The second edition of SXSW London has unveiled the lineup of films and speakers for its screen program, which will open with the world premiere of “Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day.”
From BAFTA-nominated director Tina Ghavari and screenwriter Justine Waddell, the adaptation features a cast including Haley Bennett, Jack Whitehall, Jennifer Saunders, Lily Allen, Sally Phillips and Misia Butler, with Bennett and Whitehall among those expected to attend.
The darkly satirical “Savage House” — featuring Richard E. Grant and Claire Foy, Bel Powley and Jack Farthing — is also getting its world premiere at the festival, with Grant and Foy reported to be hitting the red carpet.
Elsewhere, SXSW London will feature an exclusive first-look screening of the Adult Swim animated series “Get Jiro,” based on The New York Times bestselling DC/Vertigo graphic novel from renowned chef Anthony Bourdain.
SXSW London has also unveiled six films selected for this year’s Official Competition section, including “The Other Side of the Sun” (Dir: Tawfik Sabouni), “The Red Hangar” (Juan Pablo Sallato), “Roya” (Mahnaz Mohammadi), “Memory” (Vladlena Sandu), “Remake” (Ross Mcelwee) and “Only Rebels Win” (Danielle Arbid).
“The films in our Official Competition embody what we are most excited about in contemporary cinema: no-holds-barred, deeply human and formally audacious films that provoke and challenge us to think wider, deeper and more empathetically,” said Anna Bogutskaya, head of screen at SXSW London.
Alongside the film, the festival has also announced its lineup of panels and speakers. Among them are “Toy Meets Tech: The New Technologies of Toy Story 5” with Thomas Jordan, VFX supervisor on “Toy Story 5” and “BookTok to Screen,” about transforming viral literary trends to streaming, with Prime Video’s head of originals UK and Europe Tara Erer and Banijay’s head of adaptations Hannah Griffiths.
Brazil’s development and training hub BrLab has announced the winners of its 15th edition, with Miami-based FiGa Films acquiring the sales rights to Val Hidalgo and Alice Stamato’s prizewinning drama “Ninho Tinto” (Red Nest).
The film from the Brazilian duo was among 12 projects selected for the annual event, which hosts producers, directors and writers from across Latin America, Spain and Portugal for a week of workshops, labs, mentorship and industry programming in São Paulo. A series of satellite events also take place in Brasília and Recife through early May.
Since its first edition in 2011, BrLab has grown from a small workshop for regional filmmakers into a key player in the development of independent cinema in Brazil, Latin America and the wider Ibero-American region, with projects from over 15 countries invited to take part this year.
“Reaching 15 years is both a celebration and a statement of persistence,” said BrLab founder, director and curator Rafael Sampaio. “Also, it’s a moment to evaluate and reaffirm our purposes and structures, considering all changes and challenges we’ve been facing in different countries in Latin America and everywhere.”
Sampaio noted that “this a region full of talents and creativity where producers and filmmakers constantly navigate instability — financial, political, institutional. In this international context, BrLab has become a regular solid event where projects are challenged and supported, experiencing this initial and fundamental moment in which a film is still only words and intentions.”
Along with its carefully curated line-up and hands-on approach to the development and support of each project, BrLab functions as a crucial bridge connecting filmmakers to both the regional and the international industry.
“Filmmakers and producers don’t just develop their films in isolation — they connect not only with themselves and tutors but also with co-producers, festivals and decision-makers that we bring to be part of each edition of BrLab, helping to position the curated projects internationally from an early stage,” said Sampaio. “In a context where structural support can be inconsistent, that mix of rigor, continuity and real access is what allows projects to move forward — not just as ideas, but as films that can exist and circulate.”
This year saw organizers introduce a raft of changes, including a shift from the event’s traditional October slot to early April, the launch of BrLab Kids, a new workshop dedicated to film and series projects for children and young audiences, and the introduction of a green initiative focused on sustainable industry practices in Latin America, backed by the event’s new presenting partner and lead sponsor, Petrobas.
