“‘FEMME’

Femme (UK)
Dirs. Sam H Freeman, Ng Choon Ping
George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-­Jarrett headline this London-­set thriller, which is the debut feature for Freeman and Ping, and is based on their British Independent Film Award-winning short of the same name. Femme unspools around a young drag queen who, after suffering a homo­phobic assault, has the chance to exact revenge on one of the attackers. Myles Payne and Sam Ritzenberg produce through Agile Films, alongside co-producer Hayley Williams, with co-financing by BBC Film and Anton. The latter also represents worldwide sales.
Contact: Anton Corp

Green Night (HK)
Dir. Han Shuai
In her first starring role since being embroiled in a tax scandal in 2018, Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing (I Am Not Madame Bovary, The 355) plays a Chinese woman drawn into a thrilling escape with a mysterious girl, which becomes her only chance of breaking free from a controlling Korean husband. Lee Joo Young and Kim Young Ho co-star in the film, which was shot entirely in South Korea in spring 2022. Produced by Liu Ziyi and Wang Jing, this is the second title from Chinese director Han, whose debut Summer Blur won the Berlinale’s Generation Kplus best feature award in 2021.
Contact: Cercamon

Hello Dankness (Australia)
Dir. Soda Jerk
Sydney-born siblings Dominique and Dan Angeloro, known collectively as Soda Jerk, sit at the intersection of film and art. Hello Dankness, co-commissioned by ongoing collaborators the Adelaide Film Festival and the Samstag Museum of Art, is the second part of a political trilogy. The first, Terror Nullius, criticised Australia to the extent that one of the film’s commissioners withdrew promotional support. The duo now turn their attention to the US suburbs in this latest film, comprising hundreds of manipulated samples from Hollywood films, much like a film version of a DJ mashup. The film screened at Adelaide Film Festival in October.
Contact: Soda Jerk“

By Screen Staff

“The proposed legislation will also include a phased increase to the yearly cap on film credit rebates of an additional $10 million per fiscal year, bringing the total yearly cap from $110 to $210 million over the next decade.

According to the bill, the addition to the cap will adjust for steady growth and inflation in order to prevent a backlog that would begin to accrue in fiscal year 2025, ensuring New Mexico can continue to attract larger-scale productions that employ New Mexico cast and crew members.

The bill also doubles the uplift for productions outside the Albuquerque-Santa Fe county corridor to 10%.

“We have seen the economic benefit our current film incentive has had on our state, and now it’s time to make the bill even stronger, helping to grow New Mexico’s digital media ecosystem — and that includes high-paying jobs, business growth, and top-tier workforce development,” said Sen. Rodriguez.“

By Adrian Gomez

“Under the proposal for the state’s 2024 fiscal year that starts April 1, New York would:

∙ Raise its annual cap from $420 million to $700 million.

∙ Make above-the-line wage costs eligible, with restrictions: It would cap credit at $150,000 per individual. Qualified above the line wages capped for each production at 40% of other qualified production expenses.

∙ Modify payout rules, allowing businesses to get paid sooner. Delays in payment have devalued the credit and created negative messaging around the ability of New York to pay out. The payout will now occur before the later of (1) the taxable year the production of the qualified film is complete, or (2) the taxable year for which the film has been allocated credit (versus the tax year immediately following the allocation year).

∙ Incentivize the relocation of TV series that are filming elsewhere with a 5% bump for two years. Series need to have filmed 6+ episodes in other jurisdictions before relocating to NYS. A required minimum budget of $1,000,000 per episode — intended to weed out smaller productions.

There was no change requiring a film budget of $1 million in NYC for tax credit eligibility. Filmmakers have called that a high bar in a city with deep ties to independent film, which has been going elsewhere. However, the minimum budget is only $250k north of Westchester County.“

By Jill Goldsmith