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Neon has acquired the North American rights to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident, which premiered In competition at Cannes on Tuesday.

The film marks Panahi’s first since being released from prison in Iran, and was inspired in part by his second incarceration in that country. Neon, which also released Panahi’s The Year of the Everlasting Storm, plans a North American theatrical release for his latest work in 2025.

It Was Just An Accident stars Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, and Vahid Mobasser, and focuses on a minor accident that sets in motion a series of escalating consequences that in turn illustrate the traumas suffered by political dissidents and other opponents of power.

The Golden Bear and Golden Lion winner this year brought to Cannes his first movie not to have been shot illegally since 2006 after his decades-long filmmaking and travel ban was finally lifted by the Iranian authorities,...

Neon has taken North American rights on revered Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi’s Cannes competition title “It Was Just an Accident,” which marks Panahi’s first film since being released from prison in Iran.

The film, starring Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, and Vahid Mobasser, was greeted with a long standing ovation and is a Cannes standout title.

“It Was Just an Accident” centers around an outpouring of strong feelings by a group of former prisoners toward a torturous guard.

“When you spend eight hours a day blindfolded, seated in front of a wall, being interrogated by someone standing behind your back every day, you can’t stop wondering what kind of conversation you can have with this man,” Panahi told Variety in one of his first interviews following his 14-year ban on making movies, speaking to the press and traveling.

The film is produced by Jafar Panahi and Philippe Martin...

Exclusive: Neon has picked up North American rights to Jafar Panahi’s well-received feature It Was Just an Accident, which had its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this week.

It Was Just an Accident has a one-line synopsis that reads: “What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences.” The film, which has been one of the best-reviewed movies at the festival, deals in a fictional way with past wrongfully incarcerated working-class people seeking revenge against the guard who tortured and berated them. In his review, Deadline’s Pete Hammond called the movie “a powerful statement for humanity” that “serves as a warning that you better watch your back.”

The Wednesday afternoon screening was met with a 10-minute ovation — and was highly significant because Panahi himself was in attendance, marking the first time he has been able to appear at the festival in over 20 years.

Mubi has bought Mascha Schilinski’s Cannes competition film “Sound of Falling” for North America and a string of international territories, Variety has learned.

Besides North America, Mubi has taken “Sound of Falling” for the U.K., Ireland, Turkey and India.

The drama, which world premiered last week to rave reviews, marks Schilinski’s follow-up to her 2017 debut “Dark Blue Girl.”

“Mubi is an oasis for everyone who loves cinema,” said Schilinski in a statement. “Here arthouse classics stand shoulder to shoulder with new exciting cinema as well as little movie gems that we would otherwise not get to see. We are very happy that ‘Sound of Falling’ is now part of Mubi’s movie family,” she added. “I accompanied and protected the movie until the last moment. Now it was allowed to celebrate its world premiere in competition at the Festival de Cannes. I wish ‘Sound of Falling’ an...

Hot on the heels of Neon acquiring Kleber Mendonça Filho’s acclaimed Palme d’Or potential “The Secret Agent” for North America, Mubi has now swooped in to buy the film for a number of other major territories.

The fast-rising distributor, streamer and production company picked up the film — among the most warmly received of Cannes so far — for Latin America (excluding Brazil), the U.K., Ireland and India, with release plans to be announced soon.

The deal was negotiated between Mubi and mk2, who are handling international sales.

Set in Brazil in 1977, “The Secret Agent” follows Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s who is on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son but soon realizes that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.

The film is led by’ Wagner Moura and also stars Maria Fernanda Cândido,...

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, one of the more buzzy features to debut in Competition this year in Cannes, has been acquired by Mubi.

The streamer has picked up the film for the UK, Ireland, India, and Latin America, excluding Brazil.

The Secret Agent is led by Wagner Moura and also stars Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leon, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho, and Hermila Guedes. The film was produced by Emilie Lesclaux. Co-producers include Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz, Fionnuala Jamison, Olivier Barbier, Leontine Petit, Erik Glijnis, Fred Burke, and Sol Bondy.

The film’s synopsis reads: Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son, but soon realizes that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.

Filho is best known for his last fiction feature, Bacurau, which debuted...

Art house streamer and distributor Mubi has acquired The Secret Agent, from writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Ghost Portrait, Bacurau, Aquarius), for the U.K., Ireland, India and Latin America, except for Brazil. The political thriller has been a standout in the Cannes Film Festival competition.

