Toro Toro Toro: Amamra Grabs the Bull By the Horns in Transformative Role
For those who champion the bull in Spain’s electrifying yet antiquated tradition of the running of the bulls, there’s a fresh perspective awaiting in a genre-blending narrative that redefines and realigns the boundaries between genders and species. Departing from her beginnings in young adult romantic comedy with Fragile (2021), French-Algerian filmmaker Emma Benestan reunites with Oulaya Amamra for their third collaboration—a sophomore film that exudes a Cocteau-esque spirit with hints of whac-a-mole horror genre elements. An exploration of crossed boundaries and crossing over, Animale is reminiscent of last year’s Le Règne animal and especially Julia Ducournau’s Raw, despite embracing what is a familiar, well-trodden path, we find a fresh take on violence as redemption and salvation.…...
For those who champion the bull in Spain’s electrifying yet antiquated tradition of the running of the bulls, there’s a fresh perspective awaiting in a genre-blending narrative that redefines and realigns the boundaries between genders and species. Departing from her beginnings in young adult romantic comedy with Fragile (2021), French-Algerian filmmaker Emma Benestan reunites with Oulaya Amamra for their third collaboration—a sophomore film that exudes a Cocteau-esque spirit with hints of whac-a-mole horror genre elements. An exploration of crossed boundaries and crossing over, Animale is reminiscent of last year’s Le Règne animal and especially Julia Ducournau’s Raw, despite embracing what is a familiar, well-trodden path, we find a fresh take on violence as redemption and salvation.…...
- 5/22/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
David Cronenberg’s films have often imagined a future where technology would find a way into our collective id. 55 years into the director’s incomparable career, might that future have finally caught up with him? In Cronenberg’s new film––the slick, scrambled The Shrouds––there are two barely speculative conceits: that an AI chatbot could be designed to look like a recently deceased love one; and primarily, that a company might have the bright idea to wrap a blanket of HD cameras around our nearest and dearest before they’re sent six-feet-under, allowing us to check in on their decaying corpse, all with the click of an app.
If that sounds a little unambitious by the Canadian’s standards, the director––whose wife of 43 years, Carolyn, died in 2017 after a battle with cancer––has his reasons. If “grief is forever,” as the director said before the premiere in Cannes,...
If that sounds a little unambitious by the Canadian’s standards, the director––whose wife of 43 years, Carolyn, died in 2017 after a battle with cancer––has his reasons. If “grief is forever,” as the director said before the premiere in Cannes,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Neon has picked up the North American rights to Sentimental Value, the upcoming film from Norwegian director Joachim Trier that reteams him with Renate Reinsve, star of Trier’s 2021 hit The Worst Person in the World.
Trier and Worst Person in the World co-writer Eskil Vogt penned the screenplay to Sentimental Value, a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father after the death of their mother. Sentimental Value is set to begin principal photography in August in Norway and France. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release.
Maria Ekerhovd, who made The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2024 list of the 40 most powerful women in international film, is producing Sentimental Value for Mer Film in Norway, alongside Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films, Nathanaël Karmitz and Elisha Karmitz for Mk Production and Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Film.
Trier and Worst Person in the World co-writer Eskil Vogt penned the screenplay to Sentimental Value, a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father after the death of their mother. Sentimental Value is set to begin principal photography in August in Norway and France. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release.
Maria Ekerhovd, who made The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2024 list of the 40 most powerful women in international film, is producing Sentimental Value for Mer Film in Norway, alongside Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films, Nathanaël Karmitz and Elisha Karmitz for Mk Production and Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Film.
- 5/21/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Neon has prebought North American rights to Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, the latest project from the Norwegian director that stars Renate Reinsve.
It marks the second collaboration for Neon, Trier and Reinsve after 2021’s The Worst Person In The World, which was nominated for a Best International Feature Oscar in 2022 as well as Best Original Screenplay. That project also played in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival the year prior, where it earned Reinsve the Best Actress Award.
Eskil Vogt and Trier wrote the screenplay of Sentimental Value, which is described as a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father following the death of their mother. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release for the title.
The film is produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Denmark/Sweden’s Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films,...
It marks the second collaboration for Neon, Trier and Reinsve after 2021’s The Worst Person In The World, which was nominated for a Best International Feature Oscar in 2022 as well as Best Original Screenplay. That project also played in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival the year prior, where it earned Reinsve the Best Actress Award.
Eskil Vogt and Trier wrote the screenplay of Sentimental Value, which is described as a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father following the death of their mother. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release for the title.
The film is produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Denmark/Sweden’s Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
David Cronenberg has opened up on putting his film The Shrouds to Netflix executives as a television series, who greenlit writing a first episode before rejecting the director’s project.
The sci-fi drama, which aired in Cannes to a three-and-a-half minute applause before Cronenberg spoke to the audience, follows Karsh (Vincent Cassel), a prominent businessman and widower who, inconsolable since the death of his wife (Diane Kruger) invents a revolutionary and controversial technology that enables the living to monitor the decomposition of deceased loved ones in their graves.
Cronenberg spoke at Cannes’ press conference for the film on Tuesday, explaining how he envisioned the story working well as a series. He flew to Los Angeles to speak with two Netflix execs who financed the writing of a first episode – which they loved. But after the second, they did not want to go any further.
“They said – and this is a...
The sci-fi drama, which aired in Cannes to a three-and-a-half minute applause before Cronenberg spoke to the audience, follows Karsh (Vincent Cassel), a prominent businessman and widower who, inconsolable since the death of his wife (Diane Kruger) invents a revolutionary and controversial technology that enables the living to monitor the decomposition of deceased loved ones in their graves.
Cronenberg spoke at Cannes’ press conference for the film on Tuesday, explaining how he envisioned the story working well as a series. He flew to Los Angeles to speak with two Netflix execs who financed the writing of a first episode – which they loved. But after the second, they did not want to go any further.
“They said – and this is a...
- 5/21/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Cannes audience gave a respectful embrace to David Cronenberg’s chilly drama The Shrouds, the latest from the Canadian king of horror.
Cronenberg joined castmembers Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, Sandrine Holt and Elizabeth Saunders to hit the Croisette for the film’s premiere Monday. Cronenberg rocked the red carpet wearing a pair of white rimmed wrap-around 1990s-style plastic sunglasses.
The film was met with applause that went on for three and a half minutes before Cronenberg put an end to it by taking the mic and thanking the crowd. The director explained that it was the first time he had seen the movie with an audience and added, “And it is completely different.”
Its reception was rather reserved, perhaps in keeping with the film’s subject matter of grief and death. The connection to the director’s own experience was made clear with Cassel’s character Karsh,...
Cronenberg joined castmembers Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, Sandrine Holt and Elizabeth Saunders to hit the Croisette for the film’s premiere Monday. Cronenberg rocked the red carpet wearing a pair of white rimmed wrap-around 1990s-style plastic sunglasses.
