The announcements made at Cannes' Marché du Film
by Fabien Lemercier, Davide Abbatescianni, Vassilis Economou
- CANNES 2024: An overview of the acquisitions, sales, new films and more unveiled at the Cannes market, taking place from 14-22 May
This article will be updated regularly during Cannes' Marché du Film, taking place from 14-22 May.
France's mk2 Films has introduced Joachim Trier's new film Sentimental Value to buyers. The film sees him reuniting with Renate Reinsve, the Cannes Best Actress Award winner for his previous film The Worst Person in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile]. Set to start principal photography in August in Norway and France, the film will be produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Denmark/Sweden’s Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for France's Agat Films, Nathanaël Karmitz and Elisha Karmitz for MK Productions, and Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach for Germany’s Komplizen Film. Neon has acquired rights for the USA.
Noomi Rapace will star in Mother, to be helmed by Macedonian filmmaker Teona Stugar Mitevska. The new biopic, in which Rapace will play the legendary Mother Teresa, will mark the English-language debut of Mitevska, credited for the 2019 Berlin entry God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Labina Mitevska
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile]. The project is a co-production between North Macedonia’s Sisters and Brother Mitevski, Belgium’s Entre Chien et Loup, Denmark’s Frau Film, the Netherlands’ Baldr Film, and Sweden’s Spark Film & TV and Film i Väst, which has just boarded it.
Spain's Latido Films has secured worldwide sales rights for the serial-killer drama-thriller Sacamantecas, the third feature by writer-director David Pérez Sañudo. Sañudo's debut feature, Ane Is Missing [+see also:
film review
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interview: David Pérez Sañudo
film profile], also represented by Latido, premiered in San Sebastián's New Directors section and won three Spanish Academy Goya Awards. The film is being produced by Spaniard Olmo Figueredo’s La Claqueta with Pérez Sañudo’s Amania Films, and co-produced by Belgium's Robin Kerremans at Caviar and David Ragonig at Beluga Tree Productions.
Yorgos Lanthimos will reunite with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons on Bugonia. The film follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. Bugonia is based on the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet, directed by Jang Joon-hwan. It was developed for English adaptation by acclaimed director Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen for their Square Peg production label. Aster and Knudson will produce the project with Lanthimos veterans Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe (Element Pictures), alongside Lanthimos and Stone, as well as Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko (CJ ENM).
Trustnordisk has boarded Home, a feature exploring the intricate lives of those caught between two countries and two homes. The picture is being directed by actor Marijana Jankovic and produced by Nordisk Film. The film has entered production, and stars Dejan Cukic, Nada Sargin, Zlatko Buric, Trine Dyrholm, Claes Bang, Jesper Christensen, Lene Maria Christensen, Kirsten Lehfeldt, Nikola Kojo, Olga Odanovic and Branislav Trifunovic.
France’s Pathé International is launching pre-sales for The Unknown (L’inconnue), which will be the third directorial feature by Arthur Harari (following Dark Inclusion [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arthur Harari
film profile] and Onoda - 10 000 Nights in the Jungle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arthur Harari
film profile]), who recently won multiple awards (including an Oscar) for the screenplay for Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
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interview: Justine Triet
film profile]. Toplining the feature is Léa Seydoux. Production duties are being handled by bathysphère, with Pathé serving as a co-producer (and also as the French distributor). Neon has acquired rights for the USA.
Warsaw-based sales agency New Europe Film Sales has partnered with Spade, the production arm of French genre label The Jokers, and leading German distribution company Plaion Pictures to establish Cherry, a development fund focused on edgy films with crossover potential. While the partners did not disclose financial details, they highlighted that Cherry is intended as a development fund, rather than a production fund.
Italy’s Intramovies has acquired international sales rights to Vittoria by Venice prize-winning directors Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman (Californie [+see also:
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interview: Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey…
film profile], winner of the Europa Cinemas Label in the Giornate degli Autori). Vittoria centres on a Naples hairdresser, with three sons and a devoted husband, who is consumed by the dream of having a daughter. The film is being produced by Lorenzo Cioffi and Giorgio Giampà for Zoe Films, and Nanni Moretti for Sacher Film, with RAI Cinema and the support of Regione Campania. Vittoria is in post-production and will be ready in the second half of 2024.
Films Boutique is kicking off pre-sales for Silent Friend by Hungary's Ildikó Enyedi (winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2017 for On Body and Soul [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Réka Tenki
film profile] and in competition at Cannes in 2021 with The Story of My Wife [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildikó Enyedi
film profile]), which is currently being shot. Toplining the cast are Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Luna Wedler and Enzo Brumm. The story, written by the director herself, unfolds during three different time periods (1908, 1972 and 2020), all connected by a tree, and explores the fickle nature of what we call reality, by showing how radically the human perception of plants, animals and human beings has changed. Production duties are being handled by Germany's Pandora Film together with Hungary's Inforg-M&M, France's Galatée Films and China's Rediance, with support coming from sources such as Eurimages and the Hungarian National Film Fund.
Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, Jude Law, Zach Galifianakis and Tom Sturridge team up in Olivier Assayas’ political thriller The Wizard of the Kremlin, based on Giuliano da Empoli’s bestseller of the same name. Produced by Curiosa Films and Gaumont, The Wizard of the Kremlin is kicking off pre-sales through Gaumont. The story opens in Russia, in the early 1990s, in the aftermath of the USSR’s collapse. In a new world that promises freedom and flirts with chaos, a young artist-turned-TV producer, Vadim Baranov, unexpectedly becomes the spin doctor for a promising member of the FSB (ex-KGB), Vladimir Putin.
Spain's Filmax has picked up international rights to the upcoming kids' and family-orientated animated feature The Light of Aisha and is sharing the project with buyers. The CG-animated film tells the story of Aisha, a young girl living in 11th-century Al-Andalus in the south of modern-day Spain. Born into a family of calligraphers, Aisha would much rather work as a pyrotechnic artist on the popular fireworks displays used to celebrate all manner of important occasions. The Light of Aisha is a Spanish-German-Singaporean co-production involving Mago Production, Filmax, PBT Films and Sangnila.
The Black Nights Film Festival and Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event have jointly set up Creative Gate, a unique platform for international filmmakers, introducing locations, industry professionals and talents from Estonia.
South Africa's National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and the Netherlands Film Fund celebrate the renewal of their joint scheme Thuthuka. Besides continuing the collaboration, the scheme is also broadened to include a production pilot. In the presence of Dutch Minister of Culture Fleur Gräper-van Koolwijk, a new agreement lasting until December 2025 was signed.
The Match Factory has kicked off pre-sales on Duse by Italian director Pietro Marcello (primarily known for Martin Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile], which was awarded the 2019 Volpi Cup for Best Actor in competition in Venice, and for Scarlet [+see also:
film review
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interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile], which opened the Directors’ Fortnight in 2022). The film (following the trajectory of a famous diva of the Italian stage at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century) is currently in production, and stars Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Noémie Merlant in the lead roles. Italian firms Palomar and Avventurosa are heading up proceedings, alongside French outfit Ad Vitam.
SBS is producing and is set to manage worldwide sales on Two Prosecutors, Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa’s upcoming fiction feature, which will be his first since Donbass [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile] (awarded the Un Certain Regard Prize for Best Director in 2018 at Cannes, having previously competed three times in the festival with fiction films in 2010, 2012 and 2017). Adapted from Gueorgui Demidov’s story about the Great Purge, Loznitsa’s new movie, which is due to commence filming in October, is also being produced by Dutch firm Atoms & Void. Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania are also in on the action.
The Bureau Sales has kicked off pre-sales on Vincent Munier’s documentary Whispering in the Woods, which is his second feature after The Velvet Queen [+see also:
film review
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interview: Marie Amiguet and Vincent M…
film profile] (treated to a special screening at Cannes in 2021 and awarded the Best Documentary César and Lumière Awards in 2022). Currently in the shooting phase, the film is being produced by Paprika and will be distributed in France by Haut et Court.
SF Studios is currently developing a new feature about director Ingmar Bergman together with production company Beret Film. Bergman will be played by acclaimed Swedish actor Robert Gustafsson, and the screenplay is written by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer, Eric Broberg and Robert Gustafsson. SF Studios will distribute the film in the Nordics.
Autlook Filmsales has secured international sales rights to Us, Our Pets and the War, which looks at the impact of the war in Ukraine on animals.
Peter Webber, who helmed the Oscar-nominated Girl With a Pearl Earring [+see also:
trailer
film profile], is to direct a film about the family behind the Leica camera brand, who helped many Jewish people escape from Germany during World War II. Webber has teamed up with Red Panda Films’ Martin Serene and Franziska Morai, also the film’s screenwriter, Christine Guenther of Fireglory Pictures and Birgit Gernboeck to produce the film, with Versa Studios attached as a partner.
Beta Cinema confirms a slew of sales on its eagerly anticipated resistance epic William Tell. Currently in post-production, Nick Hamm’s timely adaptation for the big screen of Friedrich Schiller’s play stars Claes Bang, Golshifteh Farahani, Connor Swindells, Jonah Hauer-King and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, alongside a top-notch ensemble cast including Ellie Bamber, Rafe Spall, Cannes winner Emily Beecham and Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce. Going into the Cannes market, Beta Cinema has closed deals with Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, the Benelux, Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Ukraine, the Middle East and Turkey.
