When the French-German international sales outfit Wild Bunch whips out announcements, they rarely go unnoticed, and this is once again the case just days ahead of the European Film Market, to be held at the Berlin Film Festival (running 20 February – 1 March), where the team led by Vincent Maraval and overseen by Eva Diederix will be making their presence felt with an armada of titles to turn to good account.

Standing tall up front are two French films, both in the running for 2020’s Golden Bear. The Salt of Tears [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Souheila Yacoub
scheda film] will see Philippe Garrel (71 years old) participating in the Berlin competition for the very first time after battling it out six times for the Venetian Golden Lion and competing once for the Cannes Palme d’Or. Starring Logann Antuofermo, Oulaya Amamra, André Wilms, Louise Chevillotte and Souheila Yacoub, Garrel’s latest opus was produced by Rectangle and co-produced by Arte France Cinéma alongside Swiss firm Close Up. It will be released in French cinemas by Ad Vitam on 8 April.

Delete History [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gustave Kervern, Beno…
scheda film]. Starring Blanche Gardin, Denis Podalydès and Corinne Masiero, this work by Les Films du Worso and No Money Productions was co-produced by France 3 Cinéma, Pictanovo and Belgian group Scope Pictures. Ad Vitam will likewise helm distribution in France for this picture, which is scheduled for 22 April.

The EFM will also see Wild Bunch kick off pre-sales on Caravaggio’s Shadow by Italy’s Michele Placido (Romanzo Criminale [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Michele Placido
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Likewise gracing the Wild Bunch film slate is the animated film The Summit Of The Gods [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Patrick Imbert (produced by Julianne Films, Folivari and Mélusine Productions – due to be released in early 2021), a work based upon Jirô Taniguchi’s manga series.

In terms of new films in post-production, three first films coming courtesy of female directors are particularly eye-catching: Hatching [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Hanna Bergholm
scheda film] by Finland’s Hanna Bergholm (a production steered by her compatriots at Silva Mysterium alongside Norwegian group Evil Doghouse and Sweden’s TMV, with the notable support of Eurimages), Beginning [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dea Kulumbegashvili
scheda film] by Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili (who captured much attention with her short films Invisible Spaces, in competition in Cannes in 2014, and Léthé, which graced the Directors’ Fortnight in 2016) and Unclenching The Fists [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Russia’s Kira Kovalenko. In addition to these, we find Animals [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nabil Ben Yadir
scheda film] by Belgian filmmaker Nabil Ben Yadir, Taste by Vietnam’s Le Bao (a production helmed by Singapour and involving, among others, French firms Deuxième Ligne Films and Petit Films, as well as German group Senator), Harami by Indian filmmaker Shyam Madiraju and Shake Your Cares Away directed by Tom Shoval (well received in the Berlinale’s Panorama section in 2013 with Youth [+leggi anche:
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Other feature films in post-production include DNA [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], directed by and starring Maïwenn (Poliss [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]), who’s surrounded on screen by the likes of Louis Garrel, Fanny Ardant and Marine Vacth. Produced by Why Not, the film begins in the summertime, in the deserted streets of Paris. Neige is a regular visitor at her beloved Algerian grandfather’s retirement home. After all, Emir is the one who brought her up and protected her from her toxic parents. Neige is surrounded by extended family members - brothers, a sister, an aunt, her mother - and relations between them are difficult, riddled with resentment and bitterness. Emir’s death will heighten these family tensions and unleash a deeply-rooted identity crisis for protagonist Neige…

The market will also see Wild Bunch soldiering on with sales on previously announced works in post-production: Flag Day by Sean Penn, Mainstream by Gia Coppola, Mandibles [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Quentin Dupieux
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intervista: Florence Gastaud
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intervista: Just Philippot
scheda film] by Just Philippot, The Third War [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Giovanni Aloi
scheda film] by Italy’s Giovanni Aloï, Ibrahim [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Samir Guesmi and A Brighter Tomorrow [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Souheila Yacoub
scheda film] by Yassine Qnia.

Equally worthy of a mention are For Better and For Worse [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stéphane Brizé
scheda film] by Stéphane Brizé, on which filming has just wrapped, The Crusade, currently in pre-production and directed by and starring Louis Garrel, and Titane [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Julia Ducournau, Vincent L…
scheda film] by Julia Ducournau, not to mention Ari Folman’s animated film currently in production Where Is Anne Frank [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ari Folman
scheda film], and Thierry Frémaux’s documentary Lumière! The Adventure Continues.

Last but not least, new entity Wild Bunch International have just announced the opening of pre-sales on Franck Khalfoun’s thriller O2, in which Noomi Rapace will play a starring role.