29/01/2010

With Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sylvain Chomet
film profile] in the Berlinale Special section, Pathé’s French/UK international sales team, headed by Muriel Sauzay, has an impressive asset on show at the 60th Berlinale (February 11-21), which it intends to make the most of at the European Film Market.

The animated film, based on an unpublished screenplay by Jacques Tati, will be released by Pathé in France (May 5, 2010) and the UK. It has been pre-sold for the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, Russia, the Baltic countries, Cyprus, Israel and Brazil.

But the highlight of the line-up is Rien à Déclarer (“Nothing To Declare”) by Dany Boon, who proved with Welcome to the Sticks [+see also:
trailer
film profile] that French comedies could export well (5.8m admissions outside France in 2008-2009, including 2m in Germany and 570,000 in Spain). The actor-director will this time star alongside Benoît Poelvoorde.

The film, which will start shooting on February 15, is produced by Jérôme Seydoux for Pathé. Its €23.5m budget includes €6m in backing from TF1 Films Productions.

Sales will also get underway for Debs Gardner-Paterson’s UK production Africa United, which is currently shooting. Pathé will distribute the title in the UK and France.

Among the EFM market screenings, Pathé International will unveil UK director Neil Marshall’s Centurion, which has been pre-sold to almost 40 territories (including European countries Germany, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Austria, Benelux, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Switzerland). Pathé will launch the film in the UK and France on April 23 and June 23, respectively.

There will also be screenings of Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud’s Oceans, Géraldine Nakache and Hervé Mimran’s comedy Tout Ce Qui Brille (“All That Shines”), and Tom Harper’s The Scouting Book For Boys.

At Berlin, Pathé International will also continue pre-sales for Julian Schnabel’s Miral, which is currently in post-production and has already been bought for the main European territories.

(Translated from French)