The film was met with applause that went on for three and a half minutes before Cronenberg put an end to it by taking the mic and thanking the crowd. The director explained that it was the first time he had seen the movie with an audience and added, “And it is completely different.”
Its reception was rather reserved, perhaps in keeping with the film’s subject matter of grief and death. The connection to the director’s own experience was made clear with Cassel’s character Karsh,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As ever, Cannes is providing serious buzz. It’s a key part of the festival circuit – films screen, conversation proliferates, and exciting must-sees come out of it all. And amid the myriad takes on Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, the debut of Kevin Costner’s Horizon, and the arrival of another new Yorgos Lanthimos joint Kinds Of Kindness, there’s one film that’s got everybody talking: The Substance. It’s an upcoming body horror from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat (previously behind Revenge), and has provoked all kinds of conversation – in part for giving Demi Moore her biggest role in years.
Since The Substance has been acquired for distribution by Mubi, there’s already a teaser for the film. It’s only brief, but give it a watch here:
There’s not a huge amount to go off here, but the cryptic teaser does offer hints at the premise – of...
Since The Substance has been acquired for distribution by Mubi, there’s already a teaser for the film. It’s only brief, but give it a watch here:
There’s not a huge amount to go off here, but the cryptic teaser does offer hints at the premise – of...
- 5/20/2024
- by Ben Travis
- Empire - Movies
Cannes film festival
Moore plays a fading Hollywood star whose career is set to be axed by misogynists when she’s offered a secret new medical procedure
Coralie Fargeat, known for the violent thriller Revenge from 2017, now cranks up the amplifier for some death metal … or nasty injury metal anyway. This is a cheerfully silly and outrageously indulgent piece of gonzo body-horror comedy, lacking in subtlety, body-positivity or positivity of any sort. Roger Corman would have loved it. It’s flawed and overlong but there’s a genius bit of casting in Demi Moore who is a very good sport about the whole thing. And as confrontational satire it strikes me as at least as good, or better, than two actual Palme d’Or winners: Julia Ducournau’s Titane and Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness.
The Substance is a grisly fantasy-parable of misogyny and body-objectification, which riffs on the...
Moore plays a fading Hollywood star whose career is set to be axed by misogynists when she’s offered a secret new medical procedure
Coralie Fargeat, known for the violent thriller Revenge from 2017, now cranks up the amplifier for some death metal … or nasty injury metal anyway. This is a cheerfully silly and outrageously indulgent piece of gonzo body-horror comedy, lacking in subtlety, body-positivity or positivity of any sort. Roger Corman would have loved it. It’s flawed and overlong but there’s a genius bit of casting in Demi Moore who is a very good sport about the whole thing. And as confrontational satire it strikes me as at least as good, or better, than two actual Palme d’Or winners: Julia Ducournau’s Titane and Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness.
The Substance is a grisly fantasy-parable of misogyny and body-objectification, which riffs on the...
- 5/19/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Certainly the grossest, most way-out-there, and dare-you-to-lose-your-dinner film to debut in the Cannes competition so far, Coralie Fargeat’s “Revenge” follow-up “The Substance” premiered in the Palais Sunday night after a morning press screening that saw plenty of expected walkouts. Surely the same volume of repulsed exiters carried over to the premiere public screening, where Greta Gerwig’s jury got their first glimpse of the otherwise since-secretive film whose synopses and press notes tell you little. Mubi has distribution rights, which the company purchased just before the festival started. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich calls it an “instant classic.”
In this audacious, two-plus-hour feminist body horror, Demi Moore bares all to play a once-decorated actress quote-unquote past her prime named Elisabeth Sparkle, now resigned to Jane Fonda-esque fitness videos. But her time is finally up. She’s fired for being too old, sent packing home back to her sparse LA apartment,...
In this audacious, two-plus-hour feminist body horror, Demi Moore bares all to play a once-decorated actress quote-unquote past her prime named Elisabeth Sparkle, now resigned to Jane Fonda-esque fitness videos. But her time is finally up. She’s fired for being too old, sent packing home back to her sparse LA apartment,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Neon has secured North American rights from Films Boutique to Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, ahead of its world premiere in Competition at Cannes on May 24.
Neon is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The story centres on an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, who grapples mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify, leading to suspicion of his own family. The cast includes Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha Akhshi Vardoogh.
Production companies are Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45. Films Boutique is handling worldwide sales rights to the film,...
Neon is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The story centres on an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, who grapples mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify, leading to suspicion of his own family. The cast includes Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha Akhshi Vardoogh.
Production companies are Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45. Films Boutique is handling worldwide sales rights to the film,...
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
The anarchic spirit of Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winner Titane lives on in Emma Benestan’s Critics’ Week closer Animale, the genre-busting debut of a director who cites Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, and the naturalist films of Chloé Zhao as influences. More surprisingly, she also credits Abdellatif Kechiche, since her first break was as assistant editor on his 2013 Palme d’Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color.
Emma Benestan
Benestan — who would later take a full-blown editor credit on Kechiche’s 2017 feature Mektoub, My Love — was then finishing her studies at France’s prestigious La Fémis film school, but observing Kechiche’s directorial style, and witnessing his penchant for mixing professional and amateur actors, was an education in itself. “It’s the way he marries professionals and amateurs that gives his films a certain spontaneity,” she explains. “I’d been taught the director had to control everything,...
Emma Benestan
Benestan — who would later take a full-blown editor credit on Kechiche’s 2017 feature Mektoub, My Love — was then finishing her studies at France’s prestigious La Fémis film school, but observing Kechiche’s directorial style, and witnessing his penchant for mixing professional and amateur actors, was an education in itself. “It’s the way he marries professionals and amateurs that gives his films a certain spontaneity,” she explains. “I’d been taught the director had to control everything,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Babes by Pamela Adlon, co-written and starring Ilana Glazer, debuts in limited release with films by Hang Song-soo and Bertrand Bonello and docs on a controversial Venice Biennale, ground-breaking female clerics, and the Blue Angels Navy Squadron. A trio of festival favorites expand. While eyes now are on fare at Cannes — where Neon has been making high-profile moves — each week Stateside remains a test of indie film’s theatrical boundaries in a post-Covid, streaming-centric marketplace.
There have been notable hits. A24’s I Saw The TV Glow by Jane Schoenbrun is having a nice run so far as is Evil Does Not Exist — Sideshow/Janus Films’ second outing with Ryusuke Hamaguchi after Oscar-winning Drive My Car. (That 2021 Japanese film about a...
There have been notable hits. A24’s I Saw The TV Glow by Jane Schoenbrun is having a nice run so far as is Evil Does Not Exist — Sideshow/Janus Films’ second outing with Ryusuke Hamaguchi after Oscar-winning Drive My Car. (That 2021 Japanese film about a...
- 5/17/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Léa Seydoux’s latest feature will be distributed by Neon.
