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Blue Finch Films has taken on worldwide sales rights to “American Dollhouse,” John Valley’s horror feature that world-premiered at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival, and will introduce the title to buyers at the Cannes Film Market. The U.K.-based sales and distribution outfit is partnering on the project with Roosevelt Film Lab.

Valley wrote and directed the film, which centers on a woman who returns to the house she grew up in, where a neighboring man’s fixation on her escalates into lethal danger. The film is produced by David Axe, Samuel Butler, and Shane Greb, alongside Roosevelt Film Lab’s Christian Sosa and Jon Wroblewski. The cast includes Hailley Laurén (“My Stretch of Texas Ground”), Kelsey Pribilski (“Man Finds Tape”), Tinus Seaux, Danielle Evon Ploeger, and Richard C. Jones.

Sosa and Wroblewski handled negotiations for Roosevelt Film Lab; Chapman represented Blue Finch.

“I wanted to create a story that deconstructs the false narratives we tell ourselves about ‘home’ and ‘family,’ all within the context of a blood-soaked genre film,” Valley said. “Bringing ‘American Dollhouse’ to Cannes is an incredible opportunity to share this nightmare of a ride with a global audience.”

Wroblewski, producer and co-founder of Roosevelt Film Lab, added: “This is the kind of bold, uncompromising film we’re thrilled to back at Roosevelt. ‘American Dollhouse’ isn’t just a gripping horror thriller – it also dives deep into the discomforts of suburban life and the haunting shadows of our past.”

Chapman said: “After witnessing firsthand the glowing audience response at SXSW, we’re thrilled to be bringing ‘American Dollhouse’ to buyers. Led by two powerhouse performances, this boundary-pushing horror film will no doubt delight – and horrify – buyers at Cannes.”

“American Dollhouse” joins a Blue Finch sales slate that includes “Bowels of Hell,” a Rotterdam title from Oscar-winning production company RT Features; SXSW sci-fi thriller “Imposters”; and “Dolly,” which opened theatrically through IFC last month.

Roosevelt Film Lab, co-founded by Wroblewski and Sosa, operates out of Austin, Texas.

Top Spanish free-to-air channel Antena 3, part of commercial broadcaster Atresmedia, behind “Money Heist,” “Veneno,” “Locked Up,” “Velvet,” “Alba” and “Ángela,” has unveiled first-look images of “Ágata and Lola,” its big new prime-time series. 

The series is produced by Atresmedia and the Banijay Entertainment-backed Portocabo, a drama series powerhouse in northwest Spain’s Galicia which has produced Movistar Plus+ hits “Hierro” and “Rapa,” Atresmedia’s “Honor” and “Weiss & Morales,” co-produced by Spanish and German public broadcasters RTVE and ZDF.

Starring Eva Martín (“The Vow, “The Pier”) and Mireia Oriol(“Alma,” “Nevenka”), “Ágata and Lola” also rolls off heavyweight IP marking a Spanish adaptation of France Televisions-RTBF series “Astrid et Raphaelle,” which ran to four seasons.

The French show also inspired U.K. makeover “Patience.” Season 2 of which became the most-watched show airing on the U.K.’s Channel 4 and was sold by Beta Film to over 100 territories, including PBS Masterpiece for the U.S. 

Penned by Portocabo go-to writer Carlota Dans (“Weiss & Morales,” “Honor” and Dry Water) along with development executive Nina Hernández and Portocabo founder Alfonso Blanco, “Agata and Lola” begins with a middle-aged well-dressed man walking into bank and withdrawing €9,000 ($10,500) which he immediately dumps into a rubbish bin, pours petrol over himself and lights a match.

Chief Inspector Lola Castro asks Agata, a young autistic police archivist working in criminal records to bring documents of a similar death. Ágata, however, brings a second box with details of a third case, having remembered another absurd suicide. Ágata also suggests a part explanation to the suicides – sparking a growing friendship between the chaotic Lola and Ágata, a carefully ordered but brilliant criminologist Ágata. 

“Agata and Lola” also serves as a beginner’s guide to people on the spectrum: their horror at being touched, for instance, and confusion by multiple-source sound – Ágata bikes to work and toils in the archives wearing headphones.   

What’s new to this comfy crime procedural is “how autism is portrayed. We wanted to create in Ágata a character that had received a diagnosis later in life, something that is very linked to the female condition (often times overlooked), that we thought would be relevant to explore,” Hernández told Variety.

“The Spanish version has leaned into the feel-good tone, that stems from the relationship between Ágata and Lola, a sense of uplift that is the central pilar of the series. Also, it’s set in Vigo with plenty of exteriors that highlight the city, surrounding sea and nature as another character of the series,” she added.

This is seen in the first-look stills. One catches Lola and Ágata outside on a promontory, the Vigo bay and green hills behind, nature, as in “Rapa,” adding relief from darker crime elements. A second still has Lola and Ágata walking by another part of the bay.  

“When creating the series, we set out to establish a distinct identity. We focused on several key elements: the visual dimension, elevating natural locations through striking cinematography, and a cohesive aesthetic that bridges the art and styling departments. In terms of character, we aimed to move away from clichés—particularly in the portrayal of Ágata’s condition,” co-director María Togores told Variety.

“We adopted a naturalistic approach, avoiding dramatic excess and prioritizing character emotion over plot,” added co-director Oriol Ferrer. 

“Conflicts emerge organically from relationships rather than the specifics of the police case,” Ferrer noted. “The aim is to create an empathetic, intimate, and accessible series – one in which viewers can recognize themselves in the characters’ everyday lives.”

