David Tennant Lends Voice To ‘Doctor Who’; Cameraimage Sets Lineup – Global Briefs

David Tennant is returning to his role as the 10th Time Lord. But not on television. The Broadchurch star and erstwhile Doctor Who lead will lend his voice to three new installments of Doctor Who Audio Dramas. He’ll appear alongside Catherine Tate as companion Donna Noble who debuted on the BBC series in 2006 (and went on to U.S. notoriety on NBC’s The Office). Tennant last appeared on TV in Doctor Who for 2013’s 50th Anniversary special The Day Of The Doctor. The new audio dramas, produced by Big Finish, open with Doctor Who – The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Technophobia by Matt Fitton, which is set in a London slightly in the future. Next up is Time Reaver by Jenny T Colgan, and set on the entirely mechanical planet of Calibris. The third installment, Death And The Queen, by James Goss, follows a fairytale romance in the beautiful land of Goritania. The dramas will be released in May 2016.

Poland’s Cameraimage festival awards Golden, Silver and Bronze Frogs to films representing the greatest achievements in cinematography. This year’s competition lineup was unveiled this morning and includes a host of festival and commercial hits. Among the films competing from November 14-21 are Chilean miners drama The 33, DP: Checco Varese; Sundance breakout Brooklyn, DP: Yves Belanger; Todd Haynes’ Carol, DP: Ed Lachman; Mad Max: Fury Road, DP: John Seale; Oscar entry Rams, DP: Sturla Brandth Grøvlen; Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, DP: Danny Cohen; Cannes hits Sicario, DP: Roger A. Deakins, and Son Of Saul, DP: Mátyás Erdély; Sarah Gavron’s Suffragette, DP: Eduard Grau; and erstwhile Chinese Oscar entry Wolf Totem, DP: Jean-Marie Dreujou. The Award for Outstanding Achievements in Documentary Filmmaking will be presented to Polish helmer Marcel Łoziński.

The European Film Academy has chosen its first European Film Award recipients in six categories: cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, composer and sound design. The EFAs will be handed out in Berlin on December 12. Among the winners are the Austrian Foreign Language Oscar entry Goodnight Mommy for cinematography with the prize going to Martin Gschlacht. Also a Foreign Language Oscar entry, Belgium’s The Brand New Testament won the Production Design prize for Sylvie Olivé. European Editor of the year is Jacek Drosio for Poland’s Body. Cannes entry The Lobster took the award for Sarah Blenkinsop’s Costume Design; The Duke Of Burgundy out of the UK and Hungary won for Composer Cat’s Eyes; and Sound Design honors will go to Vasco Pimentel and Miguel Martins for Arabian Nights – Vol. I-III from Portugal, Germany, France and Switzerland. Nominees in the categories European Film, Comedy, Director, Screenwriter, Actress and Actor will be announced on November 7.

Former Pathé exec Francois Ivernel’s Montebello Productions has entered a first look development and production deal with French studio Gaumont. The agreement runs for three years and covers both film and TV production. Prior to forming Montebello, Ivernel ran Les Cinemas Gaumont Pathé and turned Pathé UK into one of the most successful production and distribution companies in Europe. He was executive producer on such films as Girl With A Pearl Earring, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Queen, Slumdog Millionnaire, 127 Hours, The Iron Lady, Mandela and Philomena among others. Gaumont, the world’s oldest film studio, has recently ramped up its activity producing, financing and releasing director driven features both in French and English. Gaumont Television’s credits include Hannibal for NBC, and Hemlock Grove and Narcos for Netflix.

Steve Jobs star Kate Winslet will receive the Variety Award at this year’s Moët British Independent Film Awards. The Oscar-winner will be handed the prize at the ceremony on December 6 in London. The prize recognizes a director, actor, writer or producer who has made a global impact and helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK. Benedict Cumberbatch was last year’s honoree. Winslet said, “I am thrilled to be receiving this award and to be in the company of a whole host of brilliant filmmakers and actors, many of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends and colleagues. It’s an honor to be flying the flag for British filmmaking.”

Sony Pictures Television says it anticipates finalizing the acquisition of MTG’s Viasat3 and Viasat6 TV channels, as well as the Viasat Play VOD service in the coming days. It is awaiting regulatory approval from the Hungarian Competition Authority. Once the deal is completed, SPT will fully own and operate the acquisitions, expanding the current portfolio of SPT brands in Hungary, which already includes the AXN, AXN White and AXN Black linear channels as well as two digital services: AXN NOW and AXN Player. Lyle Stewart, SVP, SPT Networks, CEEMA said the deal is a “cornerstone to increasing our foothold in the Central European market, and will provide countless benefits to our business partners and viewers. We are focused on further growing our business over the coming months, building on the considerable success our channels and digital services have already had.” With the addition of the Viasat channels, SPT Networks will have a 6.3% audience share of the 18-49 demo in Hungary, making it the second biggest cable/satellite portfolio in the country.