“It is not about changing what already works — it’s about consolidating it and expanding its reach,” said Sampaio. “Rather than a shift in format, what we’ve done is to solidify the core of BrLab — the depth of the labs, the close mentorship, the international dialogue — while creating new layers around it. The idea is to strengthen the ecosystem that surrounds the projects, not just the projects themselves.”
One of the key additions this year was the Think Tank, which the lab developed in partnership with Petrobras and Cinema Verde. “It opens a space for broader, more strategic reflection on the Brazilian and Latin American industry — bringing together different players to discuss structural challenges, sustainability and the future of audiovisual production in Brazil and Latin America,” said Sampaio. “It’s less about immediate outcomes and more about long-term positioning.”
As of 2025, 62 feature films that participated in BrLab’s various sections have been produced and released, among them Diego Céspedes’ “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” (Chile), which won the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section last year; Lila Halla’s “Levante” (Brazil), which screened in Cannes Critics’ Week in 2023; and “Légua,” by Portuguese filmmakers Filipa Reis and João Guerra, which premiered at Directors’ Fortnight the same year.
That track record is a tribute to the work that Sampaio and the organizing team continue to do to pursue their vision despite what he refers to as “institutional fragility,” particularly with funding for Brazil’s national film agency, Ancine, slashed under right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro. Ancine was not among the supporters of the 15th edition of BrLab, which took place through partnerships with Programa Ibermedia, Spcine, Projeto Paradiso and Petrobras.
“The absence of Ancine was something unexpected that had an impact on the co-pro forum, but…our trajectory taught us we need to be more solid than our institutions,” Sampaio said. “The history of Latin American cinema and of BrLab reflects much more the struggle of professionals than institutions. It’s the effort of an international industry against the fragility of our politics and governments.”
Here’s a rundown of this year’s BrLab winners:
Vitrine Films Distribution Award: “Irmã Mais Velha” (The Older Sister) Director: Rafaela Camelo Producers: André Pereira, Mariana Muniz Screenwriters: Rafaela Camelo, André Pereira
Courtesy of BrLab
After her older sister dies tragically, 11-year-old Isabel is forced to live with her mother, Verônica, who hides a long-suppressed gift: the ability to channel the dead. Camelo, whose first feature, “The Nature of Invisible Things,” premiered at the Berlinale last year, noted: “I like to say that [my first film] shows how not every death has to be a tragedy. In ‘The Older Sister,’ the perspective on death changes radically. Here, death is inherently the tragedy that sets the story in motion. Isabel and Verônica must face this loss together, experience grief in its full intensity, and deal with the consequences it brings to their lives.”
Pop Up Film Residency Award: “El Umbral” (The Threshold) Director: Inti Jacanamijoy Producers: Jorge Forero, Inti Jacanamijoy Screenwriter: Inti Jacanamijoy, Óscar Adán
Courtesy of BrLab
A coming-of-age story about grief, memory and ancestral knowledge, “The Threshold” follows a young boy who returns to his family home after the death of his grandfather, a renowned shaman. When his grandmother also falls ill and prepares to cross the Kuriyako, the sacred place where her people go to die, an ancestral presence arrives in the house, blurring the boundary between the living and the dead. It’s a film that “connects a family story with the spiritual and metaphysical universe that inhabits our territories,” according to Forero, presenting “a cinematic proposal with the potential to become a standout film in today’s landscape.”
Cinéma en Développement + Projeto Paradiso Award: “Dentro do Rio” (Inside the River) Director/screenwriter: Bárbara Matias Kariri Producer: Maurício Macêdo
Courtesy of BrLab
When the construction of a dam threatens to submerge the indigenous community of Barro Vermelho, Lourdes, a teacher and single mother, is torn between accepting compensation and moving to the city or resisting alongside her family and community, for whom ancestry is a force of resistance and renewal. Matias Kariri said the story is “rooted in the Kariri cosmovision, bringing a perspective from Brazil’s deep interior with authenticity, imagination and a strong sense of authorship.” It uses a unique combination of animation with influences from theater and poetry to “reimagine trauma while opening space for other ways of being and understanding the world.”