Michael Sheen and Callum Scott Howells are set to star as rival composers Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a new production of Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus,” marking the first major revival of the work in over a decade and the first time two Welsh actors have taken on the dual roles in the same staging.

Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the production is a co-presentation between Second Half Productions and Welsh National Theatre. It will open at New Theatre Cardiff from March 9–27, 2027, before transferring to the Noël Coward Theatre in London’s West End for a 16-week run from April 17 to Aug. 7, 2027.

The production marks Sheen’s return to the West End for the first time since “Frost/Nixon” in 2006. The multi-award-winning Welsh actor has a particular history with the play: he performed the role of Mozart in the West End and on Broadway in 1998 and 1999, then crossed to the other side of the rivalry to play Salieri at the Sydney Opera House in 2022.

“It’s a full-circle moment for me to return to the West End with Amadeus,” Sheen said. “To play Salieri opposite a fellow Welshman as Mozart – a role that has meant so much to me – feels very special indeed.”

Howells, whose television work includes “It’s a Sin” and a turn in “Cabaret” at the Kit Kat Club and who took home the BAFTA Cymru prize for leading actor, makes his role debut as Mozart. The two previously collaborated on BBC drama “The Way,” which Sheen directed.

“It feels like a dream come true to be playing Mozart in this production next year,” Howells said. “I have wanted to play the role for a very long time so to be given this opportunity to work with Jeremy and Michael to bring this extraordinary world to life feels like a real gift.”

Herrin comes to the production on the back of two well-received stagings: a new work at the Royal Court and a traveling production of “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” that is currently making its way around the U.K. The design team includes set designer Bunny Christie, an Olivier Award holder, alongside costume designer Lez Brotherston. Casting is by Sam Jones CDG, with further creative appointments still to come.

The production carries significance for both producing organisations. For Welsh National Theatre – the Swansea-based company that Sheen launched in 2025 and leads as artistic director, working alongside chief executive Sharon Gilburd and literary manager Tim Price – the Noël Coward run will be its first engagement in the West End. For Second Half Productions, it is the company’s first new show since transferring “Every Brilliant Thing” to Broadway. Welsh National Theatre’s debut season has included a touring production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” earlier this year, with the world premiere of “Owain & Henry” scheduled for November 2026.

Five Japanese features are heading to the Cannes Film Festival next month through the Tokyo International Film Festival‘s Goes to Cannes showcase, with Kore-eda Hirokazu‘s “Look Back” – a drama about two young women bound together by their devotion to manga across 13 years – the marquee title in a lineup spread across suspense, animation, mystery and family drama.

All five titles are Japanese-language productions due for 2026 completion. Kadokawa Corporation and Toei Company each contribute one title, while Shin-Ei Animation brings the selection’s sole animated feature.

Organized by the Cannes Festival’s Marché du Film, the Goes to Cannes series of seven showcases of works in progress from festivals and markets all over the world is offering two new awards in 2026: the OCS+ Award, with €15,000 ($17,725) for the French distributor of a Goes to Cannes project, and the AH Media Production Award of €10,000 ($11,800) in cash. These prizes join the well-known Sideral Cinema Award of a €10,000 minimum guarantee for one of the projects.

A closer look at the Tokyo International Film Festival Goes to Cannes lineup:

“The Gate of Murder” (Kanai Ko, Tsubaki Yoshikazu, Kadokawa Corporation and storyboard, Japan)

Directed by Kanai Ko and produced by Tsubaki Yoshikazu through Kadokawa Corporation, this suspense feature follows a man nursing a simmering desire to kill a childhood acquaintance he holds responsible for a lifetime of accumulated misfortune – and the question of whether that desire will eventually be acted upon.

“All That Exists” (working title) (Zeze Takahisa, Takahashi Naoya, Toei Company, Ltd., Japan)

Directed by Zeze Takahisa and produced by Takahashi Naoya through Toei Company, this mystery-drama centers on a journalist who revisits a decades-old double child abduction after the death of a former colleague in law enforcement. Three decades on from the original case, his renewed inquiry draws him toward a mysterious realist painter whose connection to the events gradually comes into focus.

“You, Fireworks, and Our Promise” (working title) (Suzuki Kei, Umezawa Michihiko, Shin-Ei Animation and SynergySP, Japan)

Directed by Suzuki Kei and produced by Umezawa Michihiko through Shin-Ei Animation and SynergySP, this adventure-drama follows a high-school student who encounters a girl carrying a drawing that bears his name and a future date. When she disappears and her identical great-grandmother arrives from the past, he must piece together what connects them before the fireworks fade.

“Lives at Right Angles” (Kobayashi Syoutarou, Sato Gen, Toei Video Company and Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures, Japan)

Directed by Kobayashi Syoutarou and produced by Sato Gen through Toei Video Company, with Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures attached as sales agent, this family drama follows Daiki, a man with autism spectrum disorder who holds a janitorial job and manages his own life with limited outside help. His younger sister Nozomi, a counselor, has sustained him since their mother’s early death. When she announces marriage plans, both siblings find themselves forced to confront their own futures independently.

“Look Back” (Kore-eda Hirokazu, Koide Daiju, K2 Pictures Production Inc., Japan)

Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu and produced by Koide Daiju through K2 Pictures Production Inc., “Look Back” follows Fujino and Kyomoto – two elementary-school classmates in a snowbound rural town – whose shared obsession with drawing manga draws them into a friendship that unfolds across 13 years.