02/09/2020 - Charades, FTD, Celluloid Dreams and Indie Sales are setting the pace in Venice where 17 other French international sales agents can also boast at least one film each in the showcase

They’ve been chomping at the bit for months behind their screens and this 77^th  Venice International Film Festival (running 2 – 12 September) - the first major, international festival to unfold in person since February’s Berlinale - will allow these numerous and ever-dynamic French vendors to set foot on the Lido so as to engage, at long last, in face-to-face (socially distanced) negotiations, and close deals which would otherwise take virtual form.

And these agents have no shortage of trump cards up their sleeves as six of the eighteen films taking part in the official competition are the shining stars of French line-ups: two come courtesy of Charades (The Macaluso Sisters [+see also:
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film profile] by Italy’s Emma Dante and American production The World to Come by Norway’s Mona Fastvold), two hail from Celluloid Dreams (the Italian-Belgian production Miss Marx [+see also:
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interview: Susanna Nicchiarelli
film profile] by Susanna Nicchiarelli and Sun Children by Iran’s Majid Majidi), Lovers [+see also:
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interview: Nicole Garcia
film profile] by French director Nicole Garcia is offered up by FTD (France TV Distribution) and Quo Vadis, Aida ? [+see also:
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interview: Jasmila Žbanić
film profile] by Bosnia’s Jasmila Zbanic is part of the Indie Sales line-up. Also worth a mention are the two Golden Lion contenders put forward by the German outfit Films Boutique, a subsidiary of the French group Playtime: And Tomorrow the Entire World [+see also:
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interview: Julia von Heinz
film profile] by Germany’s Julia Von Heinz and Dear Comrades [+see also:
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film profile] by Russian veteran Andreï Konchalovsky.

Standing tall among the French sales agents in the running for the Golden Lion is Charades, who are wielding a third ace on the Lido: Shorta [+see also:
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interview: Anders Ølholm and Frederik …
film profile] by Danish duo Anders Ølholm and Frederik Louis Hviid, which will enjoy its world premiere at Venice’s International Film Critics’ Week.

Seventeen other French international sales agents are likewise brandishing weapons in the various Venetian selections. Wild Bunch will mainly be wagering on three films, with Mandibles [+see also:
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interview: Quentin Dupieux
film profile] by the iconoclastic French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux showcasing out of competition (sales managed jointly by WTFilms), and French production The Third War [+see also:
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interview: Giovanni Aloi
film profile] by Italy’s Giovanni Aloi jostling in the Orizzonti line-up alongside American Gia Coppola’s Mainstream.

On the topic of Out of Competition offerings, mk2 Films will negotiate on behalf of The Ties [+see also:
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interview: Daniele Luchetti
film profile] by Italian filmmaker Daniele Luchetti, which is opening the Festival today, while Pathé International is selling British production The Duke [+see also:
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film profile] by Roger Michell. In terms of documentaries, The Party Film Sales can hope to seal some good deals thanks to City Hall by America’s Frederick Wiseman, while Sophie Dulac Distribution are helming sales for Camille Lotteau’s French title Princesse Europe [+see also:
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film profile] (to be shown in a Special Screening).

As for the competitive Orizzonti section, Alpha Violet intends to do good business via Apples [+see also:
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interview: Christos Nikou
film profile] by Greek director Christos Nikou and Memento Films International will be pinning its hopes on Night of the Kings [+see also:
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interview: Philippe Lacôte
film profile] by the French-Ivory Coast filmmaker Philippe Lacôte. The same goes for Bac Films International with The Man Who Sold His Skin [+see also:
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interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania, Versatile with Gaza Mon Amour [+see also:
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film profile] by the Palestinian brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, DreamLab Films with Careless Crime by Iran’s Shahram Mokri, and Arizona with its co-production Yellow Cat [+see also:
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film profile] by Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov.

Elsewhere, Venice Days will see Shellac snap into action, selling – having co-produced – The Stonebreaker [+see also:
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interview: Gianluca and Massimiliano D…
film profile] by the Italian brothers Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio. Loco Films will join them, negotiating on behalf of The Whaler Boy [+see also:
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interview: Philipp Yuryev
film profile] by Russia’s Philipp Yuryev, as will Parisian firm Yilisoo Films with the Chinese-French co-production Mama [+see also:
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interview: Li Dongmei
film profile] by Li Dongmei. Also worth a mention are two titles featuring in the line-up of Indie Sales’ Belgian subsidiary Best Friend Forever: the French-Algerian co-production Honey Cigar [+see also:
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interview: Kamir Aïnouz
film profile] by Kamir Aïnouz, which will be opening Venice Days in competition, and Saint-Narcisse by Canada’s Bruce LaBruce.

Last but not least, International Critics’ Week will see Reel Suspects selling the Lithuanian production The Flood Won’t Come [+see also:
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interview: Marat Sargsyan
film profile] by Armenian director Marat Sargsyan, while MPM Premium will be negotiating on behalf of Ghosts [+see also:
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film profile] by Turkey’s Azra Deniz Okyay, thus rounding off a very strong contingent of French vendors wielding a host of Venetian aces and ready and raring to take full advantage of their exhibition on the Lido, where the physical presence of the global film industry is (cautiously) reasserting itself.

(Translated from French)