13/02/2023 - An executing lineup with Opponent in Panorama, The Lost Boy in Generation, Richard The Stork 2 in market premiere as well as Sidonie in Japan in post-production

There’s something for everyone. The buyers attending the European Film Market of the 73rd Berlinale (from 16 to 26 February) will be able to tap into the diversity of the 16 titles in the lineup of Indie Sales, the French international sales agent.

Headlining is Opponent [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milad Alami
film profile] by Sweden's Milad Alami (who made a big splash with The Charmer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ardalan Esmaili
interview: Milad Alami
film profile] at San Sebastián New Directors in 2017) in the Panorama section. Discovered at the Work In Progress of the Arcs Film Festival, the filmmaker's second feature follows Iman (played by the renowned Payman Maadi, well liked in Leïla et ses frères, La Loi de Téhéran or Une séparation) and his family who have been forced to flee Iran following a devastating rumour. As refugees, they end up in a run-down hotel in northern Sweden. Despite his feelings of helplessness, Iman tries to maintain his role as patriarch of the family. To increase their chances of getting asylum, he breaks a promise to his wife and joins the local wrestling club. When rumours begin to resurface, Iman's fear and despair begin to take hold... A production helmed by Swedish outfit Tangy with co-production by their compatriots Filmpool Nord, Film i Väst and Sveriges Television, and Norwegian company Ape & Bjørn.

Also shining in the festival's showcase is The Lost Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zeno Graton
film profile] by Belgian director Zeno Graton, with Khalil Gharbia (revealed in Peter von Kant [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) in the lead role.

The Indie Sales team, led by Nicolas Eschbach (supported by Constance Poubelle, Sarah Delafoulhouze and Alfred Deragne) will start pre-sales at the EFM for two new titles in post-production: the Franco-Italian production La nouvelle femme [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Léa Todorov (with Jasmine Trinca and Leïla Bekhti in the cast) and Sidonie in Japan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Élise Girard
film profile] by Élise Girard. The latter sees Isabelle Huppert as a famous French writer, mourning the death of her husband, who is invited to Japan for the re-release of her first book. She is welcomed by her local publisher who takes her to Kyoto, the city of shrines and temples. As they travel together through the flowers of the Japanese spring, she slowly opens up to him. But the ghost of her husband pursues her and she will have to leave the past behind to let herself love again... A film produced by French outfit 10:15 Productions and co-produced by Lupa Film (Germany), Fourier Films (Japan) and Box Productions (Switzerland).

Indie Sales will also be pursuing pre-sales for three films in post-production: The Wall [+see also:
film review
interview: Philippe Van Leeuw
film profile] by Belgian filmmaker Philippe van Leeuw (starring Vicky Krieps), the Franco-Belgian co-production Green Tide by Pierre Jolivet and Take A Chance On Me by Jean-Pierre Améris (starring Louane Emera and Michel Blanc).

In the market premiere department, the much awaited animated film Richard The Stork 2 by Danish director Mette Rank Tange and German filmmaker Benjamin Quabeck (whose first iteration was already well-prepared and acquired by 155 territories), The Assembly Line [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Mathias Gokalp, Noémie Lvovsky's The Great Magic [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Marc Fitoussi's comedy Two Tickets to Greece, Iranian filmmaker Emad Aleebrahim-Dehkordi's A Tale of Shemroon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (unveiled at San Sebastián, winner at Marrakech and Angers recently) and Lebanese director Ali Cherri's The Dam [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Cherri
film profile] (discovered last year in Directors' Fortnight).

(Translated from French)