Cesnik, Quintino, Salinas, Valerio and Fittipaldi Award: “A Última Cachorra” (The Last Dog on Earth) Director: Nina Kopko Producer: Letícia Friederich Screenwriters: Tainá Tokitaka, Nina Kopko
Courtesy of BrLab
Set in the very near future in São Paulo, where a new pandemic is thought to have eradicated the planet’s canine population, a rideshare driver is forced to decide if she’s going to stick to her plan to take her own life or find a way to protect what may be the last dog on earth. “Stories involving dogs create an immediate connection with a large part of the audience, due to the emotional place they occupy in our lives,” said the filmmakers. “Imagining a world where they are disappearing generates even more curiosity, especially as it takes place in the near future — both strange and familiar.”
The dystopian parody “Xoxa’s Show” is set in a world where Brazil’s most popular TV show stars are subjected to humiliations and violent challenges disguised as entertainment. When members of the crew begin to die, the line between spectacle and extermination starts to blur. Led by a trans crew and cast, “Xoxa’s Show” is “a celebration of the creativity of trans people,” said Dorneles. “Participating in BrLab is very important so that our careers, mine as a transvestite and Hilda’s as a non-binary person, are recognized and we can realize this work that plays with the collective imagination of the trans population with extreme intimacy.”
BrLab Rough Cut
Tanto Award: “Ninho Tinto” (Red Nest) Directors: Val Hidalgo, Alice Stamato Producer: Thiago Briglia
‘Red Nest’ (Courtesy of BrLab)
Set in northern Brazil, “Red Nest” follows a Venezuelan immigrant, Frangela, whose stable life is upended by the unexpected arrival of her 11-year-old son. With Alejandro’s arrival, both Frangela and her partner try to build an emotional bond with the boy as they attempt to create a new home. “What is a home?” the directors asked. While the word can mean many things, “there is something that always runs through it: the affections we weave around it, the people we form bonds with, and the small gestures through which we offer and share parts of ourselves,” they said. “Red Nest” offers “a sensitive portrait of how these bonds are rebuilt within a migratory context shaped by vulnerability. Yet it is also, above all, a gesture of resilience and an affirmation of life.”
Patrick Muldoon, an actor who starred in “Days of Our Lives” and “Melrose Place,” died on Sunday, his manager confirmed to Variety. He was 57.
From 1992 to 1995, Muldoon originated the role of Austin Reed on the daytime soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” He returned to the soap to reprise the role from 2011 to 2012.
He also had a recurring role as Jeffrey Hunter in the teen television series “Saved by the Bell” in 1991. Muldoon also starred on the primetime soap opera “Melrose Place” from 1995 to 1996, playing the villain Richard Hart.
In 1997, Muldoon played the role of Zander Barcalow in the film “Starship Troopers,” directed by Paul Verhoeven.
Muldoon was also an active producer, working on a slew of movies including “The Tribes of Palos Verdes,” “Arkansas,” “Marlowe,” “The Card Counter,” “The Dreadful” and “Riff Raff” through his Storyboard Productions. He was set to produce the upcoming feature “Kockroach,” starring Chris Hemsworth. Just two days ago, Muldoon posted on Instagram: “So excited to be a part of this amazing project KOCKROACH directed by Matt Ross starring Chris Hemsworth, Taron Edgerton, Zazzie Beetz and Alec Baldwin.” The production is currently filming in Australia.
His latest acting role was in “Dirty Hands,” a new crime thriller with Denise Richards and Michael Beach. The film is slated to be released later this month.
Muldoon is survived by his partner, Miriam Rothbart; parents Deanna and Patrick Muldoon, Sr.; sister and brother-in-law Shana and Ahmet Zappa, niece Halo and nephew Arrow Zappa.
“The Sentinels,” Canal+‘s hugely ambitious French TV series blending superhero, steampunk and sci-fi themes into a WWI action drama, has found at home in the U.K.