The Portuguese-language movie, about a technology expert returning to his hometown in 1977 to reunite with his young son and flee the country, premiered at Cannes on Sunday. The Secret Agent stars Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leon, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho and Hermila Guedes.

Mubi will unveil release plans for the various territories in the near future. It struck the deal with MK2, which is handling international sales on the movie. Neon has acquired the film for North America.

The Secret Agent is set in Brazil in 1977. “Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run,” reads a synopsis.

Mubi has acquired UK-Ireland, Latin America excluding Brazil and India rights to Cannes Competition title The Secret Agent.

The company acquired Kleber Mendonca Filho’s political thriller from sales agent mk2 Films, and will announce release plans in the near future.

Neon acquired the film for North America yesterday; Vitrine Films will release in Brazil.

Set in 1977, The Secret Agent follows a technology agent on the run who arrives in Recife, Brazil, during carnival week. Violence in the city disrupts his hoped-for reunion with his son.

Wagner Moura leads the cast, alongside Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leon, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho and Hermila Guedes.

Neon has acquired the North American rights to the political thriller The Secret Agent from writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho.

The Portuguese language pic — about a technology expert returning to his hometown in 1977 to reunite with his young son and flee the country — premiered in competition in Cannes on Sunday, May 18. Neon is planning a North American theatrical release later this year.

The Secret Agent stars Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leon, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho and Hermila Guedes.

Set in Recife, Brazil in 1977, the thriller follows Marcelo (Moura), a technology expert, as he is on the run from contract killers and federal officials. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son, only to find the city is unlikely to offer the refuge he seeks.

The Secret Agent is the Brazilian filmmaker’s third film to premiere In competition at Cannes, after Aquarius in 2016 and Bacurau,...

Filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Brazilian movie The Secret Agent, which has been rumored to be a finalist for the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or, is having its stateside rights scooped up by Neon. A theatrical release is in the works for this year.

If the 1977-set political thriller takes home Cannes’ big prize, it will give Neon a sixth consecutive Palme d’Or win following last year’s Anora, Justine Triet’s 2023 winner Anatomy of a Fall, 2022’s Triangle of Sadness, 2021’s Titane and 2019’s Parasite. Out of that bunch, Anora and Parasite won Best Picture Oscars.

The Secret Agent premiered in competition at Cannes on Sunday to 100% fresh reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The pic stars Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leone, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho and Hermila Guedes.

Set in Recife, Brazil in 1977, The Secret Agent follows Marcelo (Moura), a technology expert in his early 40s,...

Neon has acquired the rights to “The Secret Agent,” a political thriller from writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring “Narcos” actor Wagner Moura that premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Set in Recife, Brazil in 1977, “The Secret Agent” stars Moura as Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son but soon realizes that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.

In his positive review for TheWrap, Steve Pond called the film a messy romp.”Its messiness is part of its charm and part of the point; a film that took itself more seriously than this one wouldn’t let a climactic gun battle turn into an almost cartoonish grand guignol splatter-fest,” he wrote.

The film was produced by Emilie Lesclaux. Co-producers include Nathanaël Karmitz,...

Neon has acquired the North American rights to Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent.”

The film premiered in competition at Cannes on Sunday. Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leone, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho, and Hermila Guedes star.

Neon plans for a North American theatrical release later this year.

“The Secret Agent” is set in Recife, Brazil, in 1977 and follows Marcelo (Moura), a technology expert in his early 40s, who is on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son but soon realizes that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.

Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge said, “Mendonça began his career as a reporter and critic, and that sensibility infuses every frame, striking an enticing balance between originality and homage.”

The film was produced by Emilie Lesclaux. Co-producers include Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz, Fionnuala Jamison, Olivier Barbier,...

Neon has acquired North American rights to Kleber Mendonca Filho’s Cannes Competition title The Secret Agent.

Neon is planning a theatrical release in the territory for later in 2025. mk2 Films handles international sales.

Set in 1977, political thriller The Secret Agent follows a technology agent on the run, who arrives in Recife, Brazil during carnival week. His hoped-for reunion with his son is disrupted by violence in the city.

Wagner Moura leads the cast, alongside Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leon, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho, and Hermila Guedes.

Emilie Lesclaux produced the film for Brazil’s Cinemascopio. Co-producers are Nathanaël Karmitz,...

