Both features will form part of Paris-based mk2 films’ line-up at Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris event this week.
mk2 films, the sales outfit behind Anatomy Of A Fall and How To Have Sex, has acquired Jonathan Millet’s thriller Ghost Trail and Laetitia Dosch’s high-concept comedy Who Let the Dog Bite? ahead of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema that opens tomorrow in Paris.
Inspired by real-life events, Ghost Trail is about a Syrian man pursuing some of the people who perpetrated horrors in the name of the regime during the civil war. His mission takes him to France...
mk2 films, the sales outfit behind Anatomy Of A Fall and How To Have Sex, has acquired Jonathan Millet’s thriller Ghost Trail and Laetitia Dosch’s high-concept comedy Who Let the Dog Bite? ahead of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema that opens tomorrow in Paris.
Inspired by real-life events, Ghost Trail is about a Syrian man pursuing some of the people who perpetrated horrors in the name of the regime during the civil war. His mission takes him to France...
- 1/15/2024
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Molly Manning Walker, the English cinematographer-turned-filmmaker whose debut feature “How to Have Sex” won a prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has signed with CAA for representation.
Penned and directed by Manning Walker, “How to Have Sex” world premiered at Cannes in Un Certain Regard, where it won the top prize and earned unanimous praise. The film follows three British teenage girls who go on a holiday in sun-drenched Crete and find themselves navigating the complexities of sex, consent and self-discovery.
Variety‘s Guy Lodge described the film as “fresh, head-turning debut” that “lays out the minefield of sexual education and consent for a post-#MeToo generation, with a precision to its ambiguities that will draw gasps from its characters’ contemporaries and elders alike.” The movie was acquired by Mubi in multiple territories before debuting in Cannes. It will be released theatrically by Mubi on Nov. 3 in the U.
Penned and directed by Manning Walker, “How to Have Sex” world premiered at Cannes in Un Certain Regard, where it won the top prize and earned unanimous praise. The film follows three British teenage girls who go on a holiday in sun-drenched Crete and find themselves navigating the complexities of sex, consent and self-discovery.
Variety‘s Guy Lodge described the film as “fresh, head-turning debut” that “lays out the minefield of sexual education and consent for a post-#MeToo generation, with a precision to its ambiguities that will draw gasps from its characters’ contemporaries and elders alike.” The movie was acquired by Mubi in multiple territories before debuting in Cannes. It will be released theatrically by Mubi on Nov. 3 in the U.
- 11/3/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
MK2 Films has boarded Bernhard Wenger’s feature debut, “Peacock,” a tragicomedy headlined by Albrecht Schuch, the German actor who starred in “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “System Crasher.”
An up-and-coming Austrian director, Wenger developed the script at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinefondation residency and was part of Berlinale Talents in 2020. His shorts, including “Keeping Balance,” “Guy Proposes to His Girlfriend on a Mountain” and “Excuse Me, I’m Looking for the Ping-Pong Room and My Girlfriend,” have played at festivals in Chicago, Palm Springs and Nashville, among others.
MK2 Films’ team, spearheaded by Fionnuala Jamison, is kicking off sales on “Peacock” at the American Film Market. The project is being pitched as a “corrosive comedy” capturing “the essence of human relationships.”
“Peacock” tells the story Matthias who works at a rent-a-friend agency and finds it increasingly difficult to open up again and be authentic in his private life.
An up-and-coming Austrian director, Wenger developed the script at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinefondation residency and was part of Berlinale Talents in 2020. His shorts, including “Keeping Balance,” “Guy Proposes to His Girlfriend on a Mountain” and “Excuse Me, I’m Looking for the Ping-Pong Room and My Girlfriend,” have played at festivals in Chicago, Palm Springs and Nashville, among others.
MK2 Films’ team, spearheaded by Fionnuala Jamison, is kicking off sales on “Peacock” at the American Film Market. The project is being pitched as a “corrosive comedy” capturing “the essence of human relationships.”
“Peacock” tells the story Matthias who works at a rent-a-friend agency and finds it increasingly difficult to open up again and be authentic in his private life.
- 11/2/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
International execs from Unifrance, MK2 and TrustNordisk kicked off the annual Zurich Summit on Saturday to discuss the importance of film festivals when promoting a title and if fests are drifting away from what works in cinemas. You can watch the panel above.
Speaking at the city’s Dolder Grand Hotel, where the boutique industry event is hosted each year alongside the Zurich Film Festival, Unifrance’s executive director Daniela Elstner said, “We are in a very shifting world and we of course need the festivals but as a promotion agency in France we are also questioning ourselves and asking what is the best way to to be present at a festival to help the films get out and I think the press plays a major part in that.”
She added, “We get behind festivals but on the other hand we are also rethinking our future right now as we...
Speaking at the city’s Dolder Grand Hotel, where the boutique industry event is hosted each year alongside the Zurich Film Festival, Unifrance’s executive director Daniela Elstner said, “We are in a very shifting world and we of course need the festivals but as a promotion agency in France we are also questioning ourselves and asking what is the best way to to be present at a festival to help the films get out and I think the press plays a major part in that.”
She added, “We get behind festivals but on the other hand we are also rethinking our future right now as we...
- 9/30/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
San Sebastian — Blessed by blowsy sun, two Conferences and a Co-Pro Forum, which brought the highest caliber and number of U.S., European execs and Latin American producers ever seen in festival history, San Sebastian rounded its final bend Friday after a packed, busy and upbeat event, also suggesting a stability in contrast to other major European events, such as Berlin.
Below, eight takeaways, some 24 hours before Saturday night’s closing gala and prize ceremony.
Women Rule Still
Coming into the festival, many of the biggest main competition buzz pictures were directed by women. Many now figure, according to a El Diario Vasco Spanish critics’ poll, as Golden Shell frontrunners: Isabel Helguera’s animated pic “Sultana’s Dream,” Raven Jackson’s Sundance hit “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Jaione Camborda’s Toronto platform screener “The Rye Horn” and Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang’s “A Journey in Spring.”
New...
Below, eight takeaways, some 24 hours before Saturday night’s closing gala and prize ceremony.
Women Rule Still
Coming into the festival, many of the biggest main competition buzz pictures were directed by women. Many now figure, according to a El Diario Vasco Spanish critics’ poll, as Golden Shell frontrunners: Isabel Helguera’s animated pic “Sultana’s Dream,” Raven Jackson’s Sundance hit “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Jaione Camborda’s Toronto platform screener “The Rye Horn” and Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang’s “A Journey in Spring.”
New...
- 9/29/2023
- by John Hopewell and Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Goodfellas President Vincent Maraval shared the secret behind his undying enthusiasm for the film industry in the face of numerous challenges in an industry panel at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
‘It comes from a love and passion for cinema… We still want to see a dream come true on the screen, on a platform, on TV. That’s what drives us,” he said.
“The complexity of our business is also part of the excitement. We need to adapt ourselves and our business and look for films or TV programs that will find a buyer or an agent.”
Maraval was talking on a panel on the state of the Global Film Industry in 2023 as part of San Sebastian’s Creative Investors’ Conference on Tuesday, organized in association with CAA Media Finance.
The complexity of the market was at the heart of the chat which also featured mk2 films MD Fionnuala Jamison...
‘It comes from a love and passion for cinema… We still want to see a dream come true on the screen, on a platform, on TV. That’s what drives us,” he said.
“The complexity of our business is also part of the excitement. We need to adapt ourselves and our business and look for films or TV programs that will find a buyer or an agent.”
Maraval was talking on a panel on the state of the Global Film Industry in 2023 as part of San Sebastian’s Creative Investors’ Conference on Tuesday, organized in association with CAA Media Finance.
The complexity of the market was at the heart of the chat which also featured mk2 films MD Fionnuala Jamison...
- 9/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Maraval was speaking at the San Sebastian International Film Festival’s (Ssiff) Creative Investors Conference.
