The best of Italian cinema for Magrytte Films

by Fabien Lemercier

14/09/2006 - Good news for Italian films, which are to get good distribution in French theatres and co-production financing thanks to Magrytte Films.

Run by Marc André Grynbaum, the company is a 50% set-up with the French outfit Babe Films, headed by Fabio Conversi, a specialist in partnerships with Italian films, in particular those produced by Cattleya.

As a foretaste of the official creation of the partnership in January, Magrytte Films will be releasing Paolo Virzi’s N.: Napoleon & Me [trailer], starring Daniel Auteuil and Monica Bellucci, on 200 screens on October 18. The film was co-produced by two French outfits and owes its release to an ambitious promotional campaign estimated at €900,000.

December sees the release of The Missing Star [trailer] by Gianni Amelio (see interview), starring Sergio Castellitto; while Don’t Tell [trailer] by Cristina Comencini (nominated for 2006 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and Best Actress award for Giovanna Mezzogiorno at Venice 2005) opens in February 2007; and Mare Nero by Roberta Torre, starring Luigi Lo Cascio and Anna Mouglalis, is set for a March release.

The Babe Films-Magrytte Films partnership will also be active in video distribution, video on demand and international sales. Production activity will not be limited to Italian films, however, with two French projects to be announced in the autumn.

Magrytte Films’ new strategy for theatrical distribution is aimed at releasing between 15 and 20 titles per year and the outfit is already working on acquiring distribution rights in France for other Italian films.

(Translated from French)