US Briefs: Daisy Ridley joins 'The Eagle Huntress' as EP

Daisy Ridley From Star Wars: The Force Awakens has joined Morgan Spurlock on the executive producer roster for Sundance selection The Eagle Huntress.

Otto Bell directed the Sundance Kids Premiere selection about Aisholpan, a 13-year old Mongolian girl who strives to become the first female eagle hunter in 2,000 years of male dominated history. Aisholpan plans to attend the festival.

“I was deeply moved by Aisholpan’s story and wanted to be a part of this beautiful film,” said Ridley. “I feel audiences and young girls around the world will be as inspired by her story as I was, and I am so proud to share her journey with the world.”

• Lisandro Alonso’s Argentinean film Jauja starring Viggo Mortensen won top honours for best Latin American film of the year at the sixth annual Cinema Tropical Awards in New York on Thursday night. Panamanian film Invasion by Abner Benaim was named Best Latin American documentary, while Jayro Bustamante’s Ixcanul was honoured with prize Best First Film. For the full list of awards click here.
• Windows by Maru Buendia-Senties, One Halloween by Rebecca Murga, Swimming In The Desert by Alvaro Ron and Dying Man by Rodrigo Reyes are the finallists in NALIP’s (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) new Latino Lens incubation and production initiative. The selections will receive NALIP contributions for pre-production, production and post-production tools and access to other resources to support the successful completion of each short film.
• Vimeo announced in Sundance an initiative to close the gender-equality gap called Share The Screen. The platform will invest in five projects from women this year and provide marketing support and global distribution via Vimeo On Demand. Saturday Night Live cast member Aidy Bryant’s Darby Forever is the first original short from the initiative.
• Dell and Adrian Grenier announced at Sundance the Legacy Of Good short documentary film contest with a $25,000 prize for production costs and $10,000 of digital media solutions as well as Dell gear. For further details click here.
• Principal photography has begun in Los Angeles on Citizen Skull Production’s thriller The Deep End. Nora-Jane Noone from Brooklyn stars with Alexandra Park, Tobin Bell and Diane Farr. Matt Eskandari directs from a screenplay he wrote with Michael Hultquist. Mark Myers will oversee the production with executive producers Fernando Szew, Sharon Bordas and Hannah Pillemer.