Having turned 50 last year, the French film studio and arthouse cinema chain MK2 is far from a midlife crisis. The family-run company, which was founded by Marin Karmitz in 1974 and is now presided over by Nathanael and Elisha Karmitz, has never been more in the game. MK2 Films, whose international sales division is headed by Irish-born executive Fionnuala Jamison, rolled into Cannes with six films in competition and 12 in total across the Official Selection, likely more than any other sales outfits.

The company, which has always championed female auteurs, has been turning the spotlight on a new generation of daring female directors, from Celine Sciamma to Noemie Merlant, Justine Triet and Mati Diop. And at this year’s Cannes, they have three out of the seven competition films directed by female directors, Hafsia Herzi’s drama “La petite dernière,” Carla Simon’s “Romeria” and Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling” which has been unanimously praised.

Kirsten Dunst has signed to star in Self Help as a woman, lost in L.A. and life, who gets sucked into a far-reaching conspiracy theory after she witnesses a hit and run.

With L.A. in flames, tensions mount and bodies pile up as she plays detective, she finds herself caught between a shady real estate tycoon and a dubious wannabe actor.

Self Help marks the feature directorial debut of Flora Birnbaum, a 2017 Sundance New Voices Fellow. She recently served as a writer and co-executive producer on Hulu’s Tell Me Lies, with additional writing credits on FX’s American Crime Story: Impeachment and Netflix’s Russian Doll, which earned her two WGA award nominations.

Birnbaum previously created, wrote, and directed the digital series Cleansed, which premiered at SXSW.

Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell’s Gloria Sanchez Productions is producing. Founded in 2014, its film credits include Josh Greenbaum’s Will & Harper,...

Kirsten Dunst is set to star Flora Birnbaum’s debut feature “Self Help,” which is being produced by Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell at Gloria Sanchez Prods., whose credits include “Booksmart,” “May December” and “Will & Harper.”

Dunst will star as Sage, who is lost in Los Angeles and in life when she witnesses a hit-and-run and gets sucked into a far-reaching conspiracy. “This turns out to be a few notches above her — non-existent — pay grade. L.A. is in flames, tensions mount and bodies pile up as she plays detective and finds herself caught between a shady real estate tycoon and a dubious wannabe actor,” according to press materials.

MK2 Films will be handling sales.

Birnbaum is a 2017 Sundance New Voices Fellow who recently served as a writer and co-executive producer on Hulu’s “Tell Me Lies,” with additional writing credits on FX’s “American Crime Story: Impeachment” and Netflix’s “Russian Doll,...

Exclusive: Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) and Toni Collette (Hereditary) are set to star as estranged sisters whose reunion sets off an emotionally volatile chain of events in Mother Courage, the feature directorial debut of American Horror Story and The Assassination of Gianni Versace actor Cody Fern.

Two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest (Edward Scissorhands) will play their vitriolic mother, while Toby Wallace (The Bikeriders) will also star.

Anatomy Of A Fall and Worst Person In The World outfit mk2 is launching international sales at the Cannes market. CAA Media Finance reps domestic.

Set against the backdrop of a Broadway production of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage, the story follows Sandra Bloom (Paulson), a celebrated actress whose life begins to unravel as she struggles through rehearsals for her starring role. When her sister April (Collette) arrives following a 30-year long estrangement, the stage is set for a tense confrontation. As long buried secrets resurface,...

MK2 Films and Charles Gillibert’s CG Cinema, which each have multiple movies playing in Cannes’ official selection, have joined forces on “Minotaur,” the next film by Andrey Zvyagintsev, the two-time Oscar-nominated Russian filmmaker of “Loveless” and “Leviathan.”

“Minotaur,” with a plot that remains under wraps, is being described as a “powerful drama exploring the emotional and moral collapse of a businessman under the strain of personal and political crises.”

“Minotaur” was written by Zvyagintsev and Semen Liashenko.

Zvyagintsev’s last two movies, “Loveless” and “Leviathan,” world premiered in competition at Cannes and won the Jury Prize and best screenplay, respectively.

”Minotaur” is produced by Mk Prods., the production arm of MK2 Films, which is at Cannes with six movies in competition; as well as CG Cinéma, which presents Bi Gan’s “Resurrection” in competition, Kirill Serebrennikov’s “The Disappearance of Josef Mengele” at Cannes Premiere and Kristen Stewart’s...

A few days before the start of the Cannes Film Festival, Variety gathered top French producers, distributors and talent, including Dominik Moll, Elodie Bouchez, Justine Triet and Coralie Fargeat at an intimate dinner hosted at the glamorous landmark restaurant Laperouse.

