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Charades Boards Family Thriller ‘Bloodsuckers’ From ‘Midsommar’ Producer (EXCLUSIVE)
Paris‑based sales company Charades (“Urchin”) has boarded “Bloodsuckers,” a family thriller that marks the sophomore feature of Elin Grönblom (“Ella and Friends”).
Currently in post-production, the film is being showcased today at Göteborg Film Festival’s Works in Progress and will be officially launched by Charades at the EFM where a promo reel will be presented to buyers.
“Bloodsuckers” is produced by Mylla Films, an ambitious genre film and TV label launched by Patrik Andersson, whose credits include Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” and Jakob Abrahamsson, who previously worked at NonStop Entertainment.
The story follows Johanna (38), who heads off on a well-deserved vacation with her family. “A visit to the deep Scandinavian forest leaves her drawn to a mesmerizing dark bog, where relentless mosquitoes seem to awaken something within her. As their bites take hold, her self-preserving instincts emerge, transforming her into a mother driven to extremes to finally find some peace and quiet,” reads the synopsis.
Grönblom is a promising Scandinavian filmmaker who graduated with a MFA in Filmmaking from The New York Film Academy and made her debut feature, “Ella and Friends,” after having directed several acclaimed short films, including “My Dad’s an Alien!” and “Goldfish Love.”
Andersson and Abrahamsson, who are producing via their four-year old vehicle Mylla Films, said, “We are thrilled to be in the hands of Charades and to see the film launched onto the international market with the strongest possible partner for a feature like this, their love for bold, director-driven cinema makes it the perfect home for the film.”
“‘Bloodsuckers’ stands out through its singular blend of psychological thriller, dark humour and an unsettling portrait of family life, exquisitely crafted and executed by Elin Grönblom and Johanna Sonck it’s coming along both deeply Scandinavian and strikingly universal. It’s a film that will hit close to home – wherever home is – and we’re thrilled to be presenting it to the international market at EFM”
Charades’ co-founder Carole Baraton said, “We wanted to be a part of as soon as we heard its pitch, the film blends everything we love in Scandi cinema — (very) dark-humour, sharp social critique and close character study — and refreshingly takes on the sacro-saint institution of the family.” “We can not wait to bring Elin’s radical yet playful voice to audiences,” Baraton added.
Mylla films’ development pipeline includes Michael Marcimain’s “Devastation (“Förhärjelsen”), and Måns Mårlind’s “Before They Were Gods” with Nick Cave and Joakim Thåström.
The project is backed by Film i Väst, Sveriges Television, Good Hand Production and Nonstop Winning Formula, with the support from the Swedish Film Institute (commissioner Hanna Sohlberg), Finnish Film Foundation, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Svenska Kulturfonden and Amos Andersons Fond; in association with YLE, Cinemanse, Nonstop Entertainment, MAEQ Studios and Peter Harrysson Media Invest. “Bloodsuckers” was produced as part of an initiative from the Swedish Film Institute and Sveriges Television called Moving Sweden.
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Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was awarded the European Order of Merit on Tuesday. Merkel warned that Europe could no longer take peace and security for granted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She also said changes in US security policy showed old certainties were fading.
Spain’s national court announced on Monday that it had acquitted Shakira of tax fraud in a case more than a decade old, and ordered the country’s tax authorities to repay her tens of millions of dollars.
The ruling is part of the Colombian pop star’s yearslong legal battle with the Spanish authorities. Upholding an appeal she filed, it orders the state to return 55 million euros (about $64 million) plus interest to the singer. The court ruled in April but documents were released on Monday.
At the heart of the case were allegations that Shakira, 49, had been a resident of Spain in 2011 and therefore owed taxes to the Spanish government that year. Spain’s national court said that hadn’t been proven.
To be considered a tax resident in Spain, a person has to spend more than 183 days of the year in the country, have their main economic activities based there or have a spouse or children living there.