Vincent Maraval, president of film sales and production company Goodfellas (formerly Wild Bunch), said the industry needs more distributors while speaking at the San Sebastian International Film Festival’s (Ssiff) Creative Investors Conference.
“There are more and more producers and less and less distributors,” Maraval said while participating in a panel titled ‘The Global Film Industry: State of the Union 2023’. “We need new distributors.”
“When you look at the market, country by country, we know there are historical distributors but we are still waiting for the new ones.
Vincent Maraval, president of film sales and production company Goodfellas (formerly Wild Bunch), said the industry needs more distributors while speaking at the San Sebastian International Film Festival’s (Ssiff) Creative Investors Conference.
“There are more and more producers and less and less distributors,” Maraval said while participating in a panel titled ‘The Global Film Industry: State of the Union 2023’. “We need new distributors.”
“When you look at the market, country by country, we know there are historical distributors but we are still waiting for the new ones.
- 9/26/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
San Sebastian – Top International business execs gathered on Tuesday at a rooftop venue, glistening in the Basque sunlight, for the second Creative Investors Conference at this week’s San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The second panel of the day at this two-day confab, The Global Film Industry: State of the Union 2023 round table, was moderated by Roeg Sutherland, co-head, CAA Media Finance. Speakers took in Pete Czernin co-chairman of Blueprint Pictures, David Flynn, head of global drama at Wiip, Fionnuala Jamison, managing director of MK2, and Vincent Maraval, president of Goodfellas.
Today, international is not just about recouping costs on American films but also about the discovery of new talent. Said Maraval: “What you need to succeed is the exception. The exception is coming from everywhere today. I think the market has become more global and less American.”
Added Czernin: “I think our awareness of global voices has increased.
The second panel of the day at this two-day confab, The Global Film Industry: State of the Union 2023 round table, was moderated by Roeg Sutherland, co-head, CAA Media Finance. Speakers took in Pete Czernin co-chairman of Blueprint Pictures, David Flynn, head of global drama at Wiip, Fionnuala Jamison, managing director of MK2, and Vincent Maraval, president of Goodfellas.
Today, international is not just about recouping costs on American films but also about the discovery of new talent. Said Maraval: “What you need to succeed is the exception. The exception is coming from everywhere today. I think the market has become more global and less American.”
Added Czernin: “I think our awareness of global voices has increased.
- 9/26/2023
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
The second annual Creative Investors Conference runs September 26-28.
Executives from Focus Features, Warner Bros, Plan B and Neon are among the speakers at San Sebastian International Film Festival’s second annual Creative Investors Conference running September 26-28 in collaboration with CAA Media Finance.
There will be a series of ‘Fireside chats’ with Mariano César, SVP content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max (Warner Bros. Discovery), Jeremy Kleiner, co-president at Plan B, and Killer Films co-founders Pam Koffler and Christine Vachon.
Kiska Higgs, president, production & acquisitions at Focus Features, Sarah Colvin, director of acquisitions at Neon, Jeb Brody, president of production at Amblin Partners,...
Executives from Focus Features, Warner Bros, Plan B and Neon are among the speakers at San Sebastian International Film Festival’s second annual Creative Investors Conference running September 26-28 in collaboration with CAA Media Finance.
There will be a series of ‘Fireside chats’ with Mariano César, SVP content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max (Warner Bros. Discovery), Jeremy Kleiner, co-president at Plan B, and Killer Films co-founders Pam Koffler and Christine Vachon.
Kiska Higgs, president, production & acquisitions at Focus Features, Sarah Colvin, director of acquisitions at Neon, Jeb Brody, president of production at Amblin Partners,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The conference is taking place from September 26-28.
Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Blueprint Pictures’ Peter Czernin, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates’ Anna Higgs and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo will all attend the second annual Creative Investors’ Conference at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this month.
Organised in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, it is taking place at the festival from September 26-28 and will comprise of a series of panels and discussions open to industry badge holders, under the Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech strand.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer and...
Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Blueprint Pictures’ Peter Czernin, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates’ Anna Higgs and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo will all attend the second annual Creative Investors’ Conference at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this month.
Organised in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, it is taking place at the festival from September 26-28 and will comprise of a series of panels and discussions open to industry badge holders, under the Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech strand.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer and...
- 9/5/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Netflix’s Teresa Moneo, Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Cinetic Media’s John Sloss, and Jeb Brody, President of Production at Amblin Partners, are among the names set for CAA Media Finance and the San Sebastian Film Festival’s second annual Creative Investors’ Conference.
The conference will take place September 26-28 and include a series of panels and discussions. Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer, and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the conference and moderate alongside journalist and San Seb advisor Wendy Mitchell.
Organized in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, other high-profile execs set to attend include Vincent Maraval, President of Goodfellas; Mariano César, SVP of Content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max; Sarah Colvin, Director of Acquisitions at Neon; Liesl Copland, Executive Vice president, Content and Platform Strategy at Participant Media; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films and Co-managing Director of Bankside Films; Fionnuala Jamison, Managing...
The conference will take place September 26-28 and include a series of panels and discussions. Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer, and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the conference and moderate alongside journalist and San Seb advisor Wendy Mitchell.
Organized in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, other high-profile execs set to attend include Vincent Maraval, President of Goodfellas; Mariano César, SVP of Content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max; Sarah Colvin, Director of Acquisitions at Neon; Liesl Copland, Executive Vice president, Content and Platform Strategy at Participant Media; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films and Co-managing Director of Bankside Films; Fionnuala Jamison, Managing...
- 9/5/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
San Sebastian Festival’s 2nd Creative Investors’ Conference (Cic), co-organized once more with CAA Media Finance, has lured some of the most prominent names in the international entertainment business, led by CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland, Goodfellas’ Vincent Maraval and Cinetic Media’s John Sloss.
Sutherland, Nick Ogiony and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the Conference, held on Sept. 26 and 27 at the Tabakalera, and moderate some of the activities, as will Wendy Mitchell, delegate and advisor of the San Sebastian Festival.
Variety has learned that the VIP international guests will hold private networking lunches/meetings with about 25 leading Spanish producers, includING Mariela Besuievsky of Tornasol Media; Eduardo Carneros, Euskadi Movie Aie; Valérie Delpierre, Inicia Films; Ignasi Estapé, Arcadia; Belén Atienza, Perdición Films; Fernando Bovaira, Mod Prods; Morena Films’ Juan Gordon and Elastica Films’ María Zamora.
Another added bonus is a podcast, jointly produced/hosted by...
Sutherland, Nick Ogiony and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the Conference, held on Sept. 26 and 27 at the Tabakalera, and moderate some of the activities, as will Wendy Mitchell, delegate and advisor of the San Sebastian Festival.
Variety has learned that the VIP international guests will hold private networking lunches/meetings with about 25 leading Spanish producers, includING Mariela Besuievsky of Tornasol Media; Eduardo Carneros, Euskadi Movie Aie; Valérie Delpierre, Inicia Films; Ignasi Estapé, Arcadia; Belén Atienza, Perdición Films; Fernando Bovaira, Mod Prods; Morena Films’ Juan Gordon and Elastica Films’ María Zamora.
Another added bonus is a podcast, jointly produced/hosted by...
- 9/5/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Benedict Cumberbatch has signed to star in Dylan Southern’s adaptation of Max Porter’s acclaimed novel Grief is the Thing With Feathers, about a father and his two young sons dealing with the sudden death of their wife and mother.
Cumberbatch will play a young father whose hold on reality crumbles following his wife’s death as a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
This mysterious creature, known as “Crow,” seemingly brought to life from the pages of his work as an illustrator, becomes a very real part of all their lives, ultimately guiding them towards the new shape family must take.
Related: Cannes Film Festival Full Coverage
The feature adaptation, entitled The Thing With Feathers, is produced by Andrea Cornwell with SunnyMarch’s Adam Ackland and Leah Clarke. The script was developed with Film4,...