Seydoux stars in “The Unknown (L’Inconnue),” which will be written and directed by Academy Award-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” screenwriter Arthur Harari. The plot details for the film are still under wraps, with production looking to be completed in early 2026.
Neon will release the film in U.S. and Canadian theaters. “The Unknown” will be produced by Bathysphere, with Pathé co-producing and selling the film internationally in Cannes.
“The Unknown” is the third feature both written and directed by Harari. He previously directed “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle,” which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes and went on to win numerous awards including the Best Original Screenplay César. He also wrote the screenplay for “Sibyl,” which was directed by “Anatomy of a Fall’s” Justine Triet.
The deal for “The Unknown” was negotiated by Neon’s President of...
Seydoux stars in “The Unknown (L’Inconnue),” which will be written and directed by Academy Award-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” screenwriter Arthur Harari. The plot details for the film are still under wraps, with production looking to be completed in early 2026.
Neon will release the film in U.S. and Canadian theaters. “The Unknown” will be produced by Bathysphere, with Pathé co-producing and selling the film internationally in Cannes.
“The Unknown” is the third feature both written and directed by Harari. He previously directed “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle,” which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes and went on to win numerous awards including the Best Original Screenplay César. He also wrote the screenplay for “Sibyl,” which was directed by “Anatomy of a Fall’s” Justine Triet.
The deal for “The Unknown” was negotiated by Neon’s President of...
- 5/17/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Neon has picked up North American rights to The Unknown, the next feature from Anatomy of a Fall writer Arthur Harari.
Léa Seydoux is set to star in the film, which Neon has said it will release in U.S. and Canadian theaters in 2026. Harari also serves as director on the pic, which will be produced by bathysphere, with Pathé co-producing and selling the film internationally in Cannes.
The Unknown is the third feature both written and directed by Harari. His previous feature as writer-director was 2021’s critically acclaimed Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes that year and went on to win the Best Original Screenplay César. He wrote the screenplay for Sibyl (2019), directed by Justine Triet, which was in the Official Competition at Cannes that year.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s President of Acquisitions & Production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé...
Léa Seydoux is set to star in the film, which Neon has said it will release in U.S. and Canadian theaters in 2026. Harari also serves as director on the pic, which will be produced by bathysphere, with Pathé co-producing and selling the film internationally in Cannes.
The Unknown is the third feature both written and directed by Harari. His previous feature as writer-director was 2021’s critically acclaimed Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes that year and went on to win the Best Original Screenplay César. He wrote the screenplay for Sibyl (2019), directed by Justine Triet, which was in the Official Competition at Cannes that year.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s President of Acquisitions & Production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé...
- 5/17/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The world premiere of Agathe Riedinger’s Wild Diamond in Cannes Competition is the only one by a first-time filmmaker and heralds Riedinger as part of a new wave of French female directors to arrive en force on the Croisette.
The film explores western society’s obsession with beauty and fame and the omnipresence of social media through the story of a 19 year-old girl who sets out to earn a spot on a reality TV show.
Also in Competitoin is France-born Coralie Fargeat’s second feature The Substance. The body horror is produced by the UK’s Working Title Films and stars Demi Moore,...
The film explores western society’s obsession with beauty and fame and the omnipresence of social media through the story of a 19 year-old girl who sets out to earn a spot on a reality TV show.
Also in Competitoin is France-born Coralie Fargeat’s second feature The Substance. The body horror is produced by the UK’s Working Title Films and stars Demi Moore,...
- 5/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
The body, as any fan of David Cronenberg’s cinema knows, will betray you. Canada’s greatest gift to genre film has spent half a century exploring how treacherous the human organism can be. How our frail frames can be infected, mutated or corrupted by outside invasion — see Rabid, Shivers or The Fly — or by internal disruption, be it mental illness (Spider), addiction (Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch) or destructive desire (Crash). And technology, be it the VHS implants in Videodrome, the virtual reality of eXistenZ or the body enhancements of Crimes of the Future, will not save us, says Cronenberg, from the way of all flesh.
The body’s final betrayal, of course, is death, the subject of Cronenberg’s new film. The Shrouds, which will premiere May 20 in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, stars Vincent Cassel as Karsh, a businessman overwhelmed with grief at the death of his...
The body’s final betrayal, of course, is death, the subject of Cronenberg’s new film. The Shrouds, which will premiere May 20 in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, stars Vincent Cassel as Karsh, a businessman overwhelmed with grief at the death of his...
- 5/17/2024
- by Etan Vlessing and Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After she won the 2021 Palme d’Or for Titane, in a which a sociopathic stripper becomes a serial killer and has sex with muscle cars, Julia Ducournau was effusive in her gratitude to the Cannes Film Festival. “Thank you for calling for more diversity in our experiences of film and our lives,” she said. “Thank you for letting in the monsters.”
Titane was only her second movie; the first, Raw, made its humble debut in Critics’ Week, but it was recognizably the work of the same artist, being a tender coming of age story about a veterinary student who discovers that she comes from a long line of cannibals.
Although Cannes has a long way to go in terms of gender parity, the festival has been quick to tap into the new wave of female-directed horror that has sprung up in the wake of Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook 10 years ago.
Titane was only her second movie; the first, Raw, made its humble debut in Critics’ Week, but it was recognizably the work of the same artist, being a tender coming of age story about a veterinary student who discovers that she comes from a long line of cannibals.
Although Cannes has a long way to go in terms of gender parity, the festival has been quick to tap into the new wave of female-directed horror that has sprung up in the wake of Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook 10 years ago.
- 5/15/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon Promotes Elissa Federoff to Chief Distribution Officer, Ryan Friscia to Chief Financial Officer
Neon, the indie studio behind “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Parasite,” has made a pair of key promotions.
Elissa Federoff has been named chief distribution officer, having previously served as president of distribution, while Ryan Friscia has been upped to chief financial officer, having previously served as the company’s EVP of finance and business development.
Federoff has been with Neon since its inception in 2017. In her new role, she will continue to oversee the company’s release strategy across all its titles. Recent Neon releases include Michael Mohan’s “Immaculate,” starring Sydney Sweeney, which has grossed more than $16 million; Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” which earned an Oscar nomination for best international feature; and “Anatomy of a Fall,” which was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards and won the Oscar for original screenplay.
Friscia joined Neon in 2020, helping to guide the company’s financial and operational strategy, which...
Elissa Federoff has been named chief distribution officer, having previously served as president of distribution, while Ryan Friscia has been upped to chief financial officer, having previously served as the company’s EVP of finance and business development.
Federoff has been with Neon since its inception in 2017. In her new role, she will continue to oversee the company’s release strategy across all its titles. Recent Neon releases include Michael Mohan’s “Immaculate,” starring Sydney Sweeney, which has grossed more than $16 million; Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” which earned an Oscar nomination for best international feature; and “Anatomy of a Fall,” which was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards and won the Oscar for original screenplay.
Friscia joined Neon in 2020, helping to guide the company’s financial and operational strategy, which...