Bouchez, who recently starred in “Beating Hearts,” will be presenting two films at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, “Enzo,” directed by Robin Campillo and late filmmaker Laurent Cantet, as well as “Classe Moyenne” by Anthony Cordier. The actor was sitting besides Oscar-nominated producer Marie Ange Luciani (“Anatomy of a Fall”) who produced “Enzo” as well as Laura Wandel’s “Adam’s Sake” which will open Critics’ Week; and Alexandra Henochsberg, president of Ad Vitam, which will distribute seven films from the Official Selection in France, including “The Secret Agent” by Kleber Mendonça Filho; “Romeria” by Carla Simón; “La Petite Dernière” by Hafsia Herzi; “Vie Privée,” starring Jodie Foster and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski; and “Enzo,...

MK2 Films, which has six movies in competition at Cannes, will also be launching sales at the market on “The Revolution According to Kamo,” the next film by “Pieces of a Woman” director Kornél Mundruczó.

The film is penned by Paweł Pawlikovski, the Oscar-winning director of “Ida” and “Cold War, Ben Hopkins, and Kata Weber (“Pieces of a Woman”), from an idea by Pawlikovski. In the run up to Cannes, the project has also been boarded by French distribution company Le Pacte, as well as Arte.

“The Revolution According to Kamo” is set against the collapse of the Russian Empire, and revolves around the friendship between Simon Arshaki Ter-Petrosyan, the future Bolshevik revolutionary known as Kamo, and his childhood friend Soso, who became the dictator Stalin.

“In the shadows of a crumbling world, two boys form a bond that will change the course of history. As they come of age,...

Exclusive: European sales, production and financing company mk2 films and international fund manager Ipr.Vc have confirmed their first investment collaboration on Marie Kreutzer’s upcoming feature Gentle Monster, her follow-up to critically acclaimed historical drama Corsage.

It marks the first joint operation under the partners’ multi-year slate financing deal, which was announced last September.

“Our joint slate was inspired to support daring, authored cinema with global resonance. Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster is the perfect embodiment of that inspiration,” said mk2 films Managing Director Fionnuala Jamison.

Paris-based mk2 Films will also manage international sales on Gentle Monster, in a move that continues the company’s collaboration with Austrian director Kreutzer following its successful sales, festival and awards campaign for Corsage in 2022.

“We are incredibly excited to support Gentle Monster as the first project in our collaboration with mk2 films,” said Andrea Scarso, Partner at Helsinki and London-based Ipr.Vc.

“This...

Vue Lumière has picked up The Thing with Feathers starring Benedict Cumberbatch for the UK and Ireland.

Vue Lumière, the distribution arm of exhibition company Vue, acquired the film from mk2. The company has said it plans to release the film in cinemas across the UK and Ireland later this year.

The Thing with Feathers had its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year, then went on to play as a Special Gala at the 75th Berlinale. It is based on the bestselling book by Max Porter, published by Faber, and stars Cumberbatch as a grieving father of two young boys who loses his wife very suddenly.

Written and directed by Dylan Southern, best known for his music documentaries Meet Me in the Bathroom, Shut Up and Play the Hits and the upcoming untitled Oasis project, it is produced by Adam Ackland and Leah Clarke for SunnyMarch and Andrea Cornwell’s Lobo Films.

The film was developed with Film4, who co-financed alongside the BFI and Align, in association with Uncommon Creative Studio, mk2 Films, and Rank and File, in co-production with Film i Väst and Filmgate Film. mk2 Films is handling international sales.

“We feel that The Thing with Feathers fully embodies what we are doing with Vue Lumière and what we want to say to audiences around cinema, storytelling, performance, creativity, and impact,” Eve Gabereau, Director of Distribution at Vue Lumière, said in a statement.

“Also, we are committed to and energised by working with the filmmaking teams and UK partners Film4 and BFI in a joined-up way for the widest possible release.”

Fionnuala Jamison, Managing Director of mk2 Films, added: “We’re very pleased to be partnering with Vue Lumière on their first major dramatic feature. It’s a moving and distinctive film that we’re proud to see embraced by such an ambitious new player in the UK market.”...

Exclusive: Vue Lumière has acquired The Thing With Feathers for the UK & Ireland, marking the distributor’s first dramatic feature acquisition since its launch last year.

It plans to release the film in UK-Ireland cinemas later this year, having acquired it from sales agent mk2 Films.

