Two films in the Panorama for Urban Distribution International

by Fabien Lemercier

03/02/2012 - Death for Sale by Faouzi Bensaïdi and The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears by Teona Strugar Mitevska are to shine in the line-up of French international sales company Urban Distribution at the 62th Berlinale from February 9 to 19, where both have been selected for its Panorama programme.

Produced by Belgium (Entre Chien et Loup), France (Liaison cinématographique), Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, Death for Sale by Faouzi Bensaïdi premiered at the last Toronto Film Festival. The intrigue is set in the Maroccan city of Tangiers where three friends try to maintain their loyalty despite the corruption that plagues the city. But they will dive into a maelstrom of violence, greed, jealousy, and treachery when they decide to hold up a jewellery shop. Bensaïdi was awarded at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 2003 with A Thousand Months and selected at the 2006 Venice Days with WWW : What a Wonderful World [trailer].

A Macedonia-Germany-Slovenia-Belgium co-production, The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears by Teona Strugar Mitevska stars Spanish actress Victoria Abril, as well as Labina Mitevska, Jean Marie Galey, and Arben Bajraktaraj. With narrative techniques inspired by fairy tales, the film pans from Paris to Macedonia, retracing the tragedies that befall two families. Strugar Mitevska also attended Berlinale’s Panorama in 2008 with I am From Titov Veles.

At the European Film Market, Urban Distributions will also show, among others, Franco-Belgo-Maroccan co-production The Riff Lover by Narjis Nejjar and the Argentinian film One Love by Paula Hernandez. Led by Frédéric Corvez, its team will pre-sell Mobil Home by François Pirot (France-Belgium-Luxemburg), Once Upon a Time Veronica by Marcelo Gomes (Brasil-France), The Libanese Rocket Society by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (France-Lebanon-United Arab Emirates), and Swiss-French co-production Connecting South by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud.

(Translated from French)