- 5/15/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Neon has promoted Elissa Federoff from president of distribution to chief distribution officer and Ryan Friscia from EVP, finance & business development to chief financial officer.
Federoff has been with the company since its inception in January 2017 and will continue to oversee the company’s release strategy.
The executive has steered Neon to one of its most successful periods at the box office since inception, with Sydney Sweeney starrer Immaculate earning more than $16m, 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall taking more than $5m to become the highest-grossing specialised foreign-language release post-Covid, and Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days on more than $3.7m.
Federoff has been with the company since its inception in January 2017 and will continue to oversee the company’s release strategy.
The executive has steered Neon to one of its most successful periods at the box office since inception, with Sydney Sweeney starrer Immaculate earning more than $16m, 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall taking more than $5m to become the highest-grossing specialised foreign-language release post-Covid, and Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days on more than $3.7m.
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired the North American rights to award-winning filmmaker Julia Ducournau’s (Titane, Raw) genre-defying film Alpha.
Leading the cast are Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone, Paterson) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian, A Prophet), with principal photography on the film commencing next fall.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film and Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival and market.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions & production Jeff Deutchman with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation Entertainment’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers.
The deal marks Neon’s second collaboration with Ducournau following Titane, which the studio picked up ahead of its premiere in Cannes in 2021 and went on to win the Palme d’Or.
Neon also...
Leading the cast are Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone, Paterson) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian, A Prophet), with principal photography on the film commencing next fall.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film and Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival and market.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions & production Jeff Deutchman with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation Entertainment’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers.
The deal marks Neon’s second collaboration with Ducournau following Titane, which the studio picked up ahead of its premiere in Cannes in 2021 and went on to win the Palme d’Or.
Neon also...
- 5/15/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cannes parallel section Critics’ Week opens Wednesday with French director Jonathan Millet’s psychological manhunt thriller Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes), starring Adam Bessa as man in in pursuit of a faceless, former torturer.
Running from May 15 to 23, the compact line-up will showcase 11 first and second works features by emerging directors, seven in competition, as well as 13 short films.
Deadline caught up with Artistic Director Ava Cahen on the eve of the 63rd edition.
Deadline: You’re on your third selection as Critics’ Week artistic director. How was it this year?
Ava Cahen: We always put the counters back to zero. So everything felt new, even if it’s my third year. We received a few more films than normal and screened 1,050 features. It’s hard when you’ve only got 11 slots. Obviously there were a lot more than 11 films that we would have liked to have welcomed. There was a lot of discussion.
Running from May 15 to 23, the compact line-up will showcase 11 first and second works features by emerging directors, seven in competition, as well as 13 short films.
Deadline caught up with Artistic Director Ava Cahen on the eve of the 63rd edition.
Deadline: You’re on your third selection as Critics’ Week artistic director. How was it this year?
Ava Cahen: We always put the counters back to zero. So everything felt new, even if it’s my third year. We received a few more films than normal and screened 1,050 features. It’s hard when you’ve only got 11 slots. Obviously there were a lot more than 11 films that we would have liked to have welcomed. There was a lot of discussion.
- 5/15/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
French actress and director Sandrine Bonnaire is to direct music biopic Slow Joe.
Slow Joe tells the true story of the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha - “Slow Joe” - chronicling his journey from Goa to international acclaim in France, overcoming a troubled past through music.
Bonnaire joins the project with previously announced Indian actor Jackie Shroff, whose credits include Devdas and Rangeela, who will play Slow Joe, and Narcos director of photography Mauricio Vidal.
The English, French and Konkani language feature film will shoot in India and France in early 2025.
It is produced through Singapore-based film production and distribution company,...
Slow Joe tells the true story of the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha - “Slow Joe” - chronicling his journey from Goa to international acclaim in France, overcoming a troubled past through music.
Bonnaire joins the project with previously announced Indian actor Jackie Shroff, whose credits include Devdas and Rangeela, who will play Slow Joe, and Narcos director of photography Mauricio Vidal.
The English, French and Konkani language feature film will shoot in India and France in early 2025.
It is produced through Singapore-based film production and distribution company,...
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Ben Foster, Sophia Lillis and Christina Hendricks will star in genre title Bobby Fox In The Lower Dimension which Luminescence, Range Media Partners and CAA Media Finance are launching in Cannes.
Krysanne Katsoolis’ financier-producer Viewpark Group is producing with Range and Foster, with Alexandre Moors directing his follow-up to Sundance premieres Blue Caprice and The Yellow Birds.
Bobby Fox centres on a Las Vegas politician who may be trying to save the world from an inter-dimensional invasion, or may be a delusional conspiracy theorist with a murderous past. Moors and Rfi Porto co-wrote the screenplay.
Foster’s credits include Hell Or High Water...
Krysanne Katsoolis’ financier-producer Viewpark Group is producing with Range and Foster, with Alexandre Moors directing his follow-up to Sundance premieres Blue Caprice and The Yellow Birds.
Bobby Fox centres on a Las Vegas politician who may be trying to save the world from an inter-dimensional invasion, or may be a delusional conspiracy theorist with a murderous past. Moors and Rfi Porto co-wrote the screenplay.
Foster’s credits include Hell Or High Water...
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
One of the pleasures of the Cannes Film Festival is seeing what films and what directors break out. Sure, in the current crop of films premiering at the 77th festival this May, there are some big names everybody knows; you don’t need an explainer to know that Francis Ford Coppola and “Megalopolis” are a big deal. But Cannes is also where filmmakers such as Julia Ducournau and Justine Triet gained wide exposure and became international known quantities, thanks to the prestige granted by nabbing the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or.
Introduced a full decade into the festival’s existence, the Palme d’Or has a strong pedigree associated with it; several of the films that received the prize — “La Dolce Vita,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Taxi Driver,” “Paris, Texas,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Tree of Life,” “Parasite,” and way too many others to properly list — have claim...
Introduced a full decade into the festival’s existence, the Palme d’Or has a strong pedigree associated with it; several of the films that received the prize — “La Dolce Vita,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Taxi Driver,” “Paris, Texas,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Tree of Life,” “Parasite,” and way too many others to properly list — have claim...
- 5/15/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Body horror fans, get ready for a new trip into shock cinema as Julia Ducournau, who directed the visceral horror films Raw and Titane, saddles up to release her third film, Alpha. Titane was a milestone for the filmmaker as she became the second woman director to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. FilmNation and Charades presented Alpha to potential buyers at the Cannes market, and Deadline is reporting that the indie studio Neon would come out with distributing rights to the film. It was recently reported that Golshifteh Farahani of the Extraction films and Tahar Rahim of Madame Web have signed on to star in Alpha.
Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film will be on board as producers of Alpha. Joining them will be Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie and Frakas Productions will be co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are also handling sales...
Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film will be on board as producers of Alpha. Joining them will be Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie and Frakas Productions will be co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are also handling sales...