The Thing With Feathers is the fiction feature directorial debut of Dylan Southern, based on Max Porter’s 2015 novells Grief Is The Thing With Feathers. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a father of two young boys, grieving after the sudden loss of his wife.

The film debuted at Sundance in January, going on to...

Exclusive: mk2 Films has boarded international sales rights to Cannes Competition entry Sound of Falling, the anticipated sophomore feature from German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski.

We told you back in February that this German-language film was in the running for a Cannes Competition slot and the buzz has been strong. We hear that Anatomy Of A Fall outfit mk2 put down a significant Mg to secure the movie.

The synopsis reads: “Over the course of a century, as four girls from different time periods experience their youth on a German farm, their lives become intertwined until time seems to dissolve.” Above is a first-look image.

“We were simply blown away when we saw Sound of Falling. Mascha Schilinski’s vision is so bold and visceral, this signals the arrival of an exceptional new voice in cinema,” said Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 films.

Related: Cannes Competition: Aster, Trier, Dardennes, Reichardt, Ducournau & Wes Anderson...

MK2 Films, the Paris-based indie powerhouse behind “Anatomy of a Fall,” has tapped former Kinology executive Emmanuel Pisarra as head of acquisitions.

Pisarra, who succeeds Olivier Barbier in this role, joins MK2 Films’ growing team, alongside Vanessa Saal, who was recently named executive consultant and U.K. lead; Yasmine Talli, who oversees co-productions; as well as consultants Frances Harvey and Anna Pokorska.

He will report to Fionnuala Jamison, MK2 Films’ managing director. Pisarra, who is attending the Berlin Film Festival, will be shaping the company’s upcoming slate while also leading sales to France and Benelux.

“I’ve long admired mk2 Films for its fearless, forward-thinking approach to cinema—one that values artistic integrity as much as commercial ambition,” said Pisarra. “Joining its exceptional team at such a pivotal moment is an incredible opportunity.”Pisarra brings extensive experience in acquisitions and sales.

At Kinology, Pisarra spearheaded global sales for films...

MK2 Films (“Anatomy of a Fall”) is reteaming with Carla Simón, the Spanish filmmaker of the Berlinale Golden Bear-winning film “Alcarràs,” on her follow up film, “Romería.”

Simón’s third feature, “Romería” is part of a trilogy exploring family and sees Simón draw from her own life, this time exploring a pivotal moment from her late adolescence. Lensed by Hélène Louvart, the cinematographer of “La Chimera” and “The Lost Daughter,” the film pays tribute to Simón’s parents, who both died of AIDS-related illnesses when she was very young. MK2 Films will be sharing a promo and script with buyers in Berlin.

“Romería” follows Marina, an 18-year-old woman, orphaned at a young age, travelling to Spain’s Atlantic coast to meet her paternal grandparents for the first time and obtain their signature for a scholarship application. “As she navigates this unfamiliar branch of her family, she is confronted with a...

France’s mk2 Films has boarded Lionel Baier’s 2025 Berlin Competition selection The Safe House (La Cache) and is launching international sales at EFM.

The comedy is about a nine-year-old boy living with his family of eccentric contemporary artists in their Parisian apartment during the famous French student protests in May 1968 who discovers a hidden secret dating back to the Second World War. The family drama is adapted from Christophe Boltanski’s novel of the same name inspired by his own life.

It is Swiss filmmaker Baier’s follow-upto Continental Drift (South) which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in 2022.

“Lionel Baier...

Mk2 Films has taken on international sales rights for Frenchdrama Enzodirected by Robin Campillo, who stepped in todirect the feature after his friend and the film’s co-writer Laurent Cantet died unexpectedly in April of last year.

Anatomy Of A Fall producer Marie-Ange Luciani of Les Films de Pierre produces the film shot in and set in La Ciotat in the south of France. It follows a 16-year-old boy who defies his bourgeois family’s expectations by starting a masonry apprenticeship where he meets a charismatic Ukrainian colleague who shakes up his world. Newcomers Eloy Pohu and Maksym Slivinskyi star...

The 16th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival’s Industry Village concluded positively, highlighting Norwegian filmmaker Janicke Askevold’s breakthrough feature, “Solomamma.” This film, which depicts the moving story of a single mother reaching out to her sperm donor, received much attention and won the €10,000 22D Music Award for its creative musical composition.

“Solomamma,” starring Lisa Loven Kongsli from “Force Majeure” and Herbert Nordrum from “The Worst Person in the World,” proved to be a commercial success. It set a festival record with 42 meeting requests and 14 open slots. The jury, which included MK2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison, lauded the film for its perceptive commentary on modern family dynamics and skillful use of music in the storyline.

