Cannes Classics Chief Gérald Duchaussoy On Ullmann, Eastwood, Godard, And Assembling A Programming “Puzzle”

German director Wim Wenders will be feted with France’s prestigious Lumière Award at the 15th edition of the classic film-focused Lumière Festival in Lyon, running October 14-22.

Organizers of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival said today that the event will open on June 11 as planned, but open-air screenings will be postponed a day following a Thursday knife attack in the city involving a group of nursery school-age children.

Naman Ramachandran Sovereign has acquired U.K. and Ireland distribution rights for Lisandro Alonso’s Cannes title “Eureka,” starring Viggo Mortensen. The film recently had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cannes Premiere strand in May. “Eureka” follows the story of Alaina (Alaina Clifford), a police officer in the Pine Ridge Reservation who decides to stop responding to her radio, leaving her niece Sadie waiting in vain for her return. Hurt by Alaina’s absence, Sadie embarks on a journey with the guidance of her grandfather. The journey transcends time and space, taking her to South America and transforming her perception of the world. As Sadie encounters the dreams of the forest dwellers, she learns that birds, if understood, hold truths that humans can’t grasp.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Family animated movie “Pirate Mo and the Legend of the Red Ruby” proved to be a smash hit with international distributors during the Cannes Film Market, with sales agency The Playmaker Munich delivering the film to multiple buyers. During the market, The Playmaker announced first presales to Benelux (Just4Kids), Turkey (Filmarti), Baltics (GPI), Greece (Rosebud) and Bulgaria (Pro Films). The company has now revealed further sales to Poland (M2 Films), Scandinavia (Njuta Films), Hungary and Romania (ADS), Portugal (Outsider Pictures), and Yugoslavia (Blitz Film).

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Jonathan Glazer’s Nazi drama “The Zone of Interest” has sold into major international territories following its buzzy Cannes world premiere. The film centers on the family of a high-ranking SS official that lives next door to Auschwitz concentration camp. The pic has sold into: Austria and Germany (Leonine), Benelux (Cineart), France (BAC), Greece (Spentzos), Italy (I Wonder), Japan (Happinet Phantom Studios), Scandinavia (SF Studios), Spain (Elastica) and Switzerland (Filmcoopi). In Poland — a significant sales market for the film given it is set there — Gutek has come on board as distributor. (A24 was selling worldwide rights for the film, but did not handle the Polish sale.)

Mubi has snapped up rights to the acclaimed feature Fallen Leaves, written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki, in a competitive situation, following its world premiere in Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

CANNES – For someone who is notoriously media-shy, Wes Anderson was in a delightful mood at the press conference for his new film, “Asteroid City.” And considering the star power alongside him on the dias, he dominated the conversation. Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise considering the power of his cinematic brand.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief French independent producer Haut Les Mains has come on board “A Useful Ghost,” a film project that is both topical and supernatural. The deal was announced on the margins of the Cannes Film Festival and its accompanying rights market. “A Useful Ghost” follows March and Nat, a happily married couple, and their seven-year-old son Dot. Nat dies of respiratory disease caused by air pollution. A saddened March is worried that the same fate will befall his son, who gradually develops similar symptoms. Nat then returns as a ghost haunting the house vacuum cleaner to try and suck up the dust hurting her son. She also longs to be accepted as part of society and intends to prove that by getting rid of the less useful ghosts.

Lise Pedersen The highest award for docs-in-progress at the Cannes Film Market’s sidebar dedicated to documentary, Cannes Docs, has gone to Ya-Ting Hsu’s debut feature doc “Islands of the Winds.” Twenty years in the making, the film follows the anti-eviction struggle of the patients of Losheng Sanatorium for lepers, which became a symbol of the fight for democracy in Hsu’s native Taiwan. The prize comes with a €10,000 ($10,800) cash prize and project follow-up by IEFTA (the International Emerging Film Talent Assn.). It is produced by Hsu’s Taiwan-based Argosy Films and Media Productions, Huang Yin-Yu (Moolin Films, Ltd. & Moolin Production, Co., Ltd, Taiwan and Japan) and Baptiste Brunner (Wide Productions – La Cuisine aux Images, France).

Firebrand,” a historical drama that follows the marriage of the king and Queen Catherine Parr, his sixth and final wife — played by Alicia Vikander.In order to get into the role, the actor had a repulsive perfume blended from “blood, fecal matter and sweat” specially made to wear while shooting the movie.“I read several interesting accounts that you could smell Henry three rooms away. His leg was rotting so badly.