In a deal with Studiocanal, the BBC has acquired the series, which is produced by Federation Studios France and Esprits Frappeurs and was already simultaneous released by Canal+ last year across more than 30 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Based on the comic book series “Les Sentinelles” by Xavier Dorison and Enrique Breccia (éditions Delcourt), “The Sentinels” was created by Guillaume Lemans in collaboration with Xabi Molia, written by Guillaume Lemans, Molia and Raphaëlle Richet, and directed by Thierry Poiraud and Édouard Salier.
The story takes place at the outbreak of WWI, when a severely wounded soldier named Gabriel Ferraud is selected for a top-secret research program headed by the French Army that aims to create a whole new breed of combatant. After being injected with a mysterious serum, Gabriel is endowed with unprecedented abilities. Now stronger, faster, and more resistant than the average human, he joins an elite unit of augmented soldiers known as the Sentinels. But he is soon confronted with a terrifying reality that could change the course of the war.
The series is produced by Lionel Uzan and Thierry Sorel for Federation Studio France, and Delphine Clot and Guillaume Lemans for Esprits Frappeurs.
Alongside the unprecedented Canal+ rollout, the series has also aired in Australia (SBS), Belgium (BeTV), Benelux (Play Media), Germany (ProSieben), Canada (TV5), Denmark (DR), Greece (NOVA), Portugal (NOS), Spain (Disney), Turkey (Tivibu) and has sold to more than 60 territories worldwide.
“The Sentinels” will premiere in the U.K. exclusively on BBC iPlayer and BBC Four later this year.
Assi Azar is set to host a new celebrity-driven series “Who Wants to Start?” in which a handful of celebrities who share a “defining life moment” sit down together to discuss it on camera.
Each episode will gather five celebrities who have all experienced a life-changing event such as anxiety, divorce, parenthood or grief, to discuss it in front of a studio audience. There is no script and no celebrity will know who else is taking part until they walk onto the set. Other topics include addiction and recovery, body image, illness, betrayal and financial collapse.
Azar, one of Israel’s most prominent TV creator and presenter, will host and moderate. There will also be other devices to keep the conversation flowing, including multiple sealed envelopes in the room which each contain a question or a prompt, plus interactive elements such as quick-fire questions and mini-games. The aim is to build the conversation towards a closing reflection as the group shares what they have taken from the experience.
The show, from Keshet 12, was created by Azar together with Anat Stalinsky (“The A-Talks”) and Keshet Broadcasting. It is conceived as a returnable format.
Assi Azar (Alon Shafransky/Keshet)
“Who Wants to Start?” is produced by Baron Productions. Ido Baron (“Off Road”) is a producer. It is set to premiere later this summer on Israeli network Keshet 12. Keshet are repping global sales for the format, which will launch at this year’s Mipcom.
“Throughout my career, I’ve learned the power of sharing the things we usually keep to ourselves,” said Azar, who is also an LGBTQ+ activist. “Coming out and speaking about my anxiety showed me how not alone we really are—and that’s what inspired ‘Who Wants to Start?.’ It’s a simple idea: we are not alone. And that’s what this show is here to prove.”
Hilik Sharir, CEO of Keshet 12, said: “At Keshet 12, we look for formats that connect with a broad primetime audience while staying true to warmth, humor and real human connection. ‘Who Wants to Start?’ does exactly that—creating meaningful, entertaining television without relying on conflict, and showing well-known personalities in a more open, human way.”
Kelly Wright, Keshet International’s MD of Distribution, added: “‘Who Wants to Start?’ has everything buyers are looking for: a simple, repeatable format with a strong universal hook and genuine emotional payoff. With a changing group of celebrity participants, none of whom know quite what they’re getting into, each episode stays fresh and authentic. The intimacy of the format keeps it cost-efficient, making it compelling content to stimulate broadcaster and platform offerings worldwide.”
Previous Keshet formats that have found success abroad include “Rising Star” (adapted in 17 countries), “Deal With It!” (produced in over 20 territories) and international hit “The Vault” (which aired in 18 markets).
Lionsgate Play has confirmed a second season of “Heated Rivalry” for 2027, alongside a theatrical-first release model for a curated slate of premium Hollywood titles and more than 100 premieres lined up for India in 2026.
