11/09/2007

Sales of Toronto International Film Festival titles are heating up, generating much excitement and hopes for other announcements in the days to come. Before I forget [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Avant que j'oublie), the newest film from French director Jacques Nolot, has been acquired by Strand Releasing, the specialty arthouse distributor. The film is screening in the Contemporary World Cinema section here, after world premiering at the Cannes Film Festival at the Directors Fortnight. In the film, director Nolot stars as an aging writer who indulges in anti-depressants, male hustlers and other stimuli to shock him out of his writer's block. The film is the newest example of the current trend of in-your-face French filmmaking that is not afraid to alienate and shock its audiences.

First Distributor Pick Ups of the Festival

The first two distribution pick ups have been revealed here at the Toronto International Film Festival, as the town has become overrun by film buyers and sellers from all over the globe. IFC Entertainment confirmed a deal for the Icelandic thriller Jar City [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by edgy director Baltasar Kormakur. The graphic film follows an aging police detective as he becomes embroiled in a messy murder and the secrets and lies that go back over three decades. Jar City, which has some very unsettling scenes and extraordinary cinematographic prowess, won the top prize at this summer's Karlovy Vary Film Festival and was a buzz title at last weekend's Telluride Film Festival.The young director hit the international scene in 2000 with his acclaimed debut feature 101 Reykjavik, which shared the Discovery Award in Toronto that year. He is currently producing and starring in an offbeat caper comedy currently shooting in his native Iceland.

The Weinstein Company announced the first of what should be several major acquisitions with the pickpup of worldwide rights for the UK film Boy A [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. The film, originally made for British television by director John Crowley, is adapted from the novel by Jonathan Trigell. It is the emotional story of a 24-year-old man released from prison years after murdering another child with his young friend. His attempts to put his past behind him are helped along by his social worker but hindered by the tabloid press and his social worker's son. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullen, Shaun Evans and Katie Lyons.