07/02/2022 - In the running for the Golden Bear, Ursula Meier’s movie leads an array of films which also includes upcoming works by Dominik Moll and Tarek Saleh, and a market screening of Tropic of Violence

Riding the wave of success enjoyed by Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Asghar Farhadi
film profile] - which triumphed at the Cannes Film Festival and has been selected to compete in the Oscars - and faithful to its strategy of prioritising quality over quantity, French sales agent Memento International (directed by Émilie Georges) is once again boasting a Golden Bear contender in its line-up at the European Film Market (taking place online from 10 to 17 February), which is unfolding within the 72nd Berlinale: namely The Line [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ursula Meier
film profile] by Ursula Meier.

The third feature film to come courtesy of the French-Swiss director who was revealed to the world during Cannes’ Critics’ Week 2008 via Home [+see also:
film review
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interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
interview: Thierry Spicher
interview: Ursula Meier
film profile] and presented with a Special Jury Prize in Berlin 2012 thanks to Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
interview: Ursula Meier
film profile], The Line – which will enjoy its world premiere on 11 February - stars Stéphanie Blanchoud, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Elli Spagnolo (in her first screen appearance), Dali Benssalah, India Hair, Éric Ruf and Benjamin Biolay in its cast. Written by Stéphanie Blanchoud, Ursula Meier and Antoine Jaccoud, the story revolves around 35-year-old Margaret who has a history of violent behaviour which has already cost her a romantic relationship. She has now moved back in with her mother Christina, a fragile, immature 55-year-old woman who blames Margaret, her firstborn, for ruining her dreams of a career as a concert pianist. In a state of unbridled fury during an argument, Margaret hits Christina. The law steps in, further complicating family dynamics. As she awaits trial, Margaret is forbidden from coming into contact with her mother or within 100 metres of their home. This only intensifies her desire to be closer to her family. Every day, Margaret appears at this 100-metre threshold in order to see her 12-year-old sister Marion and to give her music lessons… The Line is produced by Pauline Gygax and Max Karli on behalf of Swiss outfit Bandita Cinéma together with French firm Films de Pierre (Marie-Ange Luciani) and Belgium’s Films du Fleuve (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Delphine Tomson), in co-production with Arte France Cinéma, RTS, RTBF, Voo and Be TV. Cinematography comes courtesy of Agnès Godard while the film’s French release will be steered by Diaphana.

The EFM will also see Memento International pursuing pre-sales on two highly awaited films currently in post-production: French-Belgian thriller The Night of the 12th by Dominik Moll (read our article) and Boy from Heaven [+see also:
film review
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interview: Tarik Saleh
film profile] by Swedish director Tarik Saleh.

Standing out in the field of market screenings, we find Tropic of Violence [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Manuel Schapira, which takes viewers to the forgotten French territory of Mayotte to tell a story (based on a screenplay penned by the director and novelist Delphine de Vigan) revolving around young Moïse who, following his mother’s death, ends up living in a shanty town full of minors who are left entirely to their own devices. It’s here that he meets Bruce, the leader of a tyrannical and wholly unpredictable gang of street kids. Moïse’s fate now hangs in the balance on this island which is fast becoming a war zone… Starring Gilles-Alane Ngalamou Hippocrate, Céline Sallette, rising star Dali Benssalah and Fazal Bacar-Moilim, this feature film steered by Carole Lambert on behalf of Windy Production will be distributed in French cinemas by Tandem, as of 23 March.

Also worth a mention in the Memento International line-up, among other finished films, are Catch the Fair One by US director Josef Kubota Wladyka (which IFC Films will release in the USA on 11 February), Cinema Sabaya [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Israel’s Orit Fouks Rotem and Venice titles Captain Volkonogov Escaped [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Russian helmers Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov, and Miracle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan George Apetri
film profile] by Romanian director Bodgan George Apetri.

(Translated from French)