12/01/2006

Nine sales agents and producers from the Old Continent will head to the Sundance International Film Festival (19 – 29 January) to promote eleven European co-productions. The initiative will take place within the framework of the Film Sales Support (FSS) scheme. Designed by the European Film Promotion, and now entering its third year, the FSS aims at the promotion of European films at international non-European festivals.

French agent Celluloïd Dreams leads a contingent of three titles, including Allegro [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Danish director Christopher Boe, the Norwegian-American-German-Italian co-production Factotum [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Bent Hamer and I for India, a German-Italian documentary directed by Sandhya Suri. Four other French companies will also promote their films in the American capital of independent cinema. Gaumont, present for the first time with Michael Gondry's The Science Of Sleep, will be joining Wild Bunch (Cargo by Clive Gordon), Lamplighter Films (By the ways, a journey with William Eggleston by Vincent Gérard and Cédric Laty) and MK2 (13 (Tzameti) [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Saadi
interview: Gela Babluani
film profile] by Gela Babluani).
Arriving from Germany, First Hand Films will support The Short Life Of José António Gutierrez by Heidi Specogna, while Claudia Llosa's Spanish-Peruvian film MadeInUsa will be promoted by The Match Factory and Philip Gröning's Into Great Silence by Bavaria Film International. Finally UK based sales company Fulcrum TV will be defending Black Gold by Mark and Nick Francis.

Sundance is the first destination of the FSS 2006 programme. This year's festivals include Mar del Plata (9-19 March), Buenos Aires (11-23 April), Shanghai (17-25 June), Toronto (7-16 September), Rio de Janeiro (21 September – 5 October) and Pusan (12 – 20 October).