Cumberbatch will play a young father whose hold on reality crumbles following his wife’s death as a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
This mysterious creature, known as “Crow,” seemingly brought to life from the pages of his work as an illustrator, becomes a very real part of all their lives, ultimately guiding them towards the new shape family must take.
Related: Cannes Film Festival Full Coverage
The feature adaptation, entitled The Thing With Feathers, is produced by Andrea Cornwell with SunnyMarch’s Adam Ackland and Leah Clarke. The script was developed with Film4,...
- 5/16/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The project joins mk2’s Cannes slate, with Magnolia planning North American theatrical launch.
Mk2 Films has acquired international rights to Raoul Peck’s Untitled Ernest Cole Documentary, with Magnolia Pictures taking rights for North America.
Mk2 will offer the project to buyers at this week’s Cannes market. Magnolia, which previously distributed Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, is planning a theatrical release for the new film.
Cole was the first Black freelance photographer in South Africa and his early pictures revealed the conditions of Black life under apartheid to the world. He fled South Africa in 1966 and...
Mk2 Films has acquired international rights to Raoul Peck’s Untitled Ernest Cole Documentary, with Magnolia Pictures taking rights for North America.
Mk2 will offer the project to buyers at this week’s Cannes market. Magnolia, which previously distributed Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, is planning a theatrical release for the new film.
Cole was the first Black freelance photographer in South Africa and his early pictures revealed the conditions of Black life under apartheid to the world. He fled South Africa in 1966 and...
- 5/15/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Magnolia Pictures and MK2 Films have acquired rights to Raoul Peck’s documentary about renowned photographer Ernest Cole.
The untitled documentary chronicles the life and work of Cole, the first Black freelance photographer in South Africa, whose early work revealed to the world the shocking, brutal realities of Black life under apartheid. Magnolia will release the film in North American theaters, while MK2 will handle the rollout internationally.
“Ernest Cole’s long and, at times, painful and tedious journey in America brings me back to a period of my life when my political commitment and artistic stamina were forged,” Peck said in a statement. “I profoundly feel, cherish and treasure his human eye on the facts of life and his piercing acuity over our terrible contradictions.”
The sale marks a reunion for Magnolia and Peck after 2016’s James Baldwin documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” which became a modest box office hit with $8 million globally.
The untitled documentary chronicles the life and work of Cole, the first Black freelance photographer in South Africa, whose early work revealed to the world the shocking, brutal realities of Black life under apartheid. Magnolia will release the film in North American theaters, while MK2 will handle the rollout internationally.
“Ernest Cole’s long and, at times, painful and tedious journey in America brings me back to a period of my life when my political commitment and artistic stamina were forged,” Peck said in a statement. “I profoundly feel, cherish and treasure his human eye on the facts of life and his piercing acuity over our terrible contradictions.”
The sale marks a reunion for Magnolia and Peck after 2016’s James Baldwin documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” which became a modest box office hit with $8 million globally.
- 5/15/2023
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Magnolia Pictures and mk2 have acquired rights to Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck’s Untitled Ernest Cole Documentary, about South Africa’s first Black freelance photographer.
Magnolia’s deal is for North American rights, while mk2 takes international; mk2 is launching international sales at the Cannes Market, which opens Tuesday.
Cole (1940-1970) documented apartheid in South Africa not as an outsider but someone who experienced its cruelties. Under the country’s racist system, Black people could only be employed as laborers; nonetheless, Cole became a photographer, a defiance of rules that made him a “banned person” and forced him to flee to the United States. He continued making important documentary photography in New York, but at his death he had published a single book, House of Bondage (1967) and the whereabouts of much of his unpublished work remained unknown.
Only a few years ago, “more than 60,000 of his 35mm film negatives...
Magnolia’s deal is for North American rights, while mk2 takes international; mk2 is launching international sales at the Cannes Market, which opens Tuesday.
Cole (1940-1970) documented apartheid in South Africa not as an outsider but someone who experienced its cruelties. Under the country’s racist system, Black people could only be employed as laborers; nonetheless, Cole became a photographer, a defiance of rules that made him a “banned person” and forced him to flee to the United States. He continued making important documentary photography in New York, but at his death he had published a single book, House of Bondage (1967) and the whereabouts of much of his unpublished work remained unknown.
Only a few years ago, “more than 60,000 of his 35mm film negatives...
- 5/15/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Noémie Merlant, the French actor of “Tár,” is reteaming with Celine Sciamma, who directed her in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” for her sophomore outing, “The Balconettes.”
The fantastical comedy horror movie is being written by Merlant with the collaboration of Céline Sciamma. MK2 Films will launch sales at the Cannes Film Market. Filming is slated to begin this summer.
Set in a boiling Marseille neighborhood plagued by a heat wave, the movie revolves around three roommates who gleefully meddle in the lives of their neighbors from their balcony. Until a late-night drink turns into a bloody affair. Sometimes gory, sometimes brazen, always playful. Merlant stars in the film alongside Souheila Yacoub (“Dune 2”) and Sanda Codreanu (“Mi Iubita Mon Amour”).
Merlant, who won this year’s Cesar Award for her role in Louis Garrel’s “The Innocent,” made her feature debut as a director with “Mi Iubita Mon Amour” which played at Cannes,...
The fantastical comedy horror movie is being written by Merlant with the collaboration of Céline Sciamma. MK2 Films will launch sales at the Cannes Film Market. Filming is slated to begin this summer.
Set in a boiling Marseille neighborhood plagued by a heat wave, the movie revolves around three roommates who gleefully meddle in the lives of their neighbors from their balcony. Until a late-night drink turns into a bloody affair. Sometimes gory, sometimes brazen, always playful. Merlant stars in the film alongside Souheila Yacoub (“Dune 2”) and Sanda Codreanu (“Mi Iubita Mon Amour”).
Merlant, who won this year’s Cesar Award for her role in Louis Garrel’s “The Innocent,” made her feature debut as a director with “Mi Iubita Mon Amour” which played at Cannes,...
- 5/10/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Xavier Legrand, whose 2017 feature debut “Custody” won two prizes at Venice and swept four Cesar Awards, is back with “The Successor.” The anticipated sophomore outing has been boarded by mk2 films (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) which will launch sales at the European Film Market.
“The Successor” will star Marc-André Grondin (“C.R.A.Z.Y.”) as the newly-announced artistic director of a famous Parisian fashion house. But as expectations are high, he starts experiencing chest pain. Out of the blue he is called back to Montreal to organize his estranged father’s funeral and discovers that he may have inherited much worse than his father’s weak heart.
“We don’t want to give much away but will say that ‘The Successor’ is a tense and thrilling read that we can’t wait to share with buyers,” said Fionnuala Jamison, mk2 films’ managing director.
“As much if not more than with “Custody,...
“The Successor” will star Marc-André Grondin (“C.R.A.Z.Y.”) as the newly-announced artistic director of a famous Parisian fashion house. But as expectations are high, he starts experiencing chest pain. Out of the blue he is called back to Montreal to organize his estranged father’s funeral and discovers that he may have inherited much worse than his father’s weak heart.
“We don’t want to give much away but will say that ‘The Successor’ is a tense and thrilling read that we can’t wait to share with buyers,” said Fionnuala Jamison, mk2 films’ managing director.
“As much if not more than with “Custody,...
- 2/2/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Paris-based mk2 films has boarded international sales on Tina Satter’s debut feature Reality about real-life U.S. whistleblower Reality Winner ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival later this month.
Euphoria and White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney plays Winner.
The former intelligence officer was given the longest prison sentence ever for the unauthorized release of classified material to the media in 2018 (five years and three months) after she leaked a report about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
Opening with the Saturday afternoon in June 2017 when 25-year-old Winner was confronted at her Georgia home by the FBI, the film follows the cryptic conversation that took place as the young woman’s life begins to unravel.
Satter’s dialogue, taken directly from the FBI’s transcript of the interrogation, alternates between nail-biting and banal, darkly funny and surreal.
The film tracks one woman’s experience of the State at work.
Euphoria and White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney plays Winner.