“The many great meetings in Les Arcs are opening up exciting opportunities for our project,” said Rebekka Rognoy, producer at Norway’s Bacon Pictures. The film is projected to be finished editing by the end of January,...

Thom Lunshof’s “First Zone,” Jaume Claret Muxart’s “Strange River” and Janicke Askevold’s “Solomamma” picked up a trio of post-production prizes out of this year’s Les Arcs Film Festival Industry Village, which ran from December 14 – 17.

Capping its 16th edition, the industry event brought together 700 professionals – among them leading sales agents, festival programers, producers and distributors – for three days of collective pitches and one-and-one meetings, all with a healthy amount of skiing (and fondue) thrown in.

Held at a mountaintop resort high in the French alps, the industry event has leaned it to its getaway status, forgoing formal public pitches in order to prioritize one-on-one connections via unique networking activities. “We’ve calculated that the time spent on ski lift is perfect for a pitch,” says industry head Jeremy Zelnick.

While French sales and distribution outfits often flock to the Industry Village, the Les Arcs remains focused on...

Dutch filmmaker Floor Van der Meulen’s drama Happy Days, about a woman who suffers a burnout after she commits to looking after grandchildren several days a week, has scooped one of the top prizes at the Les Arcs Coproduction Village.

It is one 18 feature film projects selected for the 16th edition of the project market unfolding within the framework of the Les Arcs Film Festival in the French Alps, from December 14 to 17.

Happy Days won the €20,000 Eurimages Coproduction Development Award, decided by a jury consisting of Emilia Fort, producer at Avalon (Spain); Eleni Chandrinou, Consultant and Greek representative for Eurimages, and Victor Pothevin, co-head of Acquisitions at Diaphana.

Produced by Keplerfilm, Happy Days is inspired by the phenomenon of grandparents increasingly giving up their retirement to help their offspring with childcare.

Van der Meulen says the premise was sparked by a conversation with a friend who complained that her...

Un elenco de otro mundo para una comedia de invasión alienígena.

De acuerdo con Deadline, Alpha Gang, la nueva comedia de los hermanos Zellner (Sasquatch Sunset), que protagoniza y produce Cate Blanchett, acaba de ampliar su reparto.

A Blanchett se unen Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough y Channing Tatum. ¡Casi nada!

Alpha Gang se centra en un grupo de invasores alienígenas, enviados a conquistar la Tierra. Disfrazados en forma humana como una banda de moteros de los años 50, vestidos de cuero y apodados Alpha Gang, son implacables en su misión. Al menos hasta que sucumben a la condición humana más tóxica y contagiosa de todas: las emociones.

Fionnuala Jamison, directora general de mk2 Films, ha dicho: «Estas nuevas incorporaciones estelares son una fuente de talento cómico que añade aún más emoción a esta esperada película. Este reparto, al igual que la historia y sus creadores,...

The “Blink Twice” duo is back at it again.

After Channing Tatum and director Zoë Kravitz teased an empire of “little movie babies” (the duo are engaged in real-life), both stars are set to appear in the Zellner brothers’ “Alpha Gang.” Cate Blanchett was previously announced as the lead star, with Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, and “Sasquatch Sunset” actress Riley Keough now rounding out the ensemble cast.

“Alpha Gang” is set to go into production in Spring 2025. The film centers on a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth. Disguised in human form as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang, dubbed the Alpha Gang, the aliens are ruthless in their mission until they succumb to the most toxic and contagious human condition of all: emotions.

And “Alpha Gang” isn’t just a “Blink Twice” reunion: Kravitz will work once more with her “Mad Max: Fury Road” co-star Keough...

Director David Zellner has credits going back to 1997, when he made his feature directorial debut with the comedy Plastic Utopia, working from a screenplay he wrote with his brother, visual effects artist Nathan Zellner. As of the 2018 Western Damsel, the Zellner Brothers became a directing duo, and in 2020 it was announced that they were going to be making an alien invasion comedy called Alpha Gang, with Andrea Riseborough, Jon Hamm, Nicholas Hoult, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mackenzie Davis, Sofia Boutella, and Steven Yeun attached to star in the film. But Alpha Gang missed its 2021 production start date and the Zellner Brothers made Sasquatch Sunset instead. Now, Deadline reports that the Zellners are circling back to Alpha Gang, and the impressive cast they originally had lined up has been replaced by a different impressive bunch of actors: Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer), Channing Tatum (Deadpool & Wolverine), Dave Bautista (Knock at the Cabin), Zoë Kravitz (The...

