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Universal Destinations & Experiences is out with new details for Universal Kids Resort, its first theme park designed specifically for families with young children planned for Frisco, Texas.

The project, first announced in January, will feature a theme park with family-friendly attractions and themed lands, interactive shows, merchandise, food and beverage venues and character meet and greets, as well as a 300–room themed hotel as Universal looks to introduce itself and its storytelling to young audiences in new markets. It broke ground on the space last month.

The resort “will inspire the unbridled creativity of kids through imagination, discovery and most importantly – play,” said Molly Murphy, President, Universal Creative. “We’re designing the resort so kids and families can feel the thrill of being physically immersed in their most beloved stories and characters.”

The park is set in a lush green landscape with a distinctive look, feel and scale specifically for younger kids.

“Becoming Elizabeth” star Romola Garai is set to tackle the sensitive subject of postpartum psychosis in a new short film, “Wild Animal.”

The project, written and directed by award-winner Beth Park (“Fishwife”), will explore the “disorientating loss of identity in new motherhood” with Garai playing the lead character, called Mallory.

The project has already won the First Flights short film fund for female voices operated by Goldfinch, which awards winning projects a financial grant of 10,000. The grant is partially funding “Wild Animals.”

Isabella Speaight and Molly Murphy of Backscatter Productions will produce the short.

“‘Wild Animal’ is extraordinarily accomplished in both its visual style, storytelling and the skill of the writing,” Garai said of the screenplay. “It is funny, weird and then searingly moving.”

Park said: “Romola had an instant connection with the themes and enthusiasm for the screenplay. Mallory is a layered and complex role and Romola is excited...

The film is produced by Backscatter Productions, Lunapark Pictures.

Screen Star of Tomorrow 2021 Thalissa Teixeira will star in the first section of Kink, an anthology film about desire, intimacy and sexuality that is the debut directorial feature of UK filmmaker Freya Mavor.

Written by Mavor, the first part of the feature will shoot in the UK at the end of March, with further parts from different writers filming across the next 12 months. Each segment will run between 20-40 minutes, with Mavor directing and curating the entire project.

It is produced by Isabella Speaight and Molly Murphy of Backscatter Productions, with Pietro Greppi of Lunapark Pictures.

Los Angeles public broadcaster Kcet has confirmed the episodic lineup for its 21st annual “Fine Cut Festival,” which features short films from Southern California student filmmakers.

Finalists will air on Kcet every Wednesday at 10 p.m. starting Sept. 30, followed by every Thursday at 11 p.m. nationally on LinkTV, starting Oct. 1. Over 400 films were submitted during May and June from filmmakers enrolled in 40 Southern California schools; finalists were chosen in the categories of documentary, animation and narrative shorts (under 25 minutes).

Winners in each of the three categories will be announced during a pre-taped virtual awards ceremony event on Sept. 29. Prizes are valued at between $2,500 and $10,000, with one student also selected for The Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award — which sends them to the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker showcase at the Cannes International Film Festival next May (pending travel restrictions).

Finalists and winners in each category were chosen by judges including...

When characters in a movie are having a good time, it’s hard to completely resist their charms. Such is the case with Finding Steve McQueen, a jaunty heist tale that has more than its fair share of fun, even if the final product is on the sleight side. This is the sort of picture that, depending on how and when you watch it, will determine in large part what your feelings are. If you were to see it on cable or on a plane, for example, it would certainly satisfy and pass the time. In theaters or On Demand, however? There, it comes up a little short of the necessary mark. The film is a mix of a crime caper and a bit of a romance as well. In 1980, Harry Barber (Travis Fimmel) begins to tell his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Rachel Taylor) a story. Back in 1972, a group of thieves from Youngstown,...