The theatrical push, set to begin in September, will see 10–12 titles debut in Indian cinemas before arriving on the platform. Among the films earmarked for that window are Russell Crowe’s “Billion Dollar Spy,” Gerard Butler’s “Empire City,” Robert Pattinson‘s “Primetime,” Mark Wahlberg’s “By Any Means,” and snake creature feature “Titan.”
The wider 2026 lineup is also heavy on high-profile Hollywood talent. Butler returns in “Greenland 2: Migration,” joined by Jason Statham in “Mutiny,” Angelina Jolie in “Couture,” Zac Efron in “Famous,” and Matthew McConaughey in “The Rivals of Amziah King.” The franchise side of the slate grows with “Apollo Has Fallen” and a third season of “Vigil.”
“Over the past few years, we’ve built Lionsgate Play into a destination for bold, high-impact storytelling,” said Rohit Jain, who acquired the platform from Lionsgate earlier this year following an eight-year tenure as its Asia president. “In 2026, we’re delivering on that vision at full scale, with 100+ premieres, returning franchises, and now, the big screen itself under one roof.”
Lionsgate Play operates across eight Asian markets and reaches more than 40 million viewers in India, where it distributes primarily through a B2B2C model via partners including JioHotstar, Airtel Xstream, and Amazon Prime Video Channels. The platform, which focuses on Hollywood content alongside regional originals, operates under a multi-year licensing agreement with Lionsgate covering branding and content.
The Annecy Animation Showcase comes back to Cannes’ Marché du Film for yet another year, shedding light on five promising animated features.
Hailing from Japan, France and Mexico, these ongoing projects bring animation to Cannes, a collaboration between Cannes’ Marché du Film and the Annecy Festival which started in 2019 with an Animation Day and has been growing ever since.
“For Annecy, this Showcase represents a key extension of our commitment to supporting animation beyond the Festival itself, throughout the year,” said Annecy Festival CEO Mickaël Marin.
“Built over time with the Marché du Film, this collaboration allows us to accompany projects at a decisive stage, within one of the most strategic global platforms. It’s both a continuity and an amplification of our mission, in service of the movies,” he added.
“Animation has always had a strong presence in Cannes, particularly within the Official Selection,” underlined Alexandra Zakharchenko, head of industry programs at the Marché du Film. “In recent years, several animated titles presented in the Festival have achieved major international recognition and the role of animation within the broader ecosystem of the Marché du Film has significantly evolved.”
Zakharchenko refers to films such as “Flow,” which debuted its circuit run at Cannes 2024, before meeting global success with audiences and critics alike. “Flow” and its surprise Academy Award win opened a path that other major indie animated titles such as Ugo Bienvenu’s “Arco” and “Little Amelie and the Character of Rain” have since tried as well.
“We are also seeing a growing interest in the potential of animation among professionals already attending Cannes, many of whom are no longer exclusively specialized in animation but are increasingly engaging with it,” continued Zakharchenko. “Private investors also increasingly view animation as an IP-driven business model. Animation travels across territories, platforms and generations, while offering long-term value beyond the screen. As buyers shift from volume to durability, animation stands out as a resilient ecosystem – connecting storytelling, fandom, distribution and global exploitation in ways few other formats can.”
According to Zakharchenko, this shift is something the teams aim to reflect at the Marché du Film itself, where animation is no longer confined to a single Animation Day, but is now embedded across the entire market under the Cannes Animation umbrella, spanning a wide range of formats: from work-in-progress and finished film showcases to panels, workshops, networking events, and its integration into other programs, including targeted co-production meetings.
This year, with Japan the 2026 Country of Honor at the Marché du Film, the teams are also placing a particular focus on Japanese animation, alongside the longstanding strength and global reputation of French animation, a focus that is mirrored in the five projects selected for this year’s Annecy Animation Showcase.
Betrayed during Edo Castle’s reconstruction, legendary craftsman Jingoro Hidari loses his father figure, fiancée, and even his right arm. Forging lethal mechanical prosthetics, he turns grief into vengeance and carves a path to justice with his loyal “Sleeping Cat.”
