31/01/2006

Eight days before the Berlin Film Market, which promises to be a dynamic one, the Sundance Film Festival brought a smile to the faces of French international sales agents. Gaumont and Wild Bunch, where they made sales, the most important of which were negotiated at Park City. Picturehouse bought for North America the Spanish production Pan’s Labyrinth by Mexican Guillermo del Toro for 6 million dollars from Wild Bunch, who also sold to Pathé the UK distribution rights to the next project by Luc Jacquet ( March of the penguins [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) : The Fox and the Child.

For its part, Gaumont scored with its co-production The Science of Sleep [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Michel Gondry which will be screened out of competition at Berlin. Interpreted by Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the film, produced by Partizan at a budget of 6 million euros (including 800,000 euros from France 3 Cinéma) was sold for 6 million dollars to Warner Independent Pictures who bought American, Canadian and British rights, while Rialto Distribution picked up Australia and New Zealand. Celluloïd Dreams sold to IFC the US rights of Factotum [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Norwegian Bent Hamer, while Wide sold American rights for Man Push Cart by Ramin Bahrani to Films Philos. Worth noting that from its line-up TF1 International will sell to all the non-anglophone territories the documentary God Grew Tired of Us by Christopher Quinn with a voice-over by Nicole Kidman.

(Translated from French)