed the debut of Netflix unscripted show Inside, whose third season topped Netflix charts in ten countries.

For the NFTS, a top UK production skills school, the Sidemen pact highlights its work to push into emerging areas of the entertainment business, and tightens its links with the creator economy and digital-first production.

“Some of the most exciting innovation in entertainment is happening where television, streaming and creator-led content meet,” said Jon Wardle, Director of the NFTS. “The Sidemen have been at the forefront of that change, building an enormous global following while continually evolving the scale and ambition of their content.

“Our role at the NFTS is to ensure students are prepared for where the industry is heading next and this incredibly exciting new partnership will give emerging producers a unique opportunity to learn directly from a team that understands how to turn distinctive ideas into entertainment that connects with global audiences.”

Sidemen Entertainment CEO Victor Bengtsson said The Sidemen wanted to “to help give the next generation of producers a genuine insight into what the future of the entertainment industry looks like,” adding, “This is what the Sidemen are all about – ordinary people who found a passion and turned it into a career and that’s what we want to help people do. We’ve learned so much by building The Sidemen from the ground up, and we’re passionate about sharing that experience with the next generation who want to be in this industry.”

Students joining the NFTS’s unscripted MA path from January 2027 will be the first to benefit from the partnership, with every participant eligible to take part.