‘Asterix’ Live-Action Film in the Works at Studiocanal

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent On Sept. 12, 2022, the day before Jean-Luc Godard died by assisted suicide at 91 in his home in Rolle, Switzerland, the Godfather of French New Wave completed his final 18-minute film, “Scénarios,” which premieres on today in Cannes. “Scénarios” — which comprises two components called “DNA, Fundamental Elements” and “MRI, Odyssey” — is followed by “Exposé du Film Annonce du Film ‘Scènario,’” a 34-minute, behind-the-scenes doc about the making of Godard’s last short.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Chile’s Quijote Films, behind Cannes 2023 Un Certain Regard Fipresci Prize winner “The Settlers,” has tied down a powerful alliance of international partners on “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” the first feature of 2018 Cannes Cinéfondation top winner Diego Céspedes. An LGBTQ-themed drama, “The Mysterious Gaze” is set in a mining town where a strange illness is said to be transmitted between men who fall in love with each other.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cultivator Films Australia, the local subsidiary of France’s Studiocanal, has begun production of “Kangaroo,” its first movie. It tells the story of Chris Barns, aka ‘Brolga,’ founder of the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs. Previously announced in December, the film is directed by Kate Woods (“The Umbrella Academy,” “The Good Lord Bird,” “Looking for Alibrandi”) and is written by Harry Cripps (“The Dry,” “Penguin Bloom”) with Melina Marchetta and additional material from Danielle MacLean & Peta-Lee Cole-Manolis.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s Les Films du Losange, the iconic distribution company owned by producer Charles Gillibert (“Annette”), has acquired Palmeraie et Desert,” the production company founded by celebrated filmmaker Raymond Depardon. Les Films du Losange, which was bought by Gillibert from longtime manager Margaret Menegoz in 2021, has been dedicated to preserving and promoting cinematic heritage since its inception.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Bureau Sales has teamed with French production banner Paprika and filmmaker Vincent Munier on “Whispering in the Woods,” a documentary that will be teased to buyers at the Cannes Film Market. “Whispering in the Woods” marks Munier’s follow-up to “The Velvet Queen” (co-directed by Marie Amiguet), a critically acclaimed documentary that competed for a Golden Eye Award at the Cannes Film Festival and won a Cesar prize in 2022. The doc is currently filming across different locations, from the Vosges mountains to Tibet, and is expected to be delivered by next spring.

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 (last year’s Anatomy of a Fall, 2022’s Triangle of Sadness, 2021’s Titane and 2019’s Parasite), 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.

Jamie Lang Uruguay’s José Ignacio International Film Festival (JIIFF) has launched the Pfeffer del Sur Fund, a $50,000 fund dedicated to supporting Ibero-American film projects. The Pfeffer Del Sur Fund, established by JIIFF’s primary benefactors, María and John Pfeffer, will be launched in January 2025 as part of the festival’s 15th anniversary edition. It will be awarded to one of the projects selected from the JIIFF Lab, part of the Working JIIFF industry program.

Jamie Lang Catalan films routinely punch above their weight at high-profile international festivals: Think 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs.” That trend looks primed to continue in 2024. Catalan auteur Albert Serra will debut “Afternoons of Solitude,” co-produced by Catalan companies Andergraun Films and LaCima, with Ideale Audience and Tardes de Soledad.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Asterix,” the popular French comics franchise, is set for a new animated journey. Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patelliere, whose latest film “The Count of Monte-Cristo” is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, have penned “Asterix, the Kingdom of Nubia.” SND, the commercial arm of French network M6, has boarded the film and will kick off international sales at the Cannes Film Market, where they will present a sizzle reel to buyers.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.

EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of the Cannes market, Lionsgate has taken North American rights off the table on one of the bigger-budget new packages that’ll be on sale next week: that’s action-thriller Mutiny, which will star action evergreen Jason Statham (Fast & Furious) and be directed by Jean-François Richet (Plane).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Studiocanal has unveiled an exclusive first-look still of Matt Dillon and Anamaria Vartolomei (“Happening”) starring as Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider in Jessica Palud’s movie “Maria,” which is slated to bow at the Cannes Film Festival. Palud’s film sheds light on the tragic life of Maria Schneider, who starred opposite Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Tango in Paris” at the age of 19 and never recovered from the shoot. The film depicts how Schneider was imposed an un-simulated rape scene on the set of “The Last Tango in Paris” by Bertolucci and Brando.

German-French international sales veteran Tanja Meissner has been appointed as the new director of the Berlinale Pro, the department overseeing all of the Berlin Film Festival’s professional activities, in a role that encompasses director of the European Film Market (EFM).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kinology (“Dracula, a Love Story”) has boarded international sales to “The Big War,” an epic €30-million live action-CGI characters hybrid movie which will mark the directorial comeback of “La Haine” filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz. The ambitious feature is adapted from “La Bête Est Morte,” an iconic two-part graphic novel illustrated by Edmond Calvo during War World 2 in Nazi-Occupied France and published after the country was liberated.

Ben Croll A competitive tax rebate, combined with public and private initiatives to revitalize the local infrastructure, has substantially boosted the number of international productions shooting in France. Last revamped in 2020, Gaul’s Tax Rebate for International Production scheme now supplements a 30% across-the-board rebate with an additional 10% — applicable on all eligible expenses — for productions that spend $2.2 million with local VFX and post houses. And once the tax incentive put France back on the map, the country’s flourishing production ecosystem has kept projects on site longer than ever before. “The preconceived idea that France was too expensive clearly has changed,” says line producer John Bernard of Peninsula Film. “Projects with strong French DNA have very much embraced the whole process, basing themselves in France from beginning to end, using local crews and amenities.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Isabelle Huppert will preside over the main jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival. The revered French actor has a longstanding rapport with the Lido, having won Venice’s Coppa Volpi for best actress twice, first with “Story of Women” in 1988, and subsequently with “La Cérémonie” in 1995, both directed by Claude Chabrol.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A week before its kick-off, the Cannes Film Festival has made a last-minute addition with “Moi Aussi,” a short film directed by Judith Godreche. The actor-turned-filmmaker made headlines in recent months for spearheading France’s new MeToo reckoning with her revelations that she had been preyed upon and groomed as a minor by directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. Both directors have denied her allegations of sexual assault.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent One day after the “Sous les écrans la dèche” collective, made up of freelance festival workers, issued a call for a strike during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, organizers have issued a joint statement where they encouraged all parties to “come together around the bargaining table.” The statement, signed by the Cannes Film Festival as well as parallel sections Directors’ Fortnight, Critics’ Week and ACID, said they acknowledge the “difficulties faced by some of their staff” due to a reform of the “French unemployment insurance scheme,” and that they “hope that solutions will be found.” The organization is protesting against a looming labor reform that will see their unemployment indemnities slashed by more than half. The org brings together hundreds of workers at festivals, from projectionists to drivers and caterers, who are threatening to strike during Cannes which could potentially cause major disruptions.