France TV Distribution Acquires Five Documentaries Spanning Science, History, Politics (EXCLUSIVE)

OneGate Media Lands Sales Rights To Amazon’s ‘German Crime Story’

French broadcaster TF1 and pay-TV giant Canal+ have resolved their two-month dispute over carriage fees, related to the latter’s distribution of TF1’s free digital terrestrial television (DTT) channels.

and sharing it with us, easing the stress of for patrons everywhere. “If I've left no legacy, I just hope it’s Tan France was our new version of Santa,” France tells Glamour with a laugh.Fortunately, the designer is well on his way to usurping the North Pole throne (and hopefully giving that red suit an upgrade), having partnered with global shopping service to help ease holiday-induced anxiety.

EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has taken North American rights on Tarik Saleh’s Cairo Conspiracy, which formerly was known as Boy from Heaven. Sweden’s submission for the Best International Feature Oscar made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, where Saleh won the Best Screenplay prize. Samuel Goldwyn is planning an early-2023 release.

EXCLUSIVE: France tv distribution has unveiled a first round of deals for best-selling French writer Gilles Legardinier’s feature directorial debut Mr. Blake At Your Service!, reuniting John Malkovich and Fanny Ardant on the big screen.

Marta Balaga Fifth Season has acquired international distribution rights to Elisa Viihde original series “The Man Who Died.” The company, formerly known as Endeavor Content, is behind “The Lost Daughter” or “Cha Cha Real Smooth.” It also handles global distribution for such hit shows as “Killing Eve,” “The Morning Show” or “Normal People.”  Based on the bestselling book by Antti Tuomainen, the six-episode series is led by Jussi Vatanen, who will next be seen in Aki Kaurismäki’s upcoming feature “Dead Leaves.” Saara Kotkaniemi and Sara Soulié, his co-star in Solar Films’ drama “Forest Giant,” also star.   

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ziad Doueiri, the French-Lebanese filmmaker of the Oscar-nominated movie “The Insult” who made his TV debut with the hit series “Baron Noir,” will next direct “Fièvre” (“Fever”). “Fièvre” was penned by “Baron Noir” screenwriter Eric Benzekri and has been co-developed by French pay TV group Canal+’s Creation Originale label. The show is being produced by Quad, the Paris-based company behind Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache’s “Intouchables” and the series “The Bonfire of Destiny.” “Fievre” is headlined by two female characters played by Nina Meurisse, who notably starred in Celine Sciamma’s Berlinale competition film “Petite Maman,” and Julia Piaton, from Emmanuel Mouret’s “Love Affair(s)” which was part of Cannes 2020’s official selection.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sydney Gallonde, the French producer of Make It Happen Studio, is set to re-team with MGM TV Intl. Productions on a biopic of Eugene Bullard, one of the first Black American military pilots who was also a boxer and a jazz musician. Gallonde has acquired the book rights to Claude Ribbe’s biography of Bullard, which shed light on the man’s heroic life and drew headlines on French media across the country when it was published in 2012. Like many Black American entertainers such as Josephine Baker, Bullard left America for Europe and France in 1914 to escape racial segregation, lynchings and prejudice. The young and adventurous man, who was born in Georgia, eventually settled in Paris looking for a better life and worked at a music hall. When WWI erupted, Bullard enlisted in France’s Foreign Legion along with other foreign volunteers, becoming one of the few Black combat pilots during the war. He then volunteered for the French Air Service and later became a flight fighter for the French Army. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Amazon Prime Video has scored a pair of deals with Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony to bolster its programming in France with premium titles. The agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery gives Prime Video the first-window rights to exclusive TV series from Warner Bros. Discovery in France, including “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” the first two seasons of “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” Ava DuVernay’s miniseries “DMZ” and “Peacemaker” Season 1. Also part of the pact are library TV titles, on a non-exclusive basis. These include “Legacies” (Seasons 1 through 3), “Pretty Little Liars,” “Fringe,” “One Tree Hill,” “The Originals” and “Shameless.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Disney has confirmed that it will release “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in theaters in France on Nov. 9 in spite of the country’s strict windowing regulations. The company previously decided to forgo the theatrical roll out of “Strange World” in France on Nov. 23 in favor of a launch on Disney+. The bold move was seen as an attempt to put pressure on upcoming negotiations to amend the windowing rules which are expected to kick off in January. Under the current guidelines, which were established by the French government just nine months ago, Disney’s pay-VOD window is set at four months, and subscription-based streaming window at 17 months after films debut in theaters. The only way to bypass those French rules entirely is to forgo a release in cinemas.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based sales and co-production banner Have A Good One (HAGO), has boarded two new series, “Sex (re) Education” (“Septième Ciel”) and “Caro Nostra,” in the run up to Mipcom, the Cannes TV market. “Sex (re) Education” is a 10-part half-hour comedy series directed by Alice Vial, who won the Cesar Award in 2018 with her short “The Winkles.” The series, penned by Clémence Azincourt, Clement Marchand and Vial, follows Jacques, an pensioner who has been placed by his daughter in a retirement home. When he thinks his life is over, he meets Rose and embarks on a passionate and lustful affair, wrecking havoc in the residence. The cast includes Irene Jacob, the well-known actor of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Rouge.” Ordered by French pay TV group OCS, the show recently won best series at La Rochelle Fiction Festival and is produced by Next Episode, Henri Debeurme’s UGC-backed company.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Banijay Rights has pre-sold “Marie-Antoinette,” the eight-part period series, to PPS Distribution in the U.S. The series will have its North American premiere in the Spring. The deal marks the latest international deal for the show which is produced by Banijay Studios France, CAPA Drama and Les Gens. The series was commissioned by Canal +’s Creation Originale label and follows recent pre-sales to the U.K. public broadcaster BBC2 and BBC First in Australia. Created and written by Deborah Davis (“The Favourite”), “Marie Antoinette” tells the story of the avant-garde young queen, played by Emilia Schüle.