- 5/14/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
French filmmaker Julia Ducournau has established herself as a true genre visionary with her first two movies, first the cannibal film Raw (2016) and then the wild Titane in 2021.
Up next from Ducournau is a mysterious movie titled Alpha, and Variety reports this afternoon that Neon has picked up the North American rights to the upcoming movie.
Neon previously released Julia Ducournau’s Titane.
Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone) and Tahar Rahim (“The Serpent”) will star.
“Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did,” FilmNation Entertainment and Charades said in a statement. “We can’t wait to bring the film to market in Cannes and to launch sales together for the first time and collaborate in this way.”
“Alpha is a new page in Julia Ducournau’s corpus that is both...
Up next from Ducournau is a mysterious movie titled Alpha, and Variety reports this afternoon that Neon has picked up the North American rights to the upcoming movie.
Neon previously released Julia Ducournau’s Titane.
Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone) and Tahar Rahim (“The Serpent”) will star.
“Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did,” FilmNation Entertainment and Charades said in a statement. “We can’t wait to bring the film to market in Cannes and to launch sales together for the first time and collaborate in this way.”
“Alpha is a new page in Julia Ducournau’s corpus that is both...
- 5/14/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Thriving U.S. indie producer-distributor Neon is no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival with the Tom Quinn-founded banner having acquired a historic four consecutive Palme d’Or wins, thus earning them the nickname “the Palme d’Or whisperers”. This year, while the company has Sean Baker’s new rom-com Anora playing in Competition, it’s also descending upon the Croisette in a new capacity with its recently-launched international sales strand, led by seasoned sales exec and Sierra/Affinity veteran Kristen Figeroid.
International buyers will be hard pressed not to notice the new Neon banner right on the Croisette this year, as the company launches sales on Osgood Perkins’ next genre movie Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland. Neon is already set to distribute the title in the U.S. (Elevation...
International buyers will be hard pressed not to notice the new Neon banner right on the Croisette this year, as the company launches sales on Osgood Perkins’ next genre movie Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland. Neon is already set to distribute the title in the U.S. (Elevation...
- 5/14/2024
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon has pre-bought North American rights from Charades and FilmNation to Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, reuniting with the 2021 Palme d’Or-winning director of Titane.
Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim will star in Alpha, which is scheduled to begin production in autumn. Ducournau is writing the screenplay and the plot remains under wraps.
Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film are producing with Eric and Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are collaborating for the first time and continue sales for the rest of the world in Cannes.
Ducournau’s previous films include Raw.
Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim will star in Alpha, which is scheduled to begin production in autumn. Ducournau is writing the screenplay and the plot remains under wraps.
Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film are producing with Eric and Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are collaborating for the first time and continue sales for the rest of the world in Cannes.
Ducournau’s previous films include Raw.
- 5/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
Neon, the Oscar-winning distributor of “Parasite,” is getting back in business with “Titane” director Julia Ducournau.
In one of the first big rights deals of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the studio announced it has acquired North American territories for Ducournau’s “Alpha.” Plot details were not immediately disclosed, except that the film will be “genre-defying.” Neon previously released Ducournau’s acclaimed “Titane,” which won Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, in 2021. She is only the second woman director to do so, following Jane Campion for “The Piano.”
“Alpha” will star Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film, and Eric and Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie. Frakas Productions is co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling global sales. The Neon deal was negotiated by its president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman, with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation...
In one of the first big rights deals of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the studio announced it has acquired North American territories for Ducournau’s “Alpha.” Plot details were not immediately disclosed, except that the film will be “genre-defying.” Neon previously released Ducournau’s acclaimed “Titane,” which won Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, in 2021. She is only the second woman director to do so, following Jane Campion for “The Piano.”
“Alpha” will star Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film, and Eric and Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie. Frakas Productions is co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling global sales. The Neon deal was negotiated by its president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman, with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation...
- 5/14/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
After serving as the U.S. distributor for Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or-winning 2021 body horror Titane, Neon is getting back into business with the filmmaker as the North American distributor for her next genre-bending feature, Alpha.
Golshifteh Farahani (Paterson) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian) are set to star, with production on the film to kick off next fall. Details as to the plot of the film are under wraps.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film and Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival.
Picking up Ducournau’s last feature ahead of its launch at Cannes, Neon most recently acquired worldwide rights to Longlegs helmer Osgood Perkins’ next film Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland, and Steven Soderbergh’s Presence. In Cannes,...
Golshifteh Farahani (Paterson) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian) are set to star, with production on the film to kick off next fall. Details as to the plot of the film are under wraps.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film and Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival.
Picking up Ducournau’s last feature ahead of its launch at Cannes, Neon most recently acquired worldwide rights to Longlegs helmer Osgood Perkins’ next film Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland, and Steven Soderbergh’s Presence. In Cannes,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes isn’t Sundance. The movies on offer aren’t generally genre horror box office surprises or heartwarming indie dramedies, and sometimes they’re not even sure-fire Oscar hopefuls.
But as several sales agents and distributors told us, Cannes is slowly shifting back to being a home for discovery. With the audience now unbothered by subtitles, distributors aren’t just looking for the next “May December” but the next “Anatomy of a Fall.” And when it comes to the package titles on the Marché du Film, buyers are demanding more than the latest Nicolas Cage shark movie.
The sources IndieWire spoke to believe there’s more quality than quantity among this year’s official competition sales titles and the packages being shopped to distributors. And that’s a good thing, even though there are still plenty of hot packages trickling in by the day and buyers already scooping up competition...
But as several sales agents and distributors told us, Cannes is slowly shifting back to being a home for discovery. With the audience now unbothered by subtitles, distributors aren’t just looking for the next “May December” but the next “Anatomy of a Fall.” And when it comes to the package titles on the Marché du Film, buyers are demanding more than the latest Nicolas Cage shark movie.
The sources IndieWire spoke to believe there’s more quality than quantity among this year’s official competition sales titles and the packages being shopped to distributors. And that’s a good thing, even though there are still plenty of hot packages trickling in by the day and buyers already scooping up competition...
- 5/13/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
The (Extra Hot) Cannes Hot List: Nic Cage, Kristen Stewart and Paul Rudd Films to Heat up the Market
The Cannes Film Festival is bracing for what could be its most disruptive edition in decades, with freelance festival employees threatening strike action that could derail the opening night ceremony, and the entire French industry on tenterhooks ahead of an expected new wave of #MeToo allegations against some of the country’s biggest stars, including a few with films in competition this year.
Well, at least the market looks promising. Judging by the number and quality of projects pitching at the 2024 Cannes film market (May 14-22), this could be a banner year for the Marché du Film.
“The pre-sales market is back in a big way,” notes Janina Vilsmaier, senior vp of sales and distribution at Protagonist Pictures, whose Cannes slate includes Simon Curtis’ best-agers comedy Encore starring Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Henry Winkler, and Don Johnson, and Jimpa, the upcoming feature from Good Luck to You, Leo Grande director...
