Paris-based production outfit the cup of tea, founded in 2014 and headed up by Christophe Audeguis, is currently riding the crest of a rather intense wave. Following its premiere in the Berlinale Panorama, Land [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Babak Jalali (who was in competition at Locarno in 2009 with Frontier Blues [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] and emerged victorious at Rotterdam in 2016 with Radio Dreams) will hit French screens on 25 April (distributed by Bac Films, which is also overseeing the international sales). Lensed by DoP Agnès Godard, the film tells the story of three brothers from the Prairie Wolf Indian reservation, in the guise of a modern western involving Native Americans, white people, alcohol, distance, nostalgia and abuse. Produced by the cup of tea and Italy’s Asmara Films, Land was co-produced with France’s To Be Continued, the Netherlands’ Topkapi Films and Mexico’s Piano, with support from the TorinoFilmLab, the CNC’s World Cinema Support, MEDIA, the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Doha Film Institute, the EYE Film Institute Netherlands, Eurimages, Rai Cinema, the Banca del Fucino and Imcine/Profocine.

the cup of tea is also making a splash with Angkar [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Neary Adeline Hay, which has just been screened at the Cinéma du Réel Film Festival (in the international competition for Debut Films) after taking part in Rotterdam, Thessaloniki and Phnom Penh. The documentary by the filmmaker, who was born of the forced marriage between her parents in a Cambodian village where they were both being kept prisoner, follows her father as he returns to Ta Seng, to which he was deported during the genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge. After he spent 30 years in exile, the journey marks a road to recovery for him, to a place where he was forced to live for four years. The film was co-produced by To Be Continued, with backing from the Ile de France region, the Civil Society of Multimedia Authors’ Brouillon d’un Rêve grant, the Sacem, the Cnap and the CNC.

Also featuring among the projects that the cup of tea is working on (the firm is also active in various international minority co-productions, produces TV documentaries and short films in France, and recently launched the film-music record label Cars and Girls) are several French arthouse comedies currently in development.

Another film in development is Plouf by Nicolas Ruffault, the screenplay for which was penned by Ruffault himself and Yves Ulmann. The movie follows Antoine, who refuses to accept that he has been dumped by his girlfriend; this simultaneously funny and pathetic man then attempts by any means possible to first understand his beloved and finally win her back. Philippe Katerine, Antoine Mounier and Bertrand Belin have already been mooted for the cast.

Lastly, another title in development worth mentioning is Do the Hustle, the feature debut by Avril Besson, in which a man’s destiny is placed firmly in the hands of a girl who claims to be his daughter, and whose fate hinges on a legendary disco icon.