Ed Meza @edmezavar The Lumière Festival’s International Classic Film Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, is celebrating its 10th edition this year with a wide-ranging program focusing on bolstering classic film distribution, the prospects of new commercial territories, film education and a focus on Spain’s heritage film sector. The MIFC, which runs Oct. 18-21, kicks off with a keynote by Gian Luca Farinelli, director of Italy’s Cineteca di Bologna film archive. Market organizers praise Farinelli for “allowing classic films to be found, restored, reviewed and, most often, put back on the market firstly through the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival, exhibition and distribution activities within the foundation, while maintaining strong links with cinemathques from around the world.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pathé and Chapter 2, a Mediawan company, are set to reteam with “Three Musketeers” director Martin Bourboulon on a riveting thriller set in the backdrop of the fall of Kabul and the takeover by the Taliban. The film is an adaptation of “13 days, 13 Nights, in the Hell of Kabul,” a sprawling real-life account of the events written by commander Mohamed Bida and published by Denoël last month. Bourboulon, who recently completed shooting “The Three Musketeers,” a big-budget two-part saga based on Alexandre Dumas’ masterpiece, will be filming the movie in French and English with an immersive and ultra-realistic style.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Mediawan Kids & Family’s animation label Somewhere Animation is set to produce its first show, “Chefclub Adventures,” a colorful comedy series set in the world of cooking. The Paris-based company, which is dedicated to 2D animation, is partnering up with the popular brand and studio Chefclub to create the series. “Chefclub Adventures” will be distributed in France and worldwide by Mediawan Kids & Family. It will be introduced to buyers at Mipcom Junior as one of the five finalists. Founded in 2016 by the Lang brothers, Chefclub runs an online digital cooking channel and website drawing 2.5 billion views each month worldwide, including 390 million views each month in France and one billion in the U.S., according to Mediawan.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cinemed, the Mediterranean Cinema Film Festival, is partnering up with Lebanese film org Aflamuna / Beirut DC to launch a new co-production and co-financing initiative aimed at high-profile projects from the Arab world. The new program, which is also backed by France’s National Film Board and is part of the festival’s industry showcase Cinemed Meetings, will present seven projects involving 22 Arab countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Liban, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Syria, among others. All selected projects are currently in development and are being brought by filmmakers who have previously directed at least one short film.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent On the outskirts of Paris, in a vast, industrial-looking studio in Bry-sur-Marne, the clocks have turned back to the 1770s. Opulent decor — gilded furniture, flower-adorned curtains and marble everywhere — fills the soundstage. The atmosphere is studious on the set of “Marie-Antoinette,” a lavish French-produced costume drama created, co-written and executive produced by Deborah Davis. She’s delivering a feminist take on an infamous historical figure, best-known for apocryphally advising the starving masses to eat cake. We all know how that ended. On screen, Marie-Antoinette hasn’t been treated better than she was at the guillotine, where she’s often depicted as a villain or a frivolous airhead.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Canadian director Charlotte Le Bon’s “Falcon Lake” which world premiered at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight. The coming-of-age tale, handled by Memento International, marks the feature debut of Le Bon, an actor-turned-filmmaker who notably starred in Sean Ellis’s “Anthropoid,” Lasse Hallström’s “The Hundred Foot Journey” and Terry George’s “The Promise.” “Falcon Lake” follows two teenagers, Bastien and Chloé, who spend their summer vacation with their families at a lake cabin in Quebec which is haunted by a ghost legend. Despite the age gap between them, they form a singular bond. Ready to overcome his worst fears to earn a place in Chloé’s heart, the young boy experiences a turbulent pivotal moment during this holiday.

EXCLUSIVE: Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired Ivan Herrera’s drama Bantú Mama for distribution in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The company will be presenting the film — which has been named as the Dominican Republic’s 2023 entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar — on select screens and on Netflix beginning November 17.