Sunday night at the 76th Cannes Film Festival was all about the world premiere of the Jude Law and Alicia Vikander Henry VIII period pic Firebrand, which received a royal response from the crowd in the Grand Theatre Lumiere with an eight and a half minute standing ovation.

EXCLUSIVE: The rain in Cannes managed to stop for a few hours on Saturday when Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park International hosted an exclusive event for buyers on the Croisette for its upcoming project Night Boat to Tangier, with Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, director James Marsh and producers Andrew Eaton and Conor McCaughan all in attendance for the intimate event.

Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” playing in Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, begins with an interview between a writer and a student interested in her work. It’s a lighthearted, almost flirty discussion where double entendres are part of a seemingly harmless game.

Christopher Vourlias With Jonathan Glazer’s Auschwitz-set Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest” competing for the Palme d’Or and a host of Polish producers bringing buzzy upcoming projects to the Marché du Film, the Polish industry should again have Cannes talking. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights: The Zone of Interest(Competition)Director: Jonathan GlazerProducers: James Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska (JW Films, Extreme Emotions)Sales: A24The veteran British filmmaker’s first film in nearly a decade, which will compete for the Palme d’Or, is a Holocaust drama loosely based on the novel by Martin Amis that’s sure to be among the festival’s most talked-about films.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief TF1 Studio/ Newen Connect has picked up international sales rights to “Sarafina!,” the iconic South African musical-dance-drama that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992. “Sarafina!” was the first major film to be made in South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela from his 27-year prison term. The film tells of the strength of the young women who made their mark during South Africa’s long journey to freedom. A restored version of the film will play in the Cannes Classics section this Sunday. It is a digitally remastered ‘producer’s cut’ which was created in partnership with Imax and includes never-seen-before footage.

Sony Pictures Classics announced today they have acquired all rights in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Scandinavia, India, Middle East, Turkey, Southeast Asia (excluding Taiwan and South Korea) and airlines within those territories to Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal’s upcoming Bossa Nova-themed animated film, “They Shot the Piano Player.” Sony Classics plans to release the film at the end of the year to qualify for year-end awards consideration.A true international production, the film is produced by Cristina Huete of Trueba PC (“Chico & Rita”) in Spain, along with Serge Lalou for Les Films d’Ici (“Josep”) in France, Janneke van de Kerkhof for Submarine Sublime (“Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles”) in the Netherlands, and Humberto Santana in Portugal. It is executive produced by Nano Arrieta of Atlantika and Fabien Westerhoff of Film Constellation.From Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, who previously directed the Oscar-nominated “Chico & Rita,” “They Shot the Piano Player” is narrated by Jeff Goldblum.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up rights to the animated feature They Shot the Piano Player for the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Scandinavia, India, the Middle East, Turkey, Southeast Asia (excluding Taiwan and South Korea) and airlines within the aforementioned territories. The film from Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, two of the directors behind the Oscar-nominated animated feature Chico and Rita, is set up for a fall awards push from SPC.

Naman Ramachandran Indian auteur Aribam Syam Sharma’s “Ishanou,” which screened at the Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes in 1991 is returning to the Croisette in a restored version. The Manipuri-language film is the only Indian film at the festival’s Cannes Classics section this year. “Ishanou” (“The Chosen One”), follows Tampha, a young woman with a loving husband and a small daughter, who leads a tranquil existence in the Manipur valley and is occupied with the mundane details of life. Suddenly she begins to behave in a strange manner, talking to flowers, becoming afflicted with dizzy spells and wandering out of the house in the dark of the night. The family tries to find a cure for her malady and finally realize that she does not have a sickness, but rather is responding to the call of a deity who has chosen her.

Christopher Vourlias Here’s a rundown of some of the top Hungarian projects in the pipeline or selling at the Cannes Market: SemmelweisDirector: Lajos KoltaiProducer: Tamas Lajos (Film Positive)Sales: N/ASet in 1847, as a mysterious epidemic rages in a maternity clinic in Vienna, this period drama from the Oscar-nominated cinematographer and director Koltai (“Malena”) stars promising young thesp Miklos H. Vecsei as the titular doctor Ignác Semmelweis, who spurns traditional medical theories to find a cure. The Lefkovicses Are in MourningDirector: Ádám BreierProducers: Kázmér Miklós, Felszeghy Ádám, Ausztrics Andrea (ULab, Proton Cinema)Sales: N/ABreier’s feature debut is a dramedy about a generous but stubborn elderly boxing coach who gets along with everyone except his own son. While the two haven’t spoken in years, they’re reunited during after the death of the old man’s wife and forced to face old grievances.

Neon has acquired North American rights to Robot Dreams, the first animated feature from Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger (Blancanieves), which is poised to premiere in the Special Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival this Saturday, May 20th.