04/12/2014 - Alanté Kavaïté’s feature will be in competition in the World Cinema Dramatic section; Films Distribution is handling international sales

The Paris-based outfit Les Films d'Antoine, managed by Antoine Simkine, is extremely pleased with the announcement that The Summer of Sangaile by Alanté Kavaïté has been selected in the World Cinema Dramatic competitive section of the upcoming Sundance Film Festival (22 January-1 February 2015). Producer Simkine (who has Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Pioneer [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Jens Lien’s Sons of Norway [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Juan Carlos Medina’s Insensibles [+see also:
trailer
film profile] to his credit) told Cineuropa about the origins of the project, which brings together France, Lithuania and the Netherlands, and will be sold abroad by Films Distribution.

“The Summer of Sangaile is the second feature by Alanté Kavaïté, who lives in France and whose debut film, Fissures [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2007), I also produced. We developed it with backing from the Media Programme. Because Alanté was born in Lithuania, she wanted to make a movie that took place in her home country, and she wrote the screenplay with that angle in mind, featuring a Lithuanian story, in the Lithuanian language and for Lithuanian actresses. It wasn’t necessarily that easy to achieve from within France, but we knuckled down to it all the same. We found a Lithuanian co-producer, Zivile Gallego (Fralita Films), who received support from the Lithuanian Film Centre and the country’s Ministry of Culture. From that starting point, we topped up the rest of the funding with Films Distribution, which got on board the project right away, the Cofinova 10 Sofica and especially Eurimages, which was a very important piece of the puzzle. The Dutch outfit Viking Films (Marleen Slot) got on board just before the shoot, with backing from the Netherlands Film Fund. We also received support from the CNC for the film score, which was composed by JB Dunkel (a member of the renowned band Air). In the end, it’s a co-production under the European convention, which we were forced to do because there is no treaty between France and Lithuania. There is still no French distributor, because even though certain companies have taken an interest, they are waiting to see the film, which will have its world premiere in Park City.

“The Summer of Sangaile is a film about personal fulfilment that could have an impact on people’s lives, on the act of choosing what you become. The main character is a young girl who dreams of flying planes, focusing on aerobatics. Therefore, she really has to go the extra mile, and thanks to a certain encounter and the positive light that others will see her in, she will succeed in becoming herself.

“It makes me immensely happy to have been selected at Sundance, which is the perfect place to launch The Summer of Sangaile. And it’s all the more attractive from the world-cinema angle, as it’s a film that was developed in France, shot in Lithuania, with backing from the Netherlands and Eurimages, and we’ve been picked for Sundance: now that’s a real journey!”

(Translated from French)