Well, at least the market looks promising. Judging by the number and quality of projects pitching at the 2024 Cannes film market (May 14-22), this could be a banner year for the Marché du Film.
“The pre-sales market is back in a big way,” notes Janina Vilsmaier, senior vp of sales and distribution at Protagonist Pictures, whose Cannes slate includes Simon Curtis’ best-agers comedy Encore starring Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Henry Winkler, and Don Johnson, and Jimpa, the upcoming feature from Good Luck to You, Leo Grande director...
- 5/13/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There’s a certain formula that often defines the recipients of the Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious top prize, the Palme d’Or. These films, especially in the last two decades, tend to have a sense of importance about them, frequently due to their sociopolitical awareness of the world (Laurent Cantet’s The Class), or of specific societal ills.
From time to time, the Palme d’Or goes to a bold, experimental, and divisive vision from a well-liked auteur, such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Terrence Malick’s The Three of Life. But more often it’s awarded to a film in the lineup that the majority of the members on the Cannes jury can agree is good. That felt like the case for Ken Loach’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, as well as Julia Ducournau’s Titane,...
From time to time, the Palme d’Or goes to a bold, experimental, and divisive vision from a well-liked auteur, such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Terrence Malick’s The Three of Life. But more often it’s awarded to a film in the lineup that the majority of the members on the Cannes jury can agree is good. That felt like the case for Ken Loach’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, as well as Julia Ducournau’s Titane,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
It’s already been a busy week for the upcoming Cannes film market, with new films from Julia Ducournau, Romain Gavras, and Panos Cosmatos entering the fray. But what about something lighter than those three, which, considering their directors, will all be audacious in their own ways? “Takes One To Know One” may fit the bill there, as Deadline reports that CAA Media Finance and Cornerstone have the upcoming romance ready for sales on the Croisette once the Cannes Film Festival gets underway in eleven days.
Continue reading ‘Takes One To Know One’: Olivia Cooke & Jamie Bell To Star In Upcoming Italy-Set Romance at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Takes One To Know One’: Olivia Cooke & Jamie Bell To Star In Upcoming Italy-Set Romance at The Playlist.
- 5/3/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
A24 has acquired North American rights to Paolo Sorrentino’s Cannes Competition entry Parthenope.
Pathé handles international sales and will also distribute in France and Switzerland.
Inspired by the Greek myth of the siren who threw herself to her death in the sea after she failed to seduce Ulysses with her voice, Parthenope marks the Italian auteur’s seventh Competition selection after Youth most recently in 2015, and titles like eventual best foreign language Oscar winner The Great Beauty in 2013, and Il Divo in 2008.
The story centres on the titular character, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, who searches for...
Pathé handles international sales and will also distribute in France and Switzerland.
Inspired by the Greek myth of the siren who threw herself to her death in the sea after she failed to seduce Ulysses with her voice, Parthenope marks the Italian auteur’s seventh Competition selection after Youth most recently in 2015, and titles like eventual best foreign language Oscar winner The Great Beauty in 2013, and Il Divo in 2008.
The story centres on the titular character, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, who searches for...
- 5/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
Alpha: Golshifteh Farahani, Tahar Rahim to star in Raw, Titane director Julia Ducournau’s third film
Golshifteh Farahani of the Extraction films and Tahar Rahim of Madame Web have signed on to star in Alpha, the third film from Raw and Titane director Julia Ducournau, Variety reports. FilmNation and Charades will be presenting the project to potential buyers at the Cannes Film Festival – which is a good place for a Ducournau project to get rolling, since her film Titane won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top award, a few years ago.
FilmNation Entertainment and Charades provided the following statement: “Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did. We can’t wait to bring the film to market in Cannes and to launch sales together for the first time and collaborate in this way.“
That’s all they would say about Alpha, as the plot...
FilmNation Entertainment and Charades provided the following statement: “Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did. We can’t wait to bring the film to market in Cannes and to launch sales together for the first time and collaborate in this way.“
That’s all they would say about Alpha, as the plot...
- 5/3/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
2021 Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau returns to the Cannes Film Festival this year, but not in competition. Instead, Variety reports that she’ll be on the Croisette shopping her next project, entitled “Alpha,” with FilmNation and Charades handling its sales.
Read More: Cannes Critic Weeks Announces 2024 Line-Up
There’s no plot details yet for “Alpha,” but the film stars Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim, two actors who, like Ducournau, are modern Cannes legends in their own right.
Continue reading ‘Alpha’: ‘Titane’ Director Julia Docournau’s Next Film To Hit Cannes Market, Stars Tahar Rahim & Golshifteh Farahani at The Playlist.
Read More: Cannes Critic Weeks Announces 2024 Line-Up
There’s no plot details yet for “Alpha,” but the film stars Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim, two actors who, like Ducournau, are modern Cannes legends in their own right.
Continue reading ‘Alpha’: ‘Titane’ Director Julia Docournau’s Next Film To Hit Cannes Market, Stars Tahar Rahim & Golshifteh Farahani at The Playlist.
- 5/3/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Charades and FilmNation will present Alpha, the latest film from Titane director Julia Ducournau, to buyers at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Tahar Rahim and Golshifteh Farahani lead the cast, with Ducournau also writing the script. The plot is still under wraps.
It is the first partnership for Paris-based Charades and New York-based FilmNation Entertainment.
Producers are Mandarin & compagnie (Eric Altmayer and Nicola Altmayer) and Petit Film (Jean des Forêts and Amélie Jacqu). Frakas Productions (Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandre Warnauts) are co-producing.
Ducournau’s previous films include Raw and Palme d’Or winner Titane.
The producers said in...
Tahar Rahim and Golshifteh Farahani lead the cast, with Ducournau also writing the script. The plot is still under wraps.
It is the first partnership for Paris-based Charades and New York-based FilmNation Entertainment.
Producers are Mandarin & compagnie (Eric Altmayer and Nicola Altmayer) and Petit Film (Jean des Forêts and Amélie Jacqu). Frakas Productions (Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandre Warnauts) are co-producing.
Ducournau’s previous films include Raw and Palme d’Or winner Titane.
The producers said in...
- 5/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
French filmmaker Julia Ducournau has established herself as a true genre visionary with her first two movies, first the cannibal film Raw (2016) and then the wild Titane in 2021.
Up next from Ducournau is a mysterious movie titled Alpha, and though we don’t have any plot details at this time, we’re at least *hoping* it’s something of a genre picture.
“FilmNation and Charades are presenting the project in Cannes,” Variety reports.
Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone) and Tahar Rahim (“The Serpent”) will star.
“Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did,” FilmNation Entertainment and Charades said in a statement. “We can’t wait to bring the film to market in Cannes and to launch sales together for the first time and collaborate in this way.”
“Alpha is a...
Up next from Ducournau is a mysterious movie titled Alpha, and though we don’t have any plot details at this time, we’re at least *hoping* it’s something of a genre picture.