The former intelligence officer was given the longest prison sentence ever for the unauthorized release of classified material to the media in 2018 (five years and three months) after she leaked a report about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
Opening with the Saturday afternoon in June 2017 when 25-year-old Winner was confronted at her Georgia home by the FBI, the film follows the cryptic conversation that took place as the young woman’s life begins to unravel.
Satter’s dialogue, taken directly from the FBI’s transcript of the interrogation, alternates between nail-biting and banal, darkly funny and surreal.
The film tracks one woman’s experience of the State at work.
- 2/1/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Paris-based sales company has a hefty slate for AFM.
Paris-based mk2 Films is kicking off sales on Darren Thornton’s Ireland-set comedy-drama Four Mothers at the AFM this week.
The title is an Irish twist on Gianni Di Gregorio’s 2008 Italian hit Mid-August Lunch that won several awards including the Luigi De Laurentiis prize when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Thornton, whose previous credits include RTÉ comedy-drama series Love Is The Drug and his debut feature A Date For Mad Mary, penned the script with his brother Colin Thornton who also co-wrote the script for A Date For Mad Mary.
Paris-based mk2 Films is kicking off sales on Darren Thornton’s Ireland-set comedy-drama Four Mothers at the AFM this week.
The title is an Irish twist on Gianni Di Gregorio’s 2008 Italian hit Mid-August Lunch that won several awards including the Luigi De Laurentiis prize when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Thornton, whose previous credits include RTÉ comedy-drama series Love Is The Drug and his debut feature A Date For Mad Mary, penned the script with his brother Colin Thornton who also co-wrote the script for A Date For Mad Mary.
- 10/31/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The Worst Person In The World and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire outfit MK2 has joined UK feature How To Have Sex, which is currently shooting in Greece.
Directed by emerging UK filmmaker Molly Manning Walker (pictured above right), How to Have Sex follows a group of teenage girls as they navigate early sexual encounters on a rite of passage clubbing holiday.
Cast includes Persuasion and Vampire Academy actress Mia McKenna-Bruce (pictured above left) and Lara Peake (Mood) alongside Shaun Thomas (Ali and Ava) and Sam Bottomley (Somewhere Boy), with newcomers Enva Lewis and Laura Ambler.
Film4 and the BFI developed the project and are financing the production, alongside Paris-based MK2 Films, which is handling international sales and will be teasing the project to buyers in coming months. Film4 retains TV and on-demand rights in the UK/Ireland.
Wild Swim Films’ Ivana MacKinnon and Emily Leo are producing alongside Heretic’s Konstantinos Kontrovrakis.
Directed by emerging UK filmmaker Molly Manning Walker (pictured above right), How to Have Sex follows a group of teenage girls as they navigate early sexual encounters on a rite of passage clubbing holiday.
Cast includes Persuasion and Vampire Academy actress Mia McKenna-Bruce (pictured above left) and Lara Peake (Mood) alongside Shaun Thomas (Ali and Ava) and Sam Bottomley (Somewhere Boy), with newcomers Enva Lewis and Laura Ambler.
Film4 and the BFI developed the project and are financing the production, alongside Paris-based MK2 Films, which is handling international sales and will be teasing the project to buyers in coming months. Film4 retains TV and on-demand rights in the UK/Ireland.
Wild Swim Films’ Ivana MacKinnon and Emily Leo are producing alongside Heretic’s Konstantinos Kontrovrakis.
- 10/21/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
US filmmaker Jeff Celentano directs, with shooting underway in Suffolk.
Minka Kelly, Maggie Grace and Dermot Mulroney will star in thriller Blackwater Lane, an adaptation of UK author B.A. Paris’ book The Breakdown, now shooting in Suffolk in the UK.
Kelly stars as a woman who drives by a stranded motorist later revealed to have been murdered. A series of terrifying events then convince the woman that she is the killer’s next victim.
It is directed by US filmmaker Jeff Celentano, whose credits 2018 boxing thriller Glass Jaw, and baseball drama The Hill starring Dennis Quaid.
Blackwater Lane is...
Minka Kelly, Maggie Grace and Dermot Mulroney will star in thriller Blackwater Lane, an adaptation of UK author B.A. Paris’ book The Breakdown, now shooting in Suffolk in the UK.
Kelly stars as a woman who drives by a stranded motorist later revealed to have been murdered. A series of terrifying events then convince the woman that she is the killer’s next victim.
It is directed by US filmmaker Jeff Celentano, whose credits 2018 boxing thriller Glass Jaw, and baseball drama The Hill starring Dennis Quaid.
Blackwater Lane is...
- 10/13/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Ireland-born French exec also talked about navigating international prejudices.
mk2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison shared insights on securing a festival berth at Cannes through to prejudices in the international sales market at a London Film Festival ‘Spotlight’ interview on Wednesday (October 12).
Paris-based producer, sales agent and distributor mk2’s slate includes break out arthouse successes The Worst Person In The World, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Cold War. This year’s Golden Bear winner Alcarràs by Carla Simón is also repped by MK2.
The firm had six films in Cannes selection this year, and seven in...
mk2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison shared insights on securing a festival berth at Cannes through to prejudices in the international sales market at a London Film Festival ‘Spotlight’ interview on Wednesday (October 12).
Paris-based producer, sales agent and distributor mk2’s slate includes break out arthouse successes The Worst Person In The World, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Cold War. This year’s Golden Bear winner Alcarràs by Carla Simón is also repped by MK2.
The firm had six films in Cannes selection this year, and seven in...
- 10/13/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Ireland-born French exec also talked about navigating international prejudices.
mk2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison shared insights on securing a festival berth at Cannes through to prejudices in the international sales market at a London Film Festival ‘Spotlight’ interview on Wednesday (October 12).
Paris-based producer, sales agent and distributor mk2’s slate includes break out arthouse successes The Worst Person In The World, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Cold War. This year’s Golden Bear winner Alcarràs by Carla Simón is also repped by MK2.
The firm had six films in Cannes selection this year, and seven in...
mk2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison shared insights on securing a festival berth at Cannes through to prejudices in the international sales market at a London Film Festival ‘Spotlight’ interview on Wednesday (October 12).
Paris-based producer, sales agent and distributor mk2’s slate includes break out arthouse successes The Worst Person In The World, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Cold War. This year’s Golden Bear winner Alcarràs by Carla Simón is also repped by MK2.
The firm had six films in Cannes selection this year, and seven in...
- 10/13/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Ireland-born French exec also talked about navigating international prejudices.
mk2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison shared insights on securing a festival berth at Cannes through to prejudices in the international sales market at a London Film Festival ‘Spotlight’ interview on Wednesday (October 12).
Paris-based producer, sales agent and distributor mk2’s slate includes break out arthouse successes The Worst Person In The World, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Cold War. This year’s Golden Bear winner Alcarràs by Carla Simón is also repped by MK2.
The firm had six films in Cannes selection this year, and seven in...
mk2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison shared insights on securing a festival berth at Cannes through to prejudices in the international sales market at a London Film Festival ‘Spotlight’ interview on Wednesday (October 12).
Paris-based producer, sales agent and distributor mk2’s slate includes break out arthouse successes The Worst Person In The World, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Cold War. This year’s Golden Bear winner Alcarràs by Carla Simón is also repped by MK2.
The firm had six films in Cannes selection this year, and seven in...
- 10/13/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
MK2 Managing Director Fionnuala Jamison was the focus of the London Film Festival’s second ‘spotlight’ industry talk Wednesday, during which she provided insights on navigating the international film market, including how regional prejudices can impact how films are sold.
Jamison opened the discussion by speaking about the case of MK2’s 2019 film Atlantics, the debut feature from Mati Diop. The film is set in Senegal and features an all-non-white cast. Jamison said MK2 knew the film could work in English-speaking territories and strong arthouse markets but would struggle with the rest of the world.