Cate Blanchett will lead an impressive cast in the new sci-fi comedy “Alpha Gang” from directors David and Nathan Zellner. Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough, and Channing Tatum have all signed on for roles in the film. Production is scheduled to begin in spring 2025.

“Alpha Gang” tells the story of alien invaders who disguise themselves as a 1950s leather biker gang. They plan to conquer Earth in this unusual way. Blanchett will play Alpha One, the formidable leader of the group. During their mission, the ruthless invaders encounter an obstacle – human emotions prove to be contagious. This changes the direction of the invaders’ plot in an unexpected way.

Several people involved in the film expressed excitement about the cast and creative team. Fionnuala Jamison, who runs international sales company mk2 Films, called the cast “a powerhouse of comedic talent.” She said they “are out of...

The Zellner brothers’ anticipated alien invasion comedy Alpha Gang, starring and produced by Cate Blanchett, just got buzzier with the unveiling of her co-stars.

Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough, and Channing Tatum have been confirmed for the cast as the movie’s international sales agent mk2 films gears up to ramp up pre-sales at the AFM.

Alpha Gang centers on a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth. Disguised in human form as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang, dubbed the Alpha Gang. They are ruthless in their mission, until they succumb to the most toxic and contagious human condition of all: emotions. The movie follows the Zellner brothers’ Sundance hit Sasquatch Sunset.

“These stellar new recruits are a powerhouse of comedic talent, adding even more excitement to this eagerly awaited film. This cast, just like the story and its filmmakers, is out of this world.

MK2 Films, the European sales, production and finance powerhouse behind movies by Justine Triet and Joachim Trier, is getting ready to ramp up its global scope and move further in the English-language space.

Following its appointment of Protagonist’s former managing director Vanessa Saal as executive consultant and U.K. lead earlier this month, MK2 Films has struck a multi-year financing deal with the investment fund manager Ipr.Vc to gain financial ammunitions and build a robust slate of projects.

The company has established itself as a leading force in auteur-driven cinema with a number of critical and commercial hits in recent years, including Justine Triet’s Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall,” Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” and Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” It just rolled off a successful Cannes with internationally-driven movies such as Andrew Haigh’s “Belly of the Beast” starring Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell,...

European sales, production and finance company mk2 films has announced a multi-year slate financing deal with investment fund manager Ipr.Vc, which will provide “significant financial backing for a slate of future projects”.

The French firm did not divulge details of the value of the deal or how many projects it was projected to include, but said Ipr.Vc’s financial support would enable it to deliver a robust slate of projects and further strengthen “its status as a leading force in auteur-driven cinema”.

“We are thrilled to work with Ipr.Vc and its experienced management team, and to have found the perfect partners to allow us to scale our efforts while maintaining the artistic integrity that defines mk2 films and our commitment to bold, visionary filmmaking,” mk2 films CEO Nathanael Karmitz and Managing Director Fionnuala Jamison said in a joint statement.

Recent mk2 films successes include Justine Triet’s Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall,...

Paris-based sales, production and finance outfit mk2 Films has signed a multi-year financing deal with investment fund manager Ipr.Vc for a slate of upcoming productions and acquisitions titles.

The collaboration will boost mk2 Films’ robust slate as it scales up its international expansion and foray into English-language projects.

Helsinki and London-based investment fund manager Ipr.Vc has raised over $200m and backed more than 50 productions across film and television.

The company founded in 2014 has long-term partnerships with several US and European producers including A24, XYZ Films and animation studio Gigglebug Entertainment.

Mk2 Films’ auteur-driven slate includes Andrew Haigh’s Belly Of The Beast,...

French production and sales outfit mk2 films has signed a multi-year financing deal with the Finnish private equity fund Ipr.Vc to bankroll a slate of new projects, the two companies unveiled on Thursday.

The new capital will come in handy for mk2, which is looking to build on recent crossover success, including its co-productions The Worst Person in the World from director Joachim Trier, and Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, as well as Justine Triet’s Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex, both of which mk2 sold worldwide.

In Cannes this year, mk2 unveiled its most ambitious slate ever, with several English-language projects, including Belly of the Beast, Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers follow-up, starring Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell, and The Zellner Brothers’ Alpha Gang starring Cate Blanchett. Among its features already in production include Trier’s Sentimental Value,...