The court said in its statement that Shakira had been in Spain for 163 days in 2011. Spain’s tax authorities failed to prove “that the singer had the core of her economic interests in Spain and family relationships with residents in our country” during that year, according to the court.
José Luis Prada, Shakira’s lawyer, said in a statement that the ruling “represents a significant personal and reputational vindication for Shakira after more than eight years of litigation.”
The ruling announced Monday applies only to 2011. In a separate case, prosecutors had accused Shakira — whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll — of six counts of tax fraud, charging that she had failed to pay €14.5 million in income taxes to the Spanish government from 2012 to 2014.
In that case, prosecutors had sought an eight-year prison sentence and a fine of more than €23 million.
In November 2023, just before a trial was set to begin in Barcelona, Shakira reached a deal with Spanish prosecutors under which she agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and pay a fine of €7 million.
Shakira has repeatedly denied the accusations and said that she was not living in Spain during those years.
In a statement on Monday, the singer said that the ruling ended her fight with the Spanish tax authorities and that she had relocated to Miami. She said that she had been made an example of in order “to send a threatening message to the rest of the taxpayers.”
“For nearly a decade, I have been treated as guilty,” she said, adding: “Today, that narrative falls apart.”
According to court documents, prosecutors said that Shakira had bought a house in Barcelona in 2012 that became a primary home for her along with her former partner, the soccer star Gerard Piqué, and their son.
But the court found that in 2011 “there was no marital bond” between Shakira and a Spanish resident, nor were her children residing in Spain, according to the statement on Monday.
Shakira and Mr. Piqué announced their separation in 2022.
Punch the monkey makes new friends after bullying video goes viral
This video shows Punch, a young macaque in Japan who has gone viral, seeking physical contact not from his stuffed toy, but from another monkey, eventually climbing onto its back for a vital social behavior for young macaques known as the “piggyback ride.” Punch gained fame after his birth last year and his abandonment by his mother.
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Two American nationals were reportedly arrested in Japan on Sunday after one allegedly entered the enclosure of Punch, the young macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo who became famous online for his inseparable bond with a stuffed orangutan toy.
Videos circulating online appear to show a person dressed in an emoji costume climbing over a barrier into the Japanese macaque enclosure before dropping a small stuffed toy near the animals, startling them and causing them to retreat, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The suspects were identified as a 24-year-old college student and a 27-year-old self-described singer, AFP reported.
PUNCH THE MONKEY, VIRAL STAR, EXPERIENCES DRAMATIC BREAKTHROUGH AMONG ZOO MATES
This photo taken on Feb. 19, 2026 shows Punch sitting with his stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo. (JIJI PRESS / AFP via Getty Images)
Zoo staff quickly intervened, and authorities said neither suspect made physical contact with the monkeys, according to AFP.
Ichikawa Police told AFP the two men were arrested on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business.
One suspect was not cooperating with police, while the other denied the allegations, according to reports citing NHK.
In a statement posted to X on May 17, Ichikawa City Zoo confirmed the pair had been turned over to police and said safety inspections were conducted afterward.
ORPHANED BABY MONKEY FINDS COMFORT IN STUFFED ANIMAL AFTER BEING ABANDONED BY MOTHER AT BIRTH
Punch is seen with his stuffed animal on Feb. 20, 2026. (Photo by David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Officials added that no animals were injured during the incident.
“Around 10:50 today, there was an intruder in Saruyama,” the zoo wrote. “We are informing you that the two individuals, including the intruder in question, have been handed over to the police.”
The zoo also announced temporary viewing-area closures and enhanced security measures while operations continued as scheduled.
SEVERAL MONKEYS STILL ON THE LOOSE IN ST LOUIS AS OFFICIALS CALL OFF SEARCH FOR ROAMING ANIMALS
Punch became a viral sensation earlier this year after zoo staff gave him a stuffed orangutan toy for comfort. (@20230605x_x via Storyful)
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The monkey had been abandoned by his mother shortly after birth in July 2025, prompting zookeepers to hand-raise him.
Fox News Digital’s Khloe Quill contributed to this report.
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