The Cannes- and Sundance-winning filmmaker Tarik Saleh starts shooting on 15 May for the political thriller Eagles of the Republic, with Playtime handling international sales. Memento Distribution will release it in France, and SF Studios has bought Nordic rights. Eagles of the Republic is the third and final film in Saleh’s Cairo trilogy after The Nile Hilton Incident [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tarik Saleh
film profile] and Boy from Heaven [+see also:
film review
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interview: Tarik Saleh
film profile].
Beta Cinema announces that all rights for North America have been picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films for Joachim A Lang’s gripping historical drama about Nazi Germany’s notorious Minister of Propaganda, Goebbels and the Führer (aka Führer and Seducer). Samuel Goldwyn Films is planning an autumn 2024 theatrical and digital release. The company has revealed deals for France, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece, while several major sales including Spain, Scandinavia, Japan and Australia & New Zealand had been announced earlier this year. The film will be released in German-speaking territories on 11 July.
Bankside has locked in pre-sales in key territories for Ugla Hauksdóttir’s debut, the Icelandic thriller The Fires, starring Danish actor Pilou Asbæk. Sales have landed in Germany, Eastern Europe, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Switzerland. The Fires follows a volcanologist, responsible for predicting volcanic activity and ensuring public safety, who finds herself caught between a love affair that may destroy her family and an eruption that threatens the capital city. The film is set to enter production in Iceland this summer.
Italy's Intramovies has picked up international rights to My Uncle Jens, the directorial debut of Norwegian helmer of Kurdish origin Brwa Vahabpour (see the article). Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski is producing for True Content Production, the Oslo branch of Scandi group True Content Entertainment. Anda Ionescu, of Romania's Tangaj Production, serves as a co-producer. The Italian outfit bills it as "a sophisticated comedy of cultural and social differences, which gradually transforms into a profound social drama".
Mubi has entered into a multi-territory agreement to acquire the rights for László Nemes’ Orphan, a Hungarian family drama set in the post-World War II era. The film will be released in France by Le Pacte. Mubi has secured exclusive rights for the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Latin America and Turkey. Sales for the film are being handled by Charades and New Europe Film Sales.
SF Studios has greenlit the action-thriller The Nation’s Gambit, which will now go into production. The film, directed by Jens Lien and based on Norwegian author Johan Høst’s successful crime novel of the same name, will be adapted into a feature by Norwegian production company Stig og Stein Studio, with SF Studios and Film i Väst serving as co-producers. SF Studios will distribute the movie in the Nordics, while REinvent handles international sales and has now begun pre-sales in Cannes. The film is slated for a theatrical release during autumn 2025.
TrustNordisk has acquired Sauna. Casual sex, opportunities to break the rules, and the right to choose love are just a few of the themes tackled in the new Danish film, which has just started filming. The feature, set in the Copenhagen queer community, marks the feature debut by directorial talent Mathias Broe and screenwriter William Lipperts. Produced by Mads-August Grarup Hertz for Nordisk Film Production, it stars Magnus Juhl Andersen and Nina Rask.
Ireland’s Element Pictures and Italy’s Wildside are slated to produce The Marriage Portrait, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Maggie O’Farrell that is set in 16th-century Florence, and follows the trials and tribulations of the young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici as she comes to the sudden realisation that her husband intends to murder her. The film will be directed by France’s Audrey Diwan (winner of the Golden Lion at Venice in 2021 with Happening [+see also:
film review
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interview: Anamaria Vartolomei
film profile] and set to open the upcoming San Sebastián Film Festival with Emmanuelle), who will write the screenplay alongside Marcia Romano.
France’s Playtime is kicking off sales for Last Breath by Costa-Gavras, an adaptation of the book Le Dernier souffle - Accompagner la fin de la vie by Claude Grange and Régis Debray. Currently in post-production, the movie (staged by KG Productions) boasts a cast including Kad Merad, Denis Podalydès, Marilyne Canto, Charlotte Rampling, Ángela Molina, Karin Viard, Hiam Abbass and Agathe Bonitzer.
France’s Le Pacte is getting pre-sales under way for The Great Arch by Stéphane Demoustier (see the article). The cast includes Denmark’s Lars Mikkelsen, his fellow countrywoman Sidse Babett Knudsen, and French thesps François Cluzet, Vincent Macaigne and Swann Arlaud. The production is being staged by Agat Films & Ex Nihilo (France) and Zentropa Entertainment (Denmark).
Omar Sy and Sara Giraudeau are toplining the romantic comedy French Lover by Nina Rives, the shoot for which kicks off on 27 May. Production duties are entrusted to Zazi Films, Federation Studio and Korokoro Productions, for Netflix.
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