A pilot film teasing the mindblowing wooden stop-motion technique used to bring “Hidari” to life was shared three years ago by the project teams as proof of concept, along with BTS footage. Per “Hidari’s” team, Japanese animation is still highly recognized across the world for its unique visual language, which gives it the distinct flare. “We wanted to create an entertainment piece that no one has seen before, by merging this world of Japanimation and the technique of stop-motion animation. To do so, breathing life into wood (through wooden puppets animated in stop motion) mirrored both our artistic intentions and the anecdotes surrounding Jingoro Hidari’s life.” The project goes beyond live-action and 2D animation to craft a one-of-a-kind look, with a lot of potential for memorable action sequences.
On a cold winter morning, a battle rages in the surroundings of a small town in the Italian Renaissance. As the military tactics gradually go awry, two movements oppose each other: the desire to win and the desire to live. Written and directed by Annecy-nominated artist Vergine Keaton, “Bataille” draws from Renaissance art to transform a single conflict into a universal allegory.
“Beyond the grand scale,” said Keaton, the film “dissects group dynamics (hierarchy, power, submission) and transcends history to focus on the intimate. And in doing so, ‘Bataille’ weaves a tapestry of individual stories.” With French singer-songwriter Pomme taking part in the project, which is backed by France’s CNC National Film Board, “Bataille’s” distinctive style and universal message have all that it takes to charm international buyers at this year’s showcase.
‘Bataille’
“Les chiens ne font pas des chats,” Alain Gagnol (France, Canada, Belgium)
Producers: Jérôme Duc-Maugé (Parmi les lucioles films), Brice Garnier (Kaïbou Production Inc.), Cédric Iland (UMEDIA)
Language: French; Genre: Drama; Artistic technique: 2D animation with 3D elements; Completion: 2027
Jules and Lola’s life has taken a sad turn after their parents’ death, but their routine is disrupted by their grandmother Jeanne, who turns up with a very special mission: to find a missing teenager. Thanks to their grandmother, they discover an extraordinary family legacy within themselves. With a star-studded French cast including Josiane Balasko as Jeanne, Golshifteh Farahani as Sunny, Philippe Katerine as Bono, Prune Bozo as Lola and Ethan Maury Tragherset as Jules, the latest film from Oscar-nominated writer-director and French animation veteran Alain Gagnol (“A Cat in Paris”) explores the bond between animals and humans, as the latter discover that cats and dogs can actually speak.
“I like to think that the world doesn’t stop at what our eyes can perceive,”, added Gagnol, as he shared details about a story playing with our imagination and moving across genres, from fantasy to road-movie to slapstick to poetry. “I wanted to address a family audience, as I’m convinced that the children’s perception of a film becomes richer with time. But above all, for this new film, I wanted to make them laugh!”
KMBO distributes in France, with Playtime handling international sales. “Les chiens ne font pas des chats,” has already received support from Eurimages, and is set for completion in 2027.
A young chef chasing a lost flavor lands in a ruined city without taste. Saved by Kasumi, his cooking awakens forgotten memories. But a dark force threatens to erase all desire — making his quest the last hope to save both worlds. The project, first revealed by “Pompo: The Cinephile” and “Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack” director Takayuki Hirao in 2024 at the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Hokkaido, Japan, is a completely original film reuniting the “Pompo” team.
Ryoichiro Matsuo, Yunosuke Uno and Kosuke Arai produce for CLAP studio, which teased “Wasted Chef” as “a unique yet classic Japanese animation that challenges a new genre, combining cooking and science fiction.” Although few details have been made public yet, Crunchyroll previously reported that Hirao’s collaborators Shingo Adachi (character design) and Kenta Matsukuma (music) are working with the director again, after their successful collaboration on “Pompo.”
In a world where insects have gone extinct, Lexi preserves specimens in a collection for her uncle, Dr. Krause, an entomologist. After removing the pin from a rare Attacus atlas moth, she takes it home to hide her mistake, only to discover it has come back to life.
