23/04/2024 - The French international sales agent will be wagering on Block Pass in Critics’ Week, Niki in the Un Certain Regard section and Mi bestia in ACID

Unspooling within the 77th Cannes Film Festival, the Marché du Film (running 14 – 22 May) is shaping up to be an advantageous one for French international sales agent Pulsar Content (directed by Gilles Sousa and Marie Garret), whose line-up notably includes three first feature films showcasing in as many different selections on the Croisette: Block Pass by French director Antoine Chevrollier, Niki by Céline Salette and Mi bestia by Colombia’s Camila Beltrán.

Highly acclaimed for the series Oussekine (which he created, wrote and directed), but also for directing eight episodes of Baron Noir and fourteen of The Bureau [+see also:
interview: Frédéric Lavigne
series profile], Antoine Chevrollier has successfully made the leap to the big screen, with his debut feature film, Block Pass, set to enjoy its world premiere in competition in Critics’ Week. The cast stars Sayyid El Alami (the protagonist of Oussekine, well-received in Zombi Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Bonello
film profile] and in the series Messiah, among other works, and soon to be seen in Leurs enfants après eux), Amaury Foucher (in his first film role), Damien Bonnard (nominated for the 2020 and 2022 Best Actor Césars thanks to Les Misérables [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ladj Ly
film profile] and The Restless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile]), Florence Janas, Artus Solaro, Léonie Dahan Lamort, Axelle Fresneau and Mathieu Demy.

Written by Antoine Chevrollier, Bérénice Bocquillon and Faïza Guène, the story revolves around Willy who has been engulfed in anger since his father’s death and who spends his time with his group of friends in at La Pampa, a motocross track where his best friend Jojo is training for the French championship. Both of them dream of being elsewhere… Until the day everything falls apart around them.

Block Pass is produced by Nicolas Blanc on behalf of Agat Films & Cie and is pre-purchased by OCS and Disney +. Supported by way of an advance on receipts from the CNC, the feature film is further backed by the Pays-de-Loire region and the SOFICA companies Cinéaxe, Cofimage, SG Image and La Banque Postale Image, with the movie’s music composed by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine. Its distribution in French cinemas is entrusted to Tandem.

The first feature film directed by actress Céline Sallette, Niki, is set to be unveiled in the Un Certain Regard line-up. Written by the neo-filmmaker, the story charts the fictional artistic trajectory of famous personality Niki de Saint Phalle, played by Charlotte Le Bon (nominated for 2015’s Best Supporting Role César via Yves Saint Laurent [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jalil Lespert
film profile]) who’s notably joined in the cast by Damien Bonnard, Judith Chemla Bon (nominated for the 2017 Best Actress César thanks to A Woman’s Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] and in the Best Supporting Role category in 2013 and 2023), Quentin Dolmaire and Virgile Bramly. The feature film is produced by Cinéfrance Studios and Wild Bunch (who are also overseeing the movie’s release in France), in co-production with France 2 Cinéma, and is pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+.

Cannes will also see Pulsar Content hedging its bets on Camila Beltrán’s French-Colombian production Mi bestia (read our article), which is produced by French firm Films Grand Huit and Colombia’s Felina Films, Inercia Películas and Ganas Productions, and is set to be unveiled in the ACID selection, distributed in France by New Story.

Last but not least, the Marché du Film will find Pulsar Content negotiating on behalf of several titles in post-production, namely Pablo Absento’s horror film Bloat (produced by Cyprus, Japan and France), Davide Livermore and Paolo Gep Cucco’s musical The Opera! (notably starring Vincent Cassel), Eternal Visionary by Italy’s Michele Placido (toplined by Fabrizio Bentivoglio and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), Mikado by Baya Kasmi (article), American road movie Silver Star by Lola Bessis -Ruben Amar, horror film Mads by David Moreau, and A Free Woman by Morgan Simon (article).

(Translated from French)