“The very sad reality is that you still have a lot of countries in the world that are very racist, and as soon as a cast of a film is completely one color, it’s not for them. The further East you go, the more problematic,” Jamison said.
She added that attitudes in the market have improved,...
Jamison opened the discussion by speaking about the case of MK2’s 2019 film Atlantics, the debut feature from Mati Diop. The film is set in Senegal and features an all-non-white cast. Jamison said MK2 knew the film could work in English-speaking territories and strong arthouse markets but would struggle with the rest of the world.
“The very sad reality is that you still have a lot of countries in the world that are very racist, and as soon as a cast of a film is completely one color, it’s not for them. The further East you go, the more problematic,” Jamison said.
She added that attitudes in the market have improved,...
- 10/12/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The event is entitled ‘when dance meets film’.
Filmmaker Asif Kapadia and choreographer Akram Khan will lead the conversation of this year’s Lff Connects talk at the BFI London Film Festival on October 7.
Titled ‘when dance meets film’. the event will explore the pair’s collaboration on Creature, directed by Kapadia and based on the English National Ballet 2021 stage production by Khan. It is making its world premiere at the Lff.
The film’s cinematographer Daniel Landin and editor Sylvie Landra will join the conversation to be moderated by Bafta’s head of programming, Mariayah Kaderbhai.
Previously announced speakers...
Filmmaker Asif Kapadia and choreographer Akram Khan will lead the conversation of this year’s Lff Connects talk at the BFI London Film Festival on October 7.
Titled ‘when dance meets film’. the event will explore the pair’s collaboration on Creature, directed by Kapadia and based on the English National Ballet 2021 stage production by Khan. It is making its world premiere at the Lff.
The film’s cinematographer Daniel Landin and editor Sylvie Landra will join the conversation to be moderated by Bafta’s head of programming, Mariayah Kaderbhai.
Previously announced speakers...
- 10/4/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
She will deliver the 2022 edition and remain in the post until early 2023 while the BFI recruits a replacement.
Tricia Tuttle will step down as director, BFI Festivals after five years in the role.
She will deliver the 2022 edition of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff), which runs October 5-16, and remain in the post until early 2023 while the BFI recruits a replacement.
Tuttle was appointed permanent festival director of the Lff and the BFI Flare: London Lgbtqia+ Film Festival In 2018, after leading the Lff as interim artistic director that year during Clare Stewart’s sabbatical. She previously spent five years...
Tricia Tuttle will step down as director, BFI Festivals after five years in the role.
She will deliver the 2022 edition of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff), which runs October 5-16, and remain in the post until early 2023 while the BFI recruits a replacement.
Tuttle was appointed permanent festival director of the Lff and the BFI Flare: London Lgbtqia+ Film Festival In 2018, after leading the Lff as interim artistic director that year during Clare Stewart’s sabbatical. She previously spent five years...
- 10/3/2022
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Industry panels with Mia Bays, Eva Yates, Mike Goodridge.
Fionnuala Jamison, managing director at mk2 films, and Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin are among the speakers on the industry programme of the 66th BFI London Film Festival (Lff), which runs from October 5-16.
Jamison will take part in a Spotlight Conversation on Wednesday, October 12 with Paul Ridd, head of acquisitions for Picturehouse Entertainment and Lff advisor. Having worked in international sales at Coproduction Office in Paris, Jamison joined French production, sales, distribution and exhibition firm mk2 in 2012, leading the launches of titles including Cold War, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire...
Fionnuala Jamison, managing director at mk2 films, and Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin are among the speakers on the industry programme of the 66th BFI London Film Festival (Lff), which runs from October 5-16.
Jamison will take part in a Spotlight Conversation on Wednesday, October 12 with Paul Ridd, head of acquisitions for Picturehouse Entertainment and Lff advisor. Having worked in international sales at Coproduction Office in Paris, Jamison joined French production, sales, distribution and exhibition firm mk2 in 2012, leading the launches of titles including Cold War, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire...
- 9/23/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its full industry lineup, which will include keynote conversations with the Italian producer and CEO of Apartment Pictures Lorenzo Mieli and Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 Films.
The festival will also launch New Waves, a set of co-production meetings for invited producers from France and the UK participating in the Festival. The program (8 October) will be hosted by Dragoslav Zachariev, Deputy Director, Institut Français UK. The BFI has partnered with the Institut français in the UK, and UniFrance to launch the session.
Jampro, the Government of Jamaica trade and investment promotions agency, will also host a networking reception at the Jamaican High Commission in London. Four producers from Jamaican production companies have been invited by the Festival, supported by Lff program advisor Keith Shiri.
“We’re so looking forward to welcoming the UK and international industry delegates and guests back to London for in-person...
The festival will also launch New Waves, a set of co-production meetings for invited producers from France and the UK participating in the Festival. The program (8 October) will be hosted by Dragoslav Zachariev, Deputy Director, Institut Français UK. The BFI has partnered with the Institut français in the UK, and UniFrance to launch the session.
Jampro, the Government of Jamaica trade and investment promotions agency, will also host a networking reception at the Jamaican High Commission in London. Four producers from Jamaican production companies have been invited by the Festival, supported by Lff program advisor Keith Shiri.
“We’re so looking forward to welcoming the UK and international industry delegates and guests back to London for in-person...
- 9/23/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
MK2 Films, which is at Venice with “Love Life” playing in competition, is reteaming with Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel on “The Falling Star,” a darkly comic mystery thriller.
The directing duo is rolling off “Lost in Paris,” their international breakout film, which had a buzzy premiere at Telluride in 2016. The film was also a commercial success, grossing nearly 3 million outside of France, with strong performances in the U.S., Italy, Germany, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand.
“The Falling Star” tells the story of Boris, a former activist who’s been a fugitive for 35 years, and works as a bartender. Boris’ past finally catches up with him when a mysterious stranger appears at the bar, armed and wanting revenge. The appearance of a double, the depressed and solitary Dom, provides Boris’ cunning partner Kayoko and their faithful friend Tim with the perfect escape plan, but they haven’t accounted for Dom’s ex-wife,...
The directing duo is rolling off “Lost in Paris,” their international breakout film, which had a buzzy premiere at Telluride in 2016. The film was also a commercial success, grossing nearly 3 million outside of France, with strong performances in the U.S., Italy, Germany, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand.
“The Falling Star” tells the story of Boris, a former activist who’s been a fugitive for 35 years, and works as a bartender. Boris’ past finally catches up with him when a mysterious stranger appears at the bar, armed and wanting revenge. The appearance of a double, the depressed and solitary Dom, provides Boris’ cunning partner Kayoko and their faithful friend Tim with the perfect escape plan, but they haven’t accounted for Dom’s ex-wife,...
- 9/2/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Greenwich Entertainment has acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to Christophe Cognet’s “From Where They Stood,” a searing WW2-set documentary which premiered at the Berlinale.
Represented in international markets by MK2 Films, “From Where They Stood” went on the win the Spirit of Freedom Award for best documentary at last year’s Jerusalem Film Festival.
Produced by Raphaël Pillosio, “From Where They Stood” retraces the footsteps of a handful of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps who managed to take clandestine photographs of the hell the Nazis were hiding from the world. These photos were either smuggled out or hidden and retrieved after the war.
Greenwich’s Edward Arentz negotiated the acquisition with Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 Films on behalf of the filmmakers.
“In contrast to today, when thankfully, evidence of war crimes and genocide can be gathered often remotely and disseminated worldwide with startling precision and detail,...
Represented in international markets by MK2 Films, “From Where They Stood” went on the win the Spirit of Freedom Award for best documentary at last year’s Jerusalem Film Festival.
Produced by Raphaël Pillosio, “From Where They Stood” retraces the footsteps of a handful of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps who managed to take clandestine photographs of the hell the Nazis were hiding from the world. These photos were either smuggled out or hidden and retrieved after the war.
Greenwich’s Edward Arentz negotiated the acquisition with Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 Films on behalf of the filmmakers.
