{"id":366542,"date":"2025-08-23T06:10:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T06:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/366542\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T06:10:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T06:10:07","slug":"edinburgh-tv-film-fest-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/366542\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh TV & Film Fest Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWe\u2019re here again, Insiders, as we come to the close of another week. Jesse Whittock here guiding you through a round-up of the most notable stories from the past week. Sign up for the mailing list here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tShonda Shines<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tStar power and spice:<\/strong>\u00a0Jake and Max have been pounding the halls of the Edinburgh<\/a> International Conference Centre the past four days for the 50th\u00a0anniversary of the Edinburgh TV Festival<\/a>, an event that struck a positive chord after a 2024 characterized by doom and gloom. There was more of a creative buzz around the fest this year and it was helped along by some serious American star power in the form of Shonda Rhimes, who\u00a0won an inaugural fellowship award<\/a> \u2013 as she warned there are genuine fears U.S. networks are self-censoring in the Trump 2 era \u2013 and Tina Fey, who is speaking with Graham Norton in arguably the fest\u2019s splashiest session as this email hits your inbox. Last year\u2019s Edinburgh was defined by chatter over the \u201csqueezed middle\u201d \u2013 the death of mid-budget programming and the detrimental impact this was having on the sector \u2013 but attendees this year told us there was a distinctly \u201cnew normal\u201d feeling to proceedings, and this was welcome. Not that Edinburgh didn\u2019t come without its bit of spice. During the opening debate, Channel 4 news chief Louisa Compton set the agenda for the entire thing in one fell swoop as she claimed\u00a0Netflix had behaved like \u201cTV tourists\u201d<\/a>\u00a0by commissioning\u00a0Adolescence\u00a0\u2013 a show created by talent that Channel 4 had been training up for years. There were audible \u2018oohs\u2019 as she delivered her line. Netflix scripted exec Mona Qureshi later\u00a0hit back, saying<\/a>: \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m a tourist \u2013 I\u2019ve been around.\u201d There were more ding-dongs as the week went on, including frustration from BBC, ITV and 5 chiefs when Channel 4 content boss Ian Katz\u00a0slammed rivals for being \u201ctimid.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0It was all very enjoyable to watch, and, to stress, remained good natured throughout. Elsewhere, big show announcements came in the way of\u00a0HBO-Sky legal thriller\u00a0War<\/a>\u00a0starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller, Channel 4\u2019s\u00a0reimagining of\u00a0Army of Shadows<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Top Boy\u00a0creator Ronan Bennett, and ITV\u2019s\u00a0Traitors-esque gameshow\u00a0Nobody\u2019s Fool<\/a>.\u00a0All our coverage\u00a0can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnti-Bullying Body Funding Failure<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Russell<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tTV stars Russell Brand, Gregg Wallace, and Noel Clarke have faced misconduct allegations. All deny serious wrongdoing<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty<\/p>\n

\n\tCIISA<\/a> refuseniks<\/strong>: On the first morning of Edinburgh, Jake broke the news<\/a> that several major players in the UK were refusing to fund the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), an independent body set up to deal with harassment and complaints in the British TV industry in the wake of several high-profile scandals. Channel 4, Disney, All3Media, Fremantle and Banijay have all declined to pay the voluntary fees, we understand, while Netflix and Paramount-owned 5 wouldn\u2019t confirm either way. The BBC, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sky and ITV are among those who are funding. The understanding is the refuseniks are seeking more clarity on what the funds will be used on \u2013 CIISA is yet to deliver on its central pledge to launch a misconduct hotline, and several industry sources I\u2019ve spoken to in the wake of Jake\u2019s scoop have questioned why the body\u2019s costs for 2026 are an estimated \u00a32M ($2.7M). Whether that\u2019s necessary or not, it\u2019s a bad look PR-wise to be the guys who aren\u2019t supporting an anti-bullying initiative. This is an intriguing story that looks set to keep running.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy You Can\u2019t Replace De Niro\u2019s Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRobert De Niro in \u2018Killers of the Flower Moon\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tParamount Pictures \/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\n\tDubble take:<\/strong> The TV set weren\u2019t the only screen professionals in Scotland\u2019s capital this month. Before Jake and Max travelled up for the television confab, Zac journeyed north for the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which ran from August 14-20. Among several notable talks, three-time Oscar-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker railed against the use of dubbing in international film releases<\/a> during a talk about her late filmmaker husband, Michael Powell. \u201cHow do you replace Robert De Niro\u2019s voice?\u201d she queried, before answering her own question, \u201cIt\u2019s just impossible.\u201d Not only that, but she called the process of sending a film to her European counterparts \u201cpainful.\u201d Sorry Euro friends. To be fair, when you\u2019ve edited all of Martin Scorsese\u2019s films since Raging Bull, you\u2019re entitled to your own opinions. In Zac\u2019s report, Schoonmaker addressed Powell\u2019s legendary filmmaking partnership with Emeric Pressburger, which spawned films such as The Red Shoes, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and\u00a0Black Narcissus.\u00a0\u201cTheir friendship was remarkable,\u201d she said. Lots more Edinburgh Film Fest content flooded in through the week, including stories on Kevin MacDonald, Paul Sng and Two Neighbours director Ondine Vi\u00f1ao. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRay Guns For Marvel<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMike Marsland\/WireImage<\/p>\n

