Black Comedy ‘Shooting Blanks’ Added to Picture Tree Intl.’s Cannes Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Maxime Rappaz’s debut film “Let Me Go,” which plays in the Cannes ACID sidebar, has been sold to Brazil and Taiwan. The film stars Cannes regular Jeanne Balibar in the lead role as a fiftysomething woman torn between her family commitments and pursuing her own desires. Every Tuesday, a neighbor takes care of Claudine’s son while she goes to a mountain hotel to meet men passing through. When one of them decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine is confused and finds herself dreaming of another life. Imovision has acquired all rights for Brazil, and will release the film in cinemas after a Brazilian festival premiere. “The mise en scène is excellent and Jeanne Balibar is extraordinary,” Jean-Thomas Bernardini, president of Imovision, commented.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Flawless, XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions have acquired the Cannes Critics’ Week selection “Vincent Must Die” for all English-speaking territories from Goodfellas. Flawless, the pioneering film technology company and a leader in the field of visual translation, recently announced it has launched a partnership with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions to acquire rights to foreign-language films, converting them to English for distribution in relevant markets. Directed by Stéphan Castang, “Vincent Must Die” is written by Mathieu Naert, produced by Thierry Lounas and Claire Bonnefoy, and stars Karim Leklou and Vimala Pons. In the film, an ordinary man finds himself fighting for his life after he goes out one day and is mysteriously attacked by random strangers in the street with the intent to kill him.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Paris-based company Indie Sales has closed further sales on “Richard the Stork 2,” and expects to sell the last remaining territories during the Cannes Film Market. The film, also known as “Richard the Stork and the Mystery of the Great Jewel,” is a follow up to “Richard the Stork” (released in North America as “A Stork’s Journey”), which was widely distributed in 155 countries and grossed more than $20 million worldwide. Indie Sales, which sold Oscar nominee “My Life as a Zucchini” to more than 80 territories, is increasingly focusing on acquiring big budget animation.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Zachary Levi will star in the Christmas film “Teddy’s Christmas” as the voice of the main character Teddy. The film about a Teddy Bear and a little girl will have its U.S. theatrical release in time for this year’s holiday season, following its release in several European countries. Levi is best known for his portrayal of the superhero Shazam in “Shazam!” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” and for his voice actor role in Disney’s “Tangled.” “Teddy’s Christmas” will be released by Capelight Pictures and Blue Fox Entertainment in the U.S.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has closed two multi-territory deals for Bulgarian gay summer-romance film “Liuben,” directed by Venci Kostov. The film has been acquired by TLA Entertainment for North America, France, U.K. and Ireland, and Cinemien for Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy and Sweden. “Liuben,” which has its world premiere at Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival in June, is the first openly gay film from Bulgaria. Roma actors, who are usually absent from Bulgarian cinema, play lead roles in the film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Shellac has boarded “La Mer et ses vagues” as both the international sales agency and the French distributor, ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the ACID sidebar in Cannes. The Lebanese film, directed by Liana and Renaud, follows the young Najwa and the musician Mansour as they cross the Lebanese border and reach Beirut on a full moon night. They follow the trail of smugglers hoping to join a woman, Haifa, on the other side of the sea. A few streets away, Selim, the old lighthouse keeper, tries to repair the electricity in his neighborhood. The cast is led by Mays Mustafa, Roger Assaf, Mohammed Al Ammari and Hanane Hajj-Ali. The producer is Mathieu Mullier-Griffiths for Kafard Films. The co-producer is Monkey Business Virals.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Global Screen has closed further presales for “Lassie — A New Adventure,” the sequel featuring the most famous dog in the history of cinema. The film, directed by Hanno Olderdissen, has sold to A Contracorriente for Spain; ADS Service for Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Moldavia; Turkey’s Bir Film; GPI for the Baltic states; Bulgaria’s Pro Films; Karantanija for ex-Yugoslavia; and Greece’s Zinos Panagiotidis. Poland and Benelux are in negotiation. Sales were previously concluded with Lucky Red (Italy), AB Svensk Filmindustri (Scandinavia) and Film House (Israel).

EXCLUSIVE: LA-based production, finance, and sales company Premiere Entertainment have picked up international rights to the military action thriller Warhorse One, starring actor Johnny Strong (Black Hawk Down).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has released the trailer (below) for Swiss director Maxime Rappaz’s debut feature “Let Me Go,” which will open the Cannes ACID sidebar on Wednesday. Set in a remote town in the Swiss mountains, the film features French actress Jeanne Balibar in the lead role. She plays the character of Claudine, a mother who has devoted her life to taking care of her son, sacrificing her own needs and desires. An unexpected love affair causes Claudine’s carefully controlled world to unravel, “reviving in her an intense thirst for freedom and, at the same time, a painful questioning about her future,” Rappaz says.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Global Screen has racked up presales to multiple territories for the animated family adventure movie “Niko — Beyond the Northern Lights,” the third in the box office hit franchise about a flying reindeer. The sales agency will be showing a first scene to buyers at Cannes Film Market. The animated movie has been picked up Kino Swiat for Poland, Bluelabel for South Korea, Just4Kids for the Benelux, GPI for the Baltic states, Karantanija for ex-Yugoslavia, Zinos Panagiotidis for Greece, Bad Unicorn for Romania, Bohemia Motion Pictures for Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Pro Film for Bulgaria and Bir Film for Turkey.

EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures and mk2 have acquired rights to Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck’s Untitled Ernest Cole Documentary, about South Africa’s first Black freelance photographer.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has released the first-look trailer (below) for the suspense filled drama “Power Alley,” from Brazilian director Lillah Halla, ahead of its world premiere in Cannes’ Critics’ Week sidebar. The gripping drama is set in Brazil, where abortion is illegal. Talented volleyball player Sofia (Ayomi Domenica Dias) discovers she is pregnant at a crucial moment, jeopardizing her career plans. Intent on deciding her own fate, Sophia tries everything possible to get an illegal abortion, but has to contend with an increasingly sinister fundamentalist group determined to stop her — but Sophia, her team and all those who love her, refuse to give up.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor MAD Solutions has acquired the distribution rights to “Concrete Valley” for multiple territories. The film focuses on a Syrian family living in Toronto. The film, from Canadian-French filmmaker Antoine Bourges, premiered at Toronto Film Festival, before travelling to Berlinale, and it just screened at Jeonju. The deal covers the following territories: UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South of Sudan and Comoro Island. The writers are Bourges and Teyama Alkamli. The producer is Shehrezade Mian at Markhor Pictures.

John Travolta (Grease) and Katherine Heigl (Firefly Lane) have boarded the rom-com That’s Amore!, written and to be directed by two-time Academy Award winner Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), with Christopher Walken (Severance) also in talks to star.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has been given access to an exclusive clip from “Anselm,” the 3D documentary from the three-time Academy Award nominated director Wim Wenders. The film will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival as a Special Screening. HanWay Films is handling world sales. It will be released by Les Films du Losange in France and DCM in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Picture Tree Intl. has picked up global sales rights to “Gina” (working title), by Ulrike Kofler, which follows her Netflix debut “What We Wanted.” “Gina” tells the story of a 9-year-old girl longing for a home and family while having to take care of her younger siblings and mother, who is too overwhelmed to take care of herself, let alone her children. The film, produced by Film AG, is the second feature by Kofler, who is a long-time editor for Austrian director Marie Kreutzer. Kofler’s editing work includes “Corsage,” which won best film at the London Film Festival and three nominations for the European Film Awards in 2022, “The Ground Beneath My Feet” (Berlinale Competition, 2019), and Josef Hader’s “Wild Mouse” (Berlinale Competition, 2019).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Sales agency The Match Factory is launching the trailer (below) of Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves,” which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in Competition. This gentle tragicomedy is the fourth part of Kaurismäki’s working-class quartet, following “Shadows in Paradise,” “Ariel” and “The Match Factory Girl,” which The Match Factory, the company, is named after. The film tells the story of two lonely people (played by Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) who meet each other by chance in the Helsinki night. They then try to re-find each other: the first, only, and ultimate love of their lives. Their path toward this goal is clouded by the man’s alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not knowing each other’s names or addresses, and life’s tendency to place obstacles in the way of those seeking their happiness.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has closed a deal for German distribution rights for “Let Me Go” with Alamode Film, ahead of the film’s world premiere as the opening film of Cannes ACID sidebar next week. “Let Me Go” (Laissez-Moi), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, is set in a remote Swiss mountain village, where Claudine (Jeanne Balibar) lives a life dedicated to taking care of her son. Every Tuesday, however, she has an afternoon to herself and goes to a nearby hotel to meet men passing through. She pursues her desires in a carefully controlled way, so as not to interfere with her life, but when she meets Michael (Thomas Sarbacher) everything changes.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has nabbed worldwide rights to Spanish filmmaker Chiqui Carabante’s black-comedy whodunnit “The Fortress” (“La Fortaleza”) and is debuting its trailer ahead of the Cannes Film Market. The film centers on the death of Arturo Viaplana and its aftermath as his offspring, hoping to inherit a great fortune, discover that instead of leaving them the estate, their father has devised a macabre, posthumous game in which his children must first locate his body and bury it themselves in a specified location. Working together to carry out their father’s instructions and pass a series of tests, the siblings are forced to come to terms with a deeply hidden family secret.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Marco Bellocchio’s “Kidnapped” (Rapito), which has its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The film starts in 1858 in the Jewish quarter of Bologna, when the Pope’s soldiers burst into the home of the Mortara family. By order of the cardinal, they have come to take Edgardo, their seven-year-old son. The child had been secretly baptized by his nurse as a baby and the papal law is unquestionable: he must receive a Catholic education. Edgardo’s parents, distraught, will do anything to get their son back. Supported by public opinion and the international Jewish community, the Mortaras’ struggle quickly takes a political dimension. But the Church and the Pope will not agree to return the child, to consolidate an increasingly wavering power.