“In contrast to today, when thankfully, evidence of war crimes and genocide can be gathered often remotely and disseminated worldwide with startling precision and detail,...
- 7/4/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes slates includes new restorations of David Lynch’s Lost Highway, Claire Denis’s Chocolat, and Olivier Assayas’s Irma Vep.
France’s mk2 films is ramping up its heritage film operation with the appointment of Frédérique Rouault as head of collections and the acquisition of a raft of catalogues by directors who have marked cinema history.
In one of its most significant heritage deals to date, the company has acquired the rights to the entire collection of films by the late writer and director Marcel Pagnol.
Until now, the catalogue has been managed by grandson Nicolas Pagnol under the...
France’s mk2 films is ramping up its heritage film operation with the appointment of Frédérique Rouault as head of collections and the acquisition of a raft of catalogues by directors who have marked cinema history.
In one of its most significant heritage deals to date, the company has acquired the rights to the entire collection of films by the late writer and director Marcel Pagnol.
Until now, the catalogue has been managed by grandson Nicolas Pagnol under the...
- 5/18/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
MK2 Films, which is presenting six movies at the Cannes Film Festival, will be attending the market with a pair of hot new titles, French director Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” and Israeli helmer Maya Dreifuss’s “Highway 65.”
“Anatomy of a Fall” stars Sandra Hüller, the critically acclaimed German actor of “Toni Erdmann,” as an enigmatic German novelist who is arrested after the mysterious death of her husband at their chalet in the French Alps. The court case examines every aspect of the relationship she had with her husband, while her visually impaired son is called to testify as a witness.
The movie will re-team MK2 Films with Triet, whose latest film “Sybil” competed at Cannes. Fionnuala Jamison, MK2 Films’s managing director, described the film as a “Hitchcockian tale of suspense.” “We were hooked on the script, the complexities of Sandra’s character, and its original premise...
“Anatomy of a Fall” stars Sandra Hüller, the critically acclaimed German actor of “Toni Erdmann,” as an enigmatic German novelist who is arrested after the mysterious death of her husband at their chalet in the French Alps. The court case examines every aspect of the relationship she had with her husband, while her visually impaired son is called to testify as a witness.
The movie will re-team MK2 Films with Triet, whose latest film “Sybil” competed at Cannes. Fionnuala Jamison, MK2 Films’s managing director, described the film as a “Hitchcockian tale of suspense.” “We were hooked on the script, the complexities of Sandra’s character, and its original premise...
- 5/13/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
As the Berlinale trundles on, the usual joie de vivre of a pre-pandemic film festival is in short supply, and dealmaking out of the virtual European Film Market has felt lopsided.
Sony’s $60 million deal for Tom Hanks’ “A Man Called Otto,” an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestselling Swedish-language novel “A Man Called Ove” — which was made into an Oscar-nominated Swedish feature — grabbed headlines early on (Variety understands it boiled down to a bidding war between the studio and Apple), but hasn’t necessarily spawned the usual flurry of deals from Berlin halfway through the festival.
One buyer from a major U.K. distributor says the EFM vibe has felt “muted” for a company of its size, with an absence of broad-appeal product available once “Otto” was snapped up by Sony. “The lack of mainstream commercial packages is frustrating, and only puts more pressure on Cannes needing to deliver something big for all,...
Sony’s $60 million deal for Tom Hanks’ “A Man Called Otto,” an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestselling Swedish-language novel “A Man Called Ove” — which was made into an Oscar-nominated Swedish feature — grabbed headlines early on (Variety understands it boiled down to a bidding war between the studio and Apple), but hasn’t necessarily spawned the usual flurry of deals from Berlin halfway through the festival.
One buyer from a major U.K. distributor says the EFM vibe has felt “muted” for a company of its size, with an absence of broad-appeal product available once “Otto” was snapped up by Sony. “The lack of mainstream commercial packages is frustrating, and only puts more pressure on Cannes needing to deliver something big for all,...
- 2/14/2022
- by Manori Ravindran, Elsa Keslassy and Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
MK2 Films, the banner behind Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” has boarded “Love Life,” the anticipated next film of laureled Japanese director Koji Fukada.
Fukada’s credits include the 2016 movie “Harmonium” which won the jury prize at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, as well as “A Girl Missing” which played at Toronto. His latest film, “The Real Thing” was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection.
Set in contemporary Japan, “Love Life” is a character-driven film revolving around Taeko and her husband, Jiro, who are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita. When a tragic accident brings the boy’s long-lost father, Park, back into her life, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man to cope with the pain and guilt. Popular Japanese actress Fumino Kimura (“The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill”) headlines the film.
“We are proud to be teaming up...
Fukada’s credits include the 2016 movie “Harmonium” which won the jury prize at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, as well as “A Girl Missing” which played at Toronto. His latest film, “The Real Thing” was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection.
Set in contemporary Japan, “Love Life” is a character-driven film revolving around Taeko and her husband, Jiro, who are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita. When a tragic accident brings the boy’s long-lost father, Park, back into her life, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man to cope with the pain and guilt. Popular Japanese actress Fumino Kimura (“The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill”) headlines the film.
“We are proud to be teaming up...
- 2/13/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
MK2 Films, the banner behind Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated “The Worst Person in the World,” has boarded “Nezouh,” from Syrian director Soudade Kaadan.
The drama, set against the backdrop of the conflict in Damascus, marks Kaadan’s follow up to her 2018 feature debut, “The Day I Lost My Shadow,” which won the Lion of the Future prize at Venice. Her 2019 short “Aziza,” meanwhile, won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize.
Co-financed by BFI, which awarded National Lottery funding, and Film4, “Nezouh” is an allegorical tale of female emancipation.
The movie follows 14-year-old Zeina and her family, whose lives are shaken after a bomb rips a giant hole in the roof of their building, exposing them to the outside world. One day, a young boy living nearby lowers a rope through the opening and Zeina discovers her first taste of freedom. Whilst her father is determined to stay in his home and not become a refugee,...
The drama, set against the backdrop of the conflict in Damascus, marks Kaadan’s follow up to her 2018 feature debut, “The Day I Lost My Shadow,” which won the Lion of the Future prize at Venice. Her 2019 short “Aziza,” meanwhile, won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize.
Co-financed by BFI, which awarded National Lottery funding, and Film4, “Nezouh” is an allegorical tale of female emancipation.
The movie follows 14-year-old Zeina and her family, whose lives are shaken after a bomb rips a giant hole in the roof of their building, exposing them to the outside world. One day, a young boy living nearby lowers a rope through the opening and Zeina discovers her first taste of freedom. Whilst her father is determined to stay in his home and not become a refugee,...
- 2/10/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin’s Martin Gropius Bau building won’t be hopping with the European Film Market’s frenzied deal-making, but the global film industry is still weighing up trips to Germany for an in-person Berlinale.
Sales companies with a film at the festival, which runs Feb. 10-16, are largely planning to show up, and numerous distributors are expected to attend. Efforts are also underway to get buyers to Berlin by setting up separate market screenings for films in the official selection, although it’s unclear how feasible this will be.
Europa International, the umbrella group representing European sales companies, has been in negotiations with the EFM to try and arrange some sort of informal, on-the-ground market activity, according to several sources.
“We are in a constant dialogue with the sales agents and understand the need a top festival on the scale of the Berlinale generates for the commercial launch of films,...
Sales companies with a film at the festival, which runs Feb. 10-16, are largely planning to show up, and numerous distributors are expected to attend. Efforts are also underway to get buyers to Berlin by setting up separate market screenings for films in the official selection, although it’s unclear how feasible this will be.
Europa International, the umbrella group representing European sales companies, has been in negotiations with the EFM to try and arrange some sort of informal, on-the-ground market activity, according to several sources.
“We are in a constant dialogue with the sales agents and understand the need a top festival on the scale of the Berlinale generates for the commercial launch of films,...