“Insectario” itself is brought to the big screen by established Mexican filmmaker Sofía Carrillo.“Sofía is one of the most distinctive and vibrant voices in animation in Mexico,” said Pimienta Films’ Nicolas Celis, producer of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma.” “Her work stands out for its visually striking style, imbued with an unsettling and deeply emotional poetics.”
The two-time Ariel Awards winner and Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” team member makes her feature debut with this ambitious, narratively unique and sensitive film, already selected for Ventana Sur and the Quirino Awards Co-Production Forum, and backed by Mexican National Fund, Spain and Ibermedia Next.
The upcoming ITV drama Believe Me features established and rising British stars coming together to tell a harrowing British story. Aimée-Ffion Edwards (Slow Horses, Peaky Blinders, Mr Burton), Aasiya Shah (Raised by Wolves, Bloods, The Beast Must Die) and Miriam Petche (Industry) feature in the four-episode series opposite Daniel Mays (Line of Duty, Des, A Thousand Blows, Moonflower Murders) as John Worboys, who is known in the U.K. by a more sinister moniker: the “Black Cab Rapist.”
He has drawn many a headline, so now it is time for women who suffered because of him to see their stories and their experiences told. From the indignity of multiple police interviews and intimate evidence gathering to skeptical lines of questioning from police officers, Believe Me takes audiences through many a painful, frustrating and anger-inducing experience.
Indeed, Believe Me, written and executive produced by Jeff Pope (Philomena, Stan & Ollie, Cilla), produced by his Etta Pictures, part of ITV Studios, and directed by Julia Ford, tells the story of the victims of “one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history” and how they “were failed by the system,” a show description reads. “Worboys was convicted in 2009 for crimes, including sexual assault and drugging with intent, against 12 women between 2006 and 2008, with their cases selected from a large number of suspected further victims. His modus operandi was to pick up women in his cab after they’d been on a night out, claim that he’d had a win at a casino or in the lottery, then persistently offer them a drug-laced glass of champagne to help him ‘celebrate’ – which then rendered his victims unconscious.”
Believe Me focuses on the ordeals of two women, portrayed by Edwards and Shah, who reported sexual assaults by Worboys, only to see London’s Metropolitan Police, aka Scotland Yard, failing to thoroughly investigate their cases, effectively leaving Worboys free to commit assaults undetected for years. Following his trial came the realization that he was linked to allegations of further sexual offenses against more than a hundred women. Believe Me is expected to premiere on ITV and ITVX in the coming weeks, with a launch date yet to be made official.
As a writer and/or producer, Pope has explored true-crime stories in such series as The Widower, about convicted murderer Malcolm Webster, and The Reckoning, about the sexual crimes of British media personality Jimmy Savile. But he prefers to explore the human fallout of crimes rather than glorify their perpetrators. “That’s really been my process for a long time now,” Pope shared during an online discussion about Believe Me with members of the press. “I’m not really interested in trying to get inside the mind of psychopaths.”
In fact, he shared that the creative team, including director Ford, knew quite quickly where the story’s focus would lie. “We really settled very early in the creative process on making this very much about the experience of the victims,” Pope explained. “These women were drugged and they could tell something had happened, but they didn’t know exactly what had happened.”
Daniel Mays in ITV drama ‘Believe Me’
Courtesy of ITV
The creative team is showing us not the crimes themselves, but what led up to them and the emotional fallout. “We take the audience along the journey with [these women] on the day they report being assaulted, hours and hours and hours of interviews, intimate examinations, more interviews, samples are being taken, intimate swabs,” highlighted Pope. “These women just went through the most horrendous process of all, ultimately to be told we don’t believe a crime has happened. Essentially: ‘We don’t believe you’.” That is also where the title of the series comes from.
Mays had in the past already collaborated with Pope on Mrs Biggs and Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, so he was confident that Believe Me would be a strong show. “If Jeff’s going to come at you with a script, you know it’s going to be heartfelt, it’s going to be engaging, it’s going to be thoroughly researched,” the actor shared with the press. “He’s absolutely meticulous with his storytelling. He comes from a journalistic background, and so, in as much as it was a huge character to take on, with all the challenges that it threw at me, Jeff, as a writer, seems to get the best out of me as an actor.”