French sales agent mk2 Films has hired London-based former Protagonist Pictures and Upgrade Productions executive Vanessa Saal to help expand the company’s UK footprint, under the title executive consultant and UK lead.

Saal most recently served as executive vice president, production and distribution, for Jonathan Kier and Matt Brodlie’s Los Angeles-based Upgrade Productions, working out of London.

She was previously managing director, sales and distribution for the UK’s Protagonist Pictures.

While a formal UK office is not being launched, with Saal’s position understood to be on a consultancy basis, she will utilise her on-the-ground network and...

The first clip from “Peacock,” led by “All Quiet on the Western Front” star Albrecht Schuch, has been revealed by MK2 ahead of the film’s world premiere in the Venice Critic’s Week competition.

The directorial debut of rising Austrian filmmaking Bernhard Wenger, the quirky tragicomedy revolves around the “Rent a Friend” concept prevalent in Japan and the U.S. and serves up a satirical view of societal values.

“Peacock” tells the story Matthias (Schuch), who works at a rent-a-friend agency and finds it increasingly difficult to open up again and be authentic in his private life. Wenger noted he had the idea of making a film about the subject after a research trip to Japan and that the character of Matthias was based on an agency employee he met there.

“The premise of the film is therefore not an abstruse dystopian construct, but rather an imminent reality I am worried about,...

Exclusive: Ben Stiller and Oscar nominee Colin Farrell have been confirmed to star in Andrew Haigh’s true crime story Belly of the Beast as mk2 films, UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance and Village Roadshow Pictures board sales for a Cannes launch.

Rumors of their involvement in the project surfaced at the beginning of the year and now the sales partners have unveiled the full details ahead of rolling out it to buyers in the South of France next week.

Bafta nominee Haigh will direct the film, which he and Alexis Jolly adapted from Jerome Loving’s nonfiction book, Jack and Norman: A State-Raised Convict and the Legacy of Norman Mailer’s ‘The Executioner’s Song.’

Per the official synopsis the feature will tell the timely and true story of the unlikely friendship between notorious literary titan Norman Mailer (Stiller) and his protégé, Jack Henry Abbott (Farrell).

Bolstered by Mailer’s mentorship,...

Cate Blanchett has signed on to star in Alpha Gang, the new comedy from David and Nathan Zellner, the sibling duo behind wacky Sundance entry Sasquatch Sunset.

The two-time Oscar winner is set to star as Alpha One, the leader of an alien gang sent on a mission to conquer Earth. She arrives disguised in human form together with her fellow extraterrestrials, posing as an armed and dangerous 1950’s leather-clad biker gang. But their ruthless plan is disrupted when the gang catches “the most toxic, contagious human disease of all: emotion.”

David and Nathan Zellner will direct Alpha Gang as well as produce. Blanchett and Coco Francini are also on board as producers, through their Dirty Films outfit. Other producers include Ryan Zacarias for Fat City, and Gina Gammell for Felix Culpa. The film is set to being shooting this fall.

“The Zellner brother’s work never fails to surprise and delight us,...

Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett is set to star as the leader of the “Alpha Gang,” an alien invasion comedy by “Sasquatch Sunset” filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner.

The hot package will be launched at Cannes by MK2 Films (“Anatomy of a Fall”) handling international sales and CAA Media Finance handling North American distribution rights. “Alpha Gang” is set to start filming in the Fall.

“Alpha Gang” marks the Zellner brothers’ anticipated follow-up to “Sasquatch Sunset,” the buzzy absurdist comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough which was the talk of this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is currently on release in the U.S. via Bleecker Street.

The Zellner brothers are producing “Alpha Gang” with Blanchett and Coco Francini for Dirty Films, as well as Ryan Zacarias for Fat City, and Gina Gammell for Felix Culpa.

“Alpha Gang” follows alien invaders sent on a mission to conquer Earth. “Disguised in...

Anatomy Of A Fall’s Swann Arlaud will star in Sukkwan Island, a psychological thriller from French director Vladimir de Fontenay that mk2 Films has boarded for sales.

Woody Norman, best known for C’mon C’mon, co-stars in the film about a father and son on a quest for survival deep in the Norwegian fjords. Production started in Norway in February and is being shot in three parts to follow the rhythm of the seasons, with further filming between Glasgow and Norway set for May.

France’s Haut et Court produces and will release Sukkwan Island in France. Co-producers include Norway’s Maipo Film,...

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...

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.

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.

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...