06/06/2006

After a very successful Berlin Film Festival market, in particular for Oskar Roehler’s Elementary Particles [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Franka Potente & Moritz Ble…
interview: Oskar Roehler
film profile], French sales outfit Celluloïd Dreams, headed by Hengameh Panahi, continued its good run of sales at Cannes.

In a statement made to Cineuropa by Tanja Meissner, sales manager at Celluloid, the list of negotiations finalised at Cannes includes mostly European-directed films. Among these is Paradise, the next film by François Ozon, a French/Belgian co-production (Fidélité/Scope Pictures) filmed in English and starring Romola Garrai, Sam Neill, Lucy Russel, Michael Fassbender and Charlotte Rampling, which has already been acquired by Germany (Concorde), Benelux (Abc Distribution), Scandinavia (Triangel Films), Hungary (Budapest Film), Poland (Gutek), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Romania (Pro-Video), the Middle East, Turkey, Canada, Singapore, Mexico and Korea.

Michael Haneke’s new film – news of which was announced at the festival – an English remake of his Funny Games (1997) starring Naomi Watts, also attracted buyers. The French/UK/US co-production (Celluloid Dreams/Tartan Films/Halcyon Pictures) was sold to Italy (Lucky Red), Scandinavia (Triangel Films), Benelux (Cinelibre), Portugal (Atalanta ), Greece (Rosebud), all of Eastern Europe (Central Partnership), Turkey, the Middle East, Singapore, Canada, Korea, all of Latin America and Israel.

Celluloid Dreams also did very well with the completed films in its line-up, in particular with The Wedding Director by Italy’s Marco Bellocchio. The film was acquired by France (Films sans Frontières), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Romania, Australia, Israel, Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Austrian horror film Dead in 3 Days by Andreas Prochaska, which had its market premiere at Cannes, also secured sales agreements with Greece (Strada Films), Turkey, the Middle East, Latin America, Singapore and Malaysia, and Israel. Several negotiations are underway for other territories.

(Translated from French)