Mays kept highlighting the challenges of portraying a convicted criminal like Worboys, also describing the role as “a huge thing to take on” and an “acting challenge.”
The star shared: “You’re being asked to sort of humanize someone who is evil, essentially. It’s about delving beneath those headlines and trying to play him in as three-dimensional a way as possible.”
Pope said that he knew Mays would be able to pull off this challenge. But how about the emotional toll of slipping into the role of Worboys? “I underestimated how difficult that was going to be,” Mays told journalists. “I’ve got 26 years of experience as a professional actor, but I’m not going to lie to you. It did, at times, take its toll. It was a difficult thing and an unsettling thing to portray, and very isolating by its very nature.”
Director Ford was asked about her description of the show as a fair and balanced portrayal of what happened to Worboys’ victims. “It’s just that this felt like the best way to tell the story,” she explained.
“Undeniably, these women were treated very, very poorly by the police, … and we tell the story from their point of view,” she continued. “But I suppose what I meant by that was that we don’t point the finger at one individual, one police man or police woman. It’s not about one particular individual, it’s about the whole system.”
A BigBang world tour in the year 2026? Wow, fantastic baby.
The legendary K-pop group, comprising current members Taeyang, G-Dragon and Daesung, announced a new world tour during their weekend two set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Sunday night. The tour will be in honor of BigBang’s 20th anniversary as group, which they’re celebrating in 2026.
As the group said their goodbyes to the massive crowd gathered at the festival’s Outdoor stage, they teased that Coachella was the beginning point for a new chapter. Daesung promised that the festival wasn’t just a comeback for BigBang but a “reset” for the group. G-Dragon then announced that they’d be embarking on a 20th anniversary tour later this year.
Though few details are known about the upcoming tour, G-Dragon promised the crowd it would be begin this August. The rapper didn’t clarify where the tour would kick off, but nearly all K-pop tours begin in Seoul, or a surrounding city in South Korea, so it’s a safe bet BigBang’s will also.
“Do not miss out, and stay tuned,” G-Dragon told the crowd. After the announcement, the three men performed their song “Still Life” to close out their time at the festival.
BigBang was one of the final acts of the desert-set musical festival, taking the stage after Karol G’s headlining set began at the nearby Coachella main stage. The group kicked off their set with a pair of iconic songs, “Bang Bang Bang” and “Fantastic Baby.”
The set featured a slew of hits and fan favorites, even adding their single “Bae Bae” for weekend two. Coachella marks the first performance of the song in nearly a decade. Each member of BigBang performed a solo song during the set; Taeyang and G-Dragon also performed their legendary duet “Good Boy,” meanwhile Daesung brought the Korean pop genre trot to the Coachella stage.
Both awards will be presented by Prince Albert II of Monaco during the event’s 65th edition, taking place June 12–16 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
“We are thrilled to honor Kurt Russell and Dame Kristin Scott Thomas. Their exceptional careers, spanning both film and television, perfectly reflect the artistic excellence and international perspective. These awards celebrate two remarkable talents who have made a lasting impact on the global audiovisual landscape,” Cécile Menoni, executive director of the festival, stated.
Scott Thomas will be honored during the opening ceremony on June 12. Most recently seen in the acclaimed series “Slow Horses,” the actress made her directorial debut with “My Mother’s Wedding,” which she wrote, directed and starred in.
“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition in Monaco, a place that has long celebrated artistic excellence with such grace,” Scott Thomas said.
Russell, who will receive his award during the closing ceremony on June 16, has recently returned to television with “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” and will next appear in the highly anticipated series “The Madison.”
“It is a great honor to be selected for this distinguished award, and I very much look forward to spending time with His Serene Highness Prince Albert. It has been a long time,” Russell said.
The Crystal Nymph Award has previously been presented to international talent including Michael Douglas, Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Morgan Freeman and Robin Wright.
