Louise Tutt

The production reunited with the highly-regarded Ewa Puszczynska of Warsaw-­based Extreme Emotions.

"Where it's a queer film, I'll always look for a queer perspective if I can get one".

Iris Knobloch eloquently set the scene for the festival in the current geopolitical context, while Thierry Fremaux rambled through an eclectic lineup.

"I don't know what's in the water but Kazakhstan is absolutely incredible," she says of an emerging territory.

"We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all," Bafta says.

'One Battle After Another' leads the nominations with 14, closely followed by Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' with 13.

The Bafta longlists were dominated by commercial, star-driven films.

"Our offer... provides a more certain and quicker path to completion," said Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Upcoming projects include Sharon Horgan's first feature screenplay and a 1960s-set drama based on a script by 'Challengers' writer Justin Kuritzkes.

Kevin Loader's outfit has been deploying the Independent Film Tax Credit to get productions off the ground