- 1/14/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli, Elsa Keslassy and Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
New York-based Cohen Media Group has acquired all U.S. rights to Javier Bardem-starrer “The Good Boss” (“El Buen Patrón”), Spain’s submission to the international feature film Oscars race at the 2022 Academy Awards.
The deal was negotiated by Cmg senior VP Robert Aaronson and Fionnuala Jamison, managing director, MK2, which is handling international sales on the film.
Written and directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, “The Good Boss” world premiered at September’s San Sebastián Festival, where it was one of the best received of main competition films, critics especially highlighting Bardem’s central performance.
Released by Tripictures in Spain, it has grossed €1.64 million ($1.9 million) after its first three weekends, a resilient result in a still under-performing Spanish box office.
A workplace satire which says much about how corporate identity has eviscerated family and human relations in a modern world, “The Good Boss” stars a once more remarkably coiffured Bardem – here,...
The deal was negotiated by Cmg senior VP Robert Aaronson and Fionnuala Jamison, managing director, MK2, which is handling international sales on the film.
Written and directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, “The Good Boss” world premiered at September’s San Sebastián Festival, where it was one of the best received of main competition films, critics especially highlighting Bardem’s central performance.
Released by Tripictures in Spain, it has grossed €1.64 million ($1.9 million) after its first three weekends, a resilient result in a still under-performing Spanish box office.
A workplace satire which says much about how corporate identity has eviscerated family and human relations in a modern world, “The Good Boss” stars a once more remarkably coiffured Bardem – here,...
- 11/8/2021
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Mubi has acquired rights to climate change documentary “Invisible Demons” and plans to release the film in select U.S. theaters and on the company’s streaming platform in 2022.
Directed by Rahul Jain, “Invisible Demons” premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and later played at the Zurich Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. The movie will have its U.S. premiere at Doc NYC in November.
“Invisible Demons” shines a light on the increasingly urgent global climate crisis. Mubi, which functions as a streaming service, a film distributor and a production company, says the film offers new perspective on the clear and present climate realities. A press release about the movie reads: “Told through striking images and eye-opening accounts from everyday citizens fighting to survive, ‘Invisible Demons’ offers a new perspective on the clear and present climate reality. The film delivers a visceral and immersive journey...
Directed by Rahul Jain, “Invisible Demons” premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and later played at the Zurich Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. The movie will have its U.S. premiere at Doc NYC in November.
“Invisible Demons” shines a light on the increasingly urgent global climate crisis. Mubi, which functions as a streaming service, a film distributor and a production company, says the film offers new perspective on the clear and present climate realities. A press release about the movie reads: “Told through striking images and eye-opening accounts from everyday citizens fighting to survive, ‘Invisible Demons’ offers a new perspective on the clear and present climate reality. The film delivers a visceral and immersive journey...
- 11/3/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke and Oscar-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”) are set to headline “The Pod Generation,” a sci-fi romantic comedy that will be directed by Sophie Barthes. MK2 Films has boarded international sales, and CAA Media Finance is handling domestic rights.
Set in a near future where AI is all the rage and nature is becoming a distant memory, the story revolves around Rachel (Clarke) and Alvy (Ejiofor), a New York couple who are ready to take their relationship to the next level and start a family. Rachel’s work gives them a chance to use a new tool developed by a tech giant, Pegasus, which offers couples the opportunity to share pregnancy on a more equal footing via detachable artificial wombs, or pods. Alvy, a botanist and devoted purist, has doubts, but his love for Rachel prompts him to take a leap of faith.
Set in a near future where AI is all the rage and nature is becoming a distant memory, the story revolves around Rachel (Clarke) and Alvy (Ejiofor), a New York couple who are ready to take their relationship to the next level and start a family. Rachel’s work gives them a chance to use a new tool developed by a tech giant, Pegasus, which offers couples the opportunity to share pregnancy on a more equal footing via detachable artificial wombs, or pods. Alvy, a botanist and devoted purist, has doubts, but his love for Rachel prompts him to take a leap of faith.
- 10/25/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
MK2 Films has boarded “Blaze,” the feature directorial debut of award-winning Australian painter Del Kathryn Barton, which stars Simon Baker (“High Ground”) and Julia Savage (“Sweet Tooth”).
Now in post-production, the film stars Savage as Blaze, a teenager who is the sole witness to a shocking crime. Struggling to make sense of what she saw, she unleashes the wrath of a dragon coming from her wild imagination. “Blaze” will combine live action with VFX and stop-motion animation techniques.
MK2 Films has acquired world sales rights to the film and is kicking off sales at Venice, where the banner is presenting Mounia Akl’s “Costa Brava, Lebanon” (with Participant and Endeavor Content) in the Horizons section.
Barton previously co-directed “The Nightingale and the Rose,” an animated short film based on an Oscar Wilde story that featured Barton’s illustrative style, with a voice cast headlined by Mia Wasikowska and Geoffrey Rush.
Now in post-production, the film stars Savage as Blaze, a teenager who is the sole witness to a shocking crime. Struggling to make sense of what she saw, she unleashes the wrath of a dragon coming from her wild imagination. “Blaze” will combine live action with VFX and stop-motion animation techniques.
MK2 Films has acquired world sales rights to the film and is kicking off sales at Venice, where the banner is presenting Mounia Akl’s “Costa Brava, Lebanon” (with Participant and Endeavor Content) in the Horizons section.
Barton previously co-directed “The Nightingale and the Rose,” an animated short film based on an Oscar Wilde story that featured Barton’s illustrative style, with a voice cast headlined by Mia Wasikowska and Geoffrey Rush.
- 9/4/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Greenwich Entertainment has landed North American distribution rights to Savior for Sale: da Vinci’s Lost Masterpiece?, a documentary about the controversy surrounding the most expensive artwork ever sold.
Antoine Vitkine directed the film about the Salvator Mundi, a portrait of Christ as “Savior of the world” that Leonardo da Vinci painted more than 500 years ago. For hundreds of years the painting’s whereabouts remained a mystery, but in 2005 the lost masterpiece suddenly resurfaced at an auction in New Orleans. Or so some art historians, speculators and other interested parties asserted.
Savior for Sale documents the twists and turns of the story, which involved a painstaking restoration and vigorous disputes over whether the painting on wood panel was indeed made by da Vinci, or partially painted by him, or by one or more of his students. Its authenticity in dispute, the Salvator Mundi sold at auction in 2017 for $450 million, with...
Antoine Vitkine directed the film about the Salvator Mundi, a portrait of Christ as “Savior of the world” that Leonardo da Vinci painted more than 500 years ago. For hundreds of years the painting’s whereabouts remained a mystery, but in 2005 the lost masterpiece suddenly resurfaced at an auction in New Orleans. Or so some art historians, speculators and other interested parties asserted.
Savior for Sale documents the twists and turns of the story, which involved a painstaking restoration and vigorous disputes over whether the painting on wood panel was indeed made by da Vinci, or partially painted by him, or by one or more of his students. Its authenticity in dispute, the Salvator Mundi sold at auction in 2017 for $450 million, with...
- 8/3/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Following its well-received debut in Cannes Film Festival’s inaugural Premieres section, Andrea Arnold’s latest feature, Cow, is recording brisk business for Paris-based Mk2 Films.
Streaming service and theatrical distributor Mubi has boarded the movie for Italy, Germany, Austria and Latin America, adding to the deal it did for UK, Ireland and Turkey pre-festival. Pic has also gone to: Anz (Madman), France (Ad Vitam), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Spain (Elastica), Scandinavia (Non Stop), Poland (Against Gravity), Portugal (Alambique), Romania (Independenta), and South Korea (Green Narae).
Arnold’s fifth feature, and her first since Cannes hit American Honey, is an intriguing proposition. More than six years in the making, the film is an observational documentary about the titular animal, tracking the beauty and hardships of our bovine companions.
In Arnold’s own words: “This film is an endeavour to consider cows. To move us closer to them. To see both...