“FilmNation and Charades are presenting the project in Cannes,” Variety reports.
Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone) and Tahar Rahim (“The Serpent”) will star.
“Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did,” FilmNation Entertainment and Charades said in a statement. “We can’t wait to bring the film to market in Cannes and to launch sales together for the first time and collaborate in this way.”
“Alpha is a...
- 5/3/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Alpha, the new, still-top-secret film from Titane director Julia Ducournau will be one of the hot projects being shopped to buyers at this year’s Cannes film market.
About Elly and Paterson actress Golshifteh Farahani and French star Tahar Rahim (A Prophet, The Mauritanian) are set to star in the feature, the plot details of which are still under wraps. Eric Altmayer and Nicolas Altmayer are producing for Mandarin & Compagnie, with Jean des Forêts and Amélie Jacquis for Petit Film, in co-production with Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandre Warnauts of Frakas Productions. Delivery is planned for later this year.
Alpha will be Ducournau’s third feature after the one-two punch of her 2016 breakout debut Raw, which won the international film critics’ Fipresci Prize in its Cannes Critics’ Week debut; and Titane, the surprise Palme d’Or winner of 2021, which became France’s official Oscar contender that year.
Both combined elements...
About Elly and Paterson actress Golshifteh Farahani and French star Tahar Rahim (A Prophet, The Mauritanian) are set to star in the feature, the plot details of which are still under wraps. Eric Altmayer and Nicolas Altmayer are producing for Mandarin & Compagnie, with Jean des Forêts and Amélie Jacquis for Petit Film, in co-production with Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandre Warnauts of Frakas Productions. Delivery is planned for later this year.
Alpha will be Ducournau’s third feature after the one-two punch of her 2016 breakout debut Raw, which won the international film critics’ Fipresci Prize in its Cannes Critics’ Week debut; and Titane, the surprise Palme d’Or winner of 2021, which became France’s official Oscar contender that year.
Both combined elements...
- 5/3/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Following Raw and Titane, Julia Ducournau has set her third feature with Alpha. Though no plot details have been unveiled this far, Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) will lead the film, Deadline reports. “Alpha is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global audience discovering the story with as much excitement as we did,” said Filmnation and Charades, while the producers added, “Alpha is a new page in Julia Ducournau’s corpus that is both very consistent with the previous ones and entirely new in its tone.”
Following All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh is stepping up to a major studio project with a Leonardo da Vinci film set up at Universal Pictures. The film is based on Walter Isaacson‘s 2017 biography, which showed “how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity,...
Following All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh is stepping up to a major studio project with a Leonardo da Vinci film set up at Universal Pictures. The film is based on Walter Isaacson‘s 2017 biography, which showed “how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
FilmNation and Charades are teaming up to present “Alpha,” the new film from Julia Ducournau, to buyers at Cannes.
It’s the same place where Ducournau caused a sensation with 2021’s “Titane,” her subversive and divisive body horror film, which won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top award. Ducournau became the second female director to win the award, following Jane Campion (“The Piano”). “Anatomy of a Fall” director Justine Triet would become the third female winner in 2023. Ducournau’s other films include 2016’s “Raw,” a coming-of-age film about a young vegetarian who develops a taste for cannibalism.
“Alpha’s” cast includes Golshifteh Farahani, who appeared in “The Patience Stone” and “Paterson,” as well as César award-winning Tahar Rahim, best known for his work in “The Mauritanian,” “A Prophet” and “The Serpent.”
“‘Alpha’ is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global...
It’s the same place where Ducournau caused a sensation with 2021’s “Titane,” her subversive and divisive body horror film, which won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top award. Ducournau became the second female director to win the award, following Jane Campion (“The Piano”). “Anatomy of a Fall” director Justine Triet would become the third female winner in 2023. Ducournau’s other films include 2016’s “Raw,” a coming-of-age film about a young vegetarian who develops a taste for cannibalism.
“Alpha’s” cast includes Golshifteh Farahani, who appeared in “The Patience Stone” and “Paterson,” as well as César award-winning Tahar Rahim, best known for his work in “The Mauritanian,” “A Prophet” and “The Serpent.”
“‘Alpha’ is Julia’s most personal, profound work yet, and we are looking forward to a global...
- 5/3/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian-French actress Golshifteh Farahani and French actor Tahar Rahim are set to star in Julia Ducournau’s new film Alpha, her third feature after Cannes Palme d’Or winner Titane and breakout debut Raw.
Filmnation and Charades, which announced the project on Friday, are co-selling and will launch sales in Cannes.
The project is produced by Eric Altmayer and Nicolas Altmayer at Mandarin & compagnie, Jean des Forêts and Amélie Jacquis at Petit Film, in co-production with Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandre Warnauts at Frakas Productions.
It has been five years since Ducournau became the then second woman to win the Cannes Palme d’Or, for Titane in 2021, and her third feature is highly anticipated.
She was tied up for much of 2021 and part of 2022 with the film’s festivals run. Since then, she directed two episodes of the Apple TV+ series The New Look, starring Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior...
Filmnation and Charades, which announced the project on Friday, are co-selling and will launch sales in Cannes.
The project is produced by Eric Altmayer and Nicolas Altmayer at Mandarin & compagnie, Jean des Forêts and Amélie Jacquis at Petit Film, in co-production with Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandre Warnauts at Frakas Productions.
It has been five years since Ducournau became the then second woman to win the Cannes Palme d’Or, for Titane in 2021, and her third feature is highly anticipated.
She was tied up for much of 2021 and part of 2022 with the film’s festivals run. Since then, she directed two episodes of the Apple TV+ series The New Look, starring Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior...
- 5/3/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
One of the year’s most anticipated films will be on sale for independent buyers at the upcoming Cannes market. We can bring you news that French sales company Goodfellas has boarded Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis ahead of the movie’s world premiere in Competition at the festival.
Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.
Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.
Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...
Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.
Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.
Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...
- 4/30/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated On April 22, 2024: With the addition of two new films to this year’s competition section, both directed by men, this year’s competition slate now includes 21 films, only four of which are directed by women. That tallies to just 19 percent of this year’s competition titles being helmed by women.
Our original story from April 11, 2024 follows.
Hot off last year’s record-breaking competition lineup — including seven films directed by women, plus an eventual Palme d’Or win for Justine Triet (only the third woman to win the festival’s top prize) — this year’s Cannes Film Festival has returned to old habits. The 77th edition will include (as of today’s announcement) just four films directed by women in the competition section, bringing representation down to 2021 levels (and returning the festival’s female-directed entries to a number that was only hit in 2011).
Among the competition titles announced today:...
Our original story from April 11, 2024 follows.
Hot off last year’s record-breaking competition lineup — including seven films directed by women, plus an eventual Palme d’Or win for Justine Triet (only the third woman to win the festival’s top prize) — this year’s Cannes Film Festival has returned to old habits. The 77th edition will include (as of today’s announcement) just four films directed by women in the competition section, bringing representation down to 2021 levels (and returning the festival’s female-directed entries to a number that was only hit in 2011).