\n\tNot so Marvellous:<\/strong> Ray Winstone<\/a>\u2018s trip to the Sarajevo Film Festival was, as it turns out, as memorable as you might have expected. In town to receive an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award, the veteran actor recalled during one talk a bruising experience doing reshoots for Marvel\u2019s 2021 pic Black Widow. \u201cI told them they should recast,\u201d he recalled. \u201cBut I was contracted to do it.\u201d So he did. It\u2019s fair to say Winstone isn\u2019t a huge fan of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other superhero franchises are doing to the wider ecosystem of filmmaking. \u201cThere is room for it and it\u2019s fun, but it takes away from getting cultural films made, which are best for the actors and are really good acting parts,\u201d he opined. Lots more from Mr Winstone about his fascinating career is here<\/a>, including a story about Martin Scorsese and a famous leather jacket. More Sarajevo stories from Diana here<\/a>, including a fun talk from Nosferatu actor Willem Dafoe, as the festival comes to an end today.<\/p>\n

\n\tDaniel Dae Kim<\/a>\u2018s Korea Highlight<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Prime Video<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2018Butterfly<\/a>\u2018 effect:<\/strong> Daniel Dae Kim may have been a favorite on American TV shows for the past two decades on Lost and Hawaii Five-O, but his new Prime Video thriller series Butterfly provided the actor with something none of his past work could. \u201cShooting something in Korea has always been a goal of mine,\u201d he told Sara in an interview published earlier this week<\/a>. So keen was Kim to shoot in the country of his birth that he actually asked the head of publisher Boom! Studios whether a TV series could move part of the action from the U.S. and Europe, where the comic books on which Butterfly is based on are set. The recently-named honorary citizen of Seoul got his wish, and the series would shoot in numerous South Korean locations, including in the mountains, countryside and the capital. \u201cI love that we got to shoot in Busan too, which is where I was born,\u201d he recalled. The choice was clearly a good one, as Butterfly this week reached top spot in Prime Video\u2019s U.S. charts, marking both and on- and off-screen success for Kim, who also exec produced through his production company 3AD and a development deal with Amazon MGM Studios.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Essentials<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Laura<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAgency courtesy<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Hot One:<\/strong> Laura Donnelly will star<\/a> in ITV and Poison Pen serial killer drama The Dark.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Another One:<\/strong> More big names join the second season of Disney+ \u2018bonkbuster\u2019 Rivals, with Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett signing up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83e\udd75 Third One:<\/strong> MK2 Films boarded sales<\/a> on\u00a0Laura Poitras\u2019 doc\u00a0Cover-Up\u00a0ahead of its world premiere Out of Competition at the upcoming\u00a0Venice\u00a0Film Festival.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2600\ufe0f Sunny fest:<\/strong> Nine films were added<\/a> to the San Sebastian line-up including Ballad of a Small Player, the latest from Edward Berger, who sat down for a chat<\/a> with our Editor-in-Chief, Film, Mike Fleming Jr.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udeaa Exit door:<\/strong> Jack Oliver is leaving his role<\/a> as Head of Co-Productions at Sky.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udc83 Re-jig:<\/strong> All3Media International upped Jennifer Askin and drafted in Whitney Muroff, as long-serving Americas chief Sally Habbershaw stepped down<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udccb Listed:<\/strong> Submissions for the Best International Feature Film award<\/a> at the Oscars are coming in thick and fast. <\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83e\udd1d\ud83c\udffd Deal:<\/strong> Parasite maker Barunson E&A struck a two-year agreement<\/a> with Come And See Pictures, the production house run by Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u26bd Ball, ball, ball, footie, footie, footie:<\/strong> A YouTuber has been selected<\/a> among the broadcasters of the 2025\/26 German Bundesliga season.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udc40 First look:<\/strong> At Will Sharpe\u2019s transformation into Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart<\/a> for the White Lotus actor\u2019s new Sky series.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udcc5 Release date:<\/strong> For Culpa Nuestra (Our Fault)<\/a>, the concluding part to Prime Video\u2019s hugely popular rom-dram feature trilogy. <\/p>\n

\n\tInternational Insider was written by Jesse Whittock. Max Goldbart contributed and edited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re here again, Insiders, as we come to the close of another week. Jesse Whittock here guiding you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,128359,128360,128361,1102,123512,102997,4884,114988,127319,712,78521,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-366542","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-butterfly","10":"tag-ciisa","11":"tag-daniel-dae-kim","12":"tag-edinburgh","13":"tag-edinburgh-film-festival","14":"tag-edinburgh-tv-festival","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-ray-winstone","17":"tag-sarajevo-film-festival","18":"tag-scotland","19":"tag-tv-markets","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115076599000681454","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}