Streaming service and theatrical distributor Mubi has boarded the movie for Italy, Germany, Austria and Latin America, adding to the deal it did for UK, Ireland and Turkey pre-festival. Pic has also gone to: Anz (Madman), France (Ad Vitam), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Spain (Elastica), Scandinavia (Non Stop), Poland (Against Gravity), Portugal (Alambique), Romania (Independenta), and South Korea (Green Narae).
Arnold’s fifth feature, and her first since Cannes hit American Honey, is an intriguing proposition. More than six years in the making, the film is an observational documentary about the titular animal, tracking the beauty and hardships of our bovine companions.
In Arnold’s own words: “This film is an endeavour to consider cows. To move us closer to them. To see both...
- 7/23/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Directors’ Fortnight prize winner ‘A Chiara’ heads to multiple territories for mk2 films (exclusive)
Film world premiered in Directors’ Fortnight winning top Europa Cinemas award.
Paris-based mk2 films has a sealed a raft of deals on Jonas Carpignano’s southern Italian drama A Chiara, which scooped one of the top collateral prizes in Directors’ Fortnight this year.
Mubi has done a multi-territory deal for the UK, Germany, Turkey and Latin America.
European deals include to Benelux (Imagine), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Aerofilms), Greece (One From The Heart), Poland (Aurora Films), Spain (BTeam Pictures), Scandinavia and Baltics (Edge Entertainment).
For the rest of the world, it has sold to Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films...
Paris-based mk2 films has a sealed a raft of deals on Jonas Carpignano’s southern Italian drama A Chiara, which scooped one of the top collateral prizes in Directors’ Fortnight this year.
Mubi has done a multi-territory deal for the UK, Germany, Turkey and Latin America.
European deals include to Benelux (Imagine), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Aerofilms), Greece (One From The Heart), Poland (Aurora Films), Spain (BTeam Pictures), Scandinavia and Baltics (Edge Entertainment).
For the rest of the world, it has sold to Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films...
- 7/21/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Continuing its victory lap around the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, indie studio Neon has acquired the North American distribution rights to “A Chiara.”
The Jonas Carpignano film won the top prize in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section. It is a companion film to his 2017 “A Ciambra,” for which he took the same award that year. Critics raved about the film’s exploration of young female identity and Carpignano’s ability to create enduring interest in one fictional family across multiple films.
“A Chiara” follows Claudio and Carmela Guerrasio, who gather with family and friends to celebrate their eldest daughter’s 18th birthday. There is a healthy rivalry between the birthday girl and her 15-year-old sister Chiara, as they compete on the dance floor. A happy occasion shifts suddenly when the patriarch disappears. As Chiara investigates, she discovers truths about her family and must face decisions about the kind of life she wants to build.
The Jonas Carpignano film won the top prize in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section. It is a companion film to his 2017 “A Ciambra,” for which he took the same award that year. Critics raved about the film’s exploration of young female identity and Carpignano’s ability to create enduring interest in one fictional family across multiple films.
“A Chiara” follows Claudio and Carmela Guerrasio, who gather with family and friends to celebrate their eldest daughter’s 18th birthday. There is a healthy rivalry between the birthday girl and her 15-year-old sister Chiara, as they compete on the dance floor. A happy occasion shifts suddenly when the patriarch disappears. As Chiara investigates, she discovers truths about her family and must face decisions about the kind of life she wants to build.
- 7/18/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Everyone expressed pleasure at being back at a physical event.
As the Cannes Film Festival moves into its last two days, international attendees reflected on a pandemic-era event that has required them to grapple with the logistics of 48-hourly Covid-19 tests, rumours of a virus cluster in the early days of the festival and concerns over the lack of mask-wearing, which was tightened up as the event progressed.
Sales agents expressed mixed views on how much business has been done but all said they were happy to be back. Those representing titles in official selection were generally upbeat, suggesting the...
As the Cannes Film Festival moves into its last two days, international attendees reflected on a pandemic-era event that has required them to grapple with the logistics of 48-hourly Covid-19 tests, rumours of a virus cluster in the early days of the festival and concerns over the lack of mask-wearing, which was tightened up as the event progressed.
Sales agents expressed mixed views on how much business has been done but all said they were happy to be back. Those representing titles in official selection were generally upbeat, suggesting the...
- 7/16/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow¬Ben Dalton¬Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Neon has picked up U.S. rights to hot Cannes title “The Worst Person in the World,” directed by Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier, from French sales agent mk2 Films.
The romantic comedy, which is playing in competition, rounds out Trier’s Oslo Trilogy, which began with “Reprise” in 2006 and continued with “Oslo, August 31st” in 2011.
The script was co-written by Trier with regular collaborator Eskil Vogt, and the film stars Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjøreby, and Vidar Sandem.
“The Worst Person in The World” tells the story of a quest for love and meaning in contemporary Oslo. It chronicles four years in the life of Julie (Reinsve), a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Following its July 8 premiere in Cannes,...
The romantic comedy, which is playing in competition, rounds out Trier’s Oslo Trilogy, which began with “Reprise” in 2006 and continued with “Oslo, August 31st” in 2011.
The script was co-written by Trier with regular collaborator Eskil Vogt, and the film stars Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjøreby, and Vidar Sandem.
“The Worst Person in The World” tells the story of a quest for love and meaning in contemporary Oslo. It chronicles four years in the life of Julie (Reinsve), a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Following its July 8 premiere in Cannes,...
- 7/16/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy and Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Mk2 Films has sold Cannes buzz pic The Worst Person In The World to Parasite distributor Neon following a tussle for North American rights, we can reveal.
The anticipated third film in Joachim Trier’s ‘Oslo’ trilogy, following Reprise and Oslo, August 31st, was one of the best-reviewed films on the Croisette this past week.
The Norwegian-language romantic-dramedy chronicles four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Trier wrote the script together with Eskil Vogt. Cast includes Renate Reinsve (Oslo August 31st), who garnered rave reviews, Anders Danielsen Lie (Oslo August 31st) and Herbert Nordrum (Beforeigners).
Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal for Neon with Fionnuala Jamison from mk2 Films. The French seller has seen significant interest in the movie in...
The anticipated third film in Joachim Trier’s ‘Oslo’ trilogy, following Reprise and Oslo, August 31st, was one of the best-reviewed films on the Croisette this past week.
The Norwegian-language romantic-dramedy chronicles four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Trier wrote the script together with Eskil Vogt. Cast includes Renate Reinsve (Oslo August 31st), who garnered rave reviews, Anders Danielsen Lie (Oslo August 31st) and Herbert Nordrum (Beforeigners).
Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal for Neon with Fionnuala Jamison from mk2 Films. The French seller has seen significant interest in the movie in...
- 7/16/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Participant is teaming up with leading French sales agent MK2 Films and Endeavor Content to represent worldwide distribution rights on “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” the anticipated feature debut of Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl.
“Costa Brava, Lebanon” will be headlined by Lebanese star and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”), alongside Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“The Band’s Visit”). The pair will play a couple who decide to leave the toxic pollution of their home city of Beirut, hoping to build a utopian existence in a pristine home in the mountains. This dream life is shattered when a landfill is built right outside its fence, bringing the garbage and corruption they hoped to leave behind to its door. As the trash rises, so do the tensions in their perfect home.
Akl, an alumni of Cannes’ Cinefondation, previously directed the critically-acclaimed short film “Submarine” in 2015. The student short was nominated for a BAFTA and played at Toronto and SXSW,...
“Costa Brava, Lebanon” will be headlined by Lebanese star and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”), alongside Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“The Band’s Visit”). The pair will play a couple who decide to leave the toxic pollution of their home city of Beirut, hoping to build a utopian existence in a pristine home in the mountains. This dream life is shattered when a landfill is built right outside its fence, bringing the garbage and corruption they hoped to leave behind to its door. As the trash rises, so do the tensions in their perfect home.
Akl, an alumni of Cannes’ Cinefondation, previously directed the critically-acclaimed short film “Submarine” in 2015. The student short was nominated for a BAFTA and played at Toronto and SXSW,...
- 7/14/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.