Among the competition titles announced today:...
- 4/22/2024
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Cannes Critics’ Week, the parallel film festival sidebar organized by the French film critics’ union, has unveiled its 2024 selection.
The psychological thriller Ghost Trail, the first feature from acclaimed French shorts director Jonathan Millet, will open the 2024 sidebar. Adam Bessa (star of 2022’s Un Certain Regard winner Harka) plays the lead in the manhunt drama about a man pursuing his former torturer, using only his sensory memories to guide him.
The competition lineup includes Brazilian drama Baby from director Marcelo Caetano, a portrait of a young outsider growing up in São Paulo; Constance Tsang’s Blue Sun Palace, which looks at the lives of Chinese immigrants in Queens; and the Egyptian/French/Danish/Qatari/Saudi Arabian drama The Brink of Dreams about a group of girls from the disenfranchised Christian Copts who defy tradition and set up an all-female street theater troupe.
Baby
Other competition titles include Antoine Chevrollier’s Block Pass,...
The psychological thriller Ghost Trail, the first feature from acclaimed French shorts director Jonathan Millet, will open the 2024 sidebar. Adam Bessa (star of 2022’s Un Certain Regard winner Harka) plays the lead in the manhunt drama about a man pursuing his former torturer, using only his sensory memories to guide him.
The competition lineup includes Brazilian drama Baby from director Marcelo Caetano, a portrait of a young outsider growing up in São Paulo; Constance Tsang’s Blue Sun Palace, which looks at the lives of Chinese immigrants in Queens; and the Egyptian/French/Danish/Qatari/Saudi Arabian drama The Brink of Dreams about a group of girls from the disenfranchised Christian Copts who defy tradition and set up an all-female street theater troupe.
Baby
Other competition titles include Antoine Chevrollier’s Block Pass,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
These ten horror films, helmed by talented women directors, offer a diverse range of storytelling and filmmaking styles, proving that the horror genre is enriched by their unique perspectives and creative vision.
The Babadook (2014) – Directed by Jennifer Kent: This Australian psychological horror film follows a single mother and her son who are haunted by a sinister presence that emerges from a mysterious children’s book. Jennifer Kent’s masterful direction creates a chilling atmosphere and explores themes of grief and motherhood. American Psycho (2000) – Directed by Mary Harron: Based on the controversial novel by Bret Easton Ellis, “American Psycho” is a satirical horror film that delves into the mind of a wealthy investment banker with psychopathic tendencies. Mary Harron’s direction infuses the film with dark humour and unsettling tension. Near Dark (1987) – Directed by Kathryn Bigelow: Kathryn Bigelow’s stylish and unconventional take on the vampire genre is a cult classic.
The Babadook (2014) – Directed by Jennifer Kent: This Australian psychological horror film follows a single mother and her son who are haunted by a sinister presence that emerges from a mysterious children’s book. Jennifer Kent’s masterful direction creates a chilling atmosphere and explores themes of grief and motherhood. American Psycho (2000) – Directed by Mary Harron: Based on the controversial novel by Bret Easton Ellis, “American Psycho” is a satirical horror film that delves into the mind of a wealthy investment banker with psychopathic tendencies. Mary Harron’s direction infuses the film with dark humour and unsettling tension. Near Dark (1987) – Directed by Kathryn Bigelow: Kathryn Bigelow’s stylish and unconventional take on the vampire genre is a cult classic.
- 4/9/2024
- by George P Thomas
- Nerdly
John Carpenter’s illustrious catalog of horror and non-horror classics has already seen three remakes, with at least one more kinda-sorta confirmed on the way (Escape from New York). If you consider 2011’s The Thing enough of a remake, notch another on the bedpost. It makes sense; Carpenter turned his no-bullshit attitude into a masterful filmmaking style, and those listed titles harbor nostalgic admiration. We’re probably closer than we think to seeing Bryan Fuller’s Christine remake for Blumhouse or a contemporary They Live, while Dwayne Johnson’s Big Trouble in Little China sequel project fades away. Imagine Julia Ducournau’s Christine should Fuller exit, or what about if James Gunn booked a brief horror vacation away from the Dceu for his take on They Live?
Carpenter’s brand of down-and-dirty storytelling mixed with societal commentaries make his works perfect for generational updates, but they can’t all be winners.
Carpenter’s brand of down-and-dirty storytelling mixed with societal commentaries make his works perfect for generational updates, but they can’t all be winners.
- 3/28/2024
- by Matt Donato
- bloody-disgusting.com
Bettina Blümner’s “Vamos a la playa” won ArteKino Festival’s European Audience Award at a ceremony co-organized by the iconic French fashion house Chanel in Paris.
Held at La Femis, Paris’ prestigious film school, the event also included a conversation with French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski (“Other People’s Children”), followed by a ceremony honoring Blümner and a screening of “Vamos a la playa,” as well as a posh cocktail which brought together film talent, executives and students.
ArteKino Festival is a competitive online event taking place in December and showcasing director-driven films which are made available in six language across 32 countries on the website of Arte and its YouTube channel.
“Vamos a la playa” was one of the 12 feature films selected for the latest edition of ArteKino Festival, an initiative spearheaded by Remi Burah, ArteKino Foundation president and CEO of Arte France Cinema, the film division of the TV network.
Held at La Femis, Paris’ prestigious film school, the event also included a conversation with French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski (“Other People’s Children”), followed by a ceremony honoring Blümner and a screening of “Vamos a la playa,” as well as a posh cocktail which brought together film talent, executives and students.
ArteKino Festival is a competitive online event taking place in December and showcasing director-driven films which are made available in six language across 32 countries on the website of Arte and its YouTube channel.
“Vamos a la playa” was one of the 12 feature films selected for the latest edition of ArteKino Festival, an initiative spearheaded by Remi Burah, ArteKino Foundation president and CEO of Arte France Cinema, the film division of the TV network.
- 3/27/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: New York-based distributor Metrograph Pictures has acquired North American rights to French director Jérémy Clapin’s sci-fi drama Meanwhile on Earth following its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama section last month.
The lost sibling tale marks the first live-action feature for Clapin after his 2019 Oscar-nominated, Netflix-acquired animated movie I Lost My Body, which originally world premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week and also won the Cristal for Best film at the Annecy International Animation Festival in 2019
The drama follows a young woman who is struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of her brother, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission.
While stargazing one night, she is shocked to receive contact from her him, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind his reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.
The lost sibling tale marks the first live-action feature for Clapin after his 2019 Oscar-nominated, Netflix-acquired animated movie I Lost My Body, which originally world premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week and also won the Cristal for Best film at the Annecy International Animation Festival in 2019
The drama follows a young woman who is struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of her brother, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission.
While stargazing one night, she is shocked to receive contact from her him, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind his reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.
- 3/8/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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