EXCLUSIVE: Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed two significant deals on Omerta 6/12, a Finnish action thriller.
23.01.2022 - 18:30 / variety.com
Holly Jones Avoiding the heady and idyllic world of adolescent coming-of-age tales ever-familiar to viewers, Spanish writer-director Carlota Pereda presents a brazen look into the psyches of youth; their faults, rage, and insecurity. In this award-winning short-turned-feature, Pereda, known for nudging the boundaries of genre, delivers a roundhouse kick, annihilating them.“Piggy” (“Cerdita”) is set in a serene but suspect rural town, Extremadura, where our anti-heroine Sara (Laura Galán) emerges, wrought with anxiety and crippling trauma from the abuse she endures at the hands of her hostile and popular peers. Untamed cruelty ensues and, with each heartbreaking take, the viewer becomes Sara and all of those mixed-up emotions she holds tightly inside.
Sold by Charades in international and represented for the U.S. by XYZ Films, “Piggy” relays an unnerving tale that sets the tone for introspection.
The trouble lies not only with the youth and its folly but within the town as a whole and the mysterious and homicidal stranger (Richard Holmes) who takes on the role of unsolicited savior. What appears to be a simple story of teenage strife unfolds into multiple storylines, woven together.
The film reveals, in the end, that women don’t necessarily need someone to avenge them.Produced by Morena Films and Backup Media, “Piggy” participated in Cannes’ Focus CoPro while still in development. It won its Pop Up Residency and also earned the Ventana Sur prize at Ventana CineMad.Ahead of the film’s virtual debut at Sundance on Monday, Pereda spoke with Variety about the film, bodies, bullies, and where her cinematic vision might take her next.With the pace of the shots, some scenes felt stuck in time. Can you speak a little on how you
.EXCLUSIVE: Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed two significant deals on Omerta 6/12, a Finnish action thriller.
Naman Ramachandran Protagonist Pictures has closed multiple deals for several key territories on Sundance selection and Berlin Film Festival competition title “Call Jane.”Territories sold include DCM for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Umbrella Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, Mis.label for Scandinavia, Eagle for Italy, Shaw for Singapore and Empire for South Africa.Directed by Phyllis Nagy, the Oscar nominated writer of “Carol,” the film stars Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara and Chris Messina. The film follows Joy (Banks), a traditional 1960s housewife who unexpectedly falls pregnant and finds the Janes, an underground abortion movement led by Virginia (Weaver).
Emiliano De Pablos International distribution house Pink Parrot Media has taken worldwide sales rights outside Spain and Portugal to 3D/2D animated musical film “Valentina,” the feature debut of Spanish producer-turned director Chelo Loureiro of Galicia’s Ábano Producións.Based out of Montreal and Madrid, Pink Parrot will introduce the toon feature to international buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market “Valentina” had its theatrical premiere in December on 160 screens in Spain, handled by Super8.Written, directed and produced by Loureiro and co-written by Lúa Testa, “Valentina” tells the story of a girl who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist but struggles to believe it is possible because she has Down’s syndrome.
Emiliano De Pablos Barcelona-based indie sales outfit Filmax has taken international sales rights to Jorge Dorado’s noir thriller feature “Objetos” (“Lost & Found”), starring “Money Heist” actor Álvaro Morte.Filmax is launching the film onto the market with a first promo at this year’s European Film Market.Shot October-November at several locations in Spain and Argentina, including Madrid and Jujuy, the film is currently in post-production.“Lost & Found” is produced by Cristina Zumárraga and Pablo Bossi at Tandem Films, the Madrid-based production company, whose recent titles include award-winning comedy “Rosa’s Wedding” and toon feature sales hit “Turu, the Wacky Hen.” A Spain-Argentina-Germany co-production, “Lost & Found” also teams Spain’s Setembro Cine (“A Fantastic Woman”), Argentina’s Pampa Films (“Chinese Take-Away”) and In Post We Trust (“Unknown Origins”), plus Germany’s Rexin Film, with the participation of Spanish pubcaster RTVE, Amazon Studios and Germany’s ZDF.Written by top Spanish scribe Natxo López (“Stolen Away,” “Unauthorized Living”), “Lost & Found” is sets against the sordid world of human trafficking, moving between some characters who treat objects with as much as care as people and others who treat people as if they were objects.The film follows Mario, who works at a large lost and found office, where he looks after all the missing items that have built up over the decades.Having decided a long time ago to live a solitary life, Mario spends his free time investigating the origin of the lost objects, with the aim of returning to people these lost pieces of their lives.Only Helena, a young police officer, who often visits the lost and found office, has been able to crack Mario’s hard, outer shell a
Emmerdale fans have seen an unexpected arrival take to the screens in the shape of Marcus Dean. Son of soap villain Pierce Harris, Marcus has arrived in search of his criminal father’s ex-wife Rhona Goskirk. With Marcus and Rhona struggling to get hold of one another after Vanessa pretended to be Rhona, fans are eager to find out how the storyline unfolds.
Rosamund Pike has booked a new role!
Emmy and Golden Globe winner Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) has been set to lead pandemic-themed thriller Rich Flu, we can reveal. Producers include Pablo Larraín and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula banner which produced Spencer, Jackie and No.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Kompromat,” an anticipated spy thriller directed by Jerome Salle (“Zulu,” “L’Odyssée”) with Gilles Lellouche (“The Stronghold”) and Joanna Kulig (“Cold War”), has been sold by SND to distributors in key territories. Inspired by a true story, “Kompromat” stars Lellouche as a French diplomat working Siberia who discovers he is being framed by FBI and has to find his way out of the trap.
John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentHere, Variety talks with Fernando León de Aranoa, director of the Javier Bardem-starring “The Good Boss” (“El Buen Patron”), Spain’s Oscar entry, which is a big box office hit on home turf and has scored more Spanish Academy Goya nominations than any other film in history.What does it mean to you to be shortlisted for the best international feature Oscar?I feel a mix of joy and responsibility. It means following the steps of some of the greatest Spanish filmmakers who have done it before, being among a group of brilliant directors from all over the world and having the opportunity of showing “The Good Boss” to a wider audience.What’s been the most challenging aspect of your campaign thus far?To make our film visible amidst the strong contenders.
Leo Barraclough International Features EditorWorld War II refugee drama “The Path” (Der Pfad) has debuted its international trailer (above) ahead of its market premiere at the European Film Market in Berlin. Warner will release the film theatrically in Germany, while Global Screen is handling international rights.“The Path,” directed by Tobias Wiemann, is based on Rüdiger Bertram’s novel and is inspired by true events.
I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, said she was so poorly she ended up being rushed to hospital as it was feared she was suffering a brain aneurysm. She opened up about the scary time, saying her body was "shutting down".
Hiding underwater to escape her vicious aggressors, a rush of terror washes over Sara (Laura Galán), a large-bodied teenager target of incessant insults, and worse, about her weight. The callousness of the bullying perpetrated against her one summery afternoon won’t go unpunished but will place the victim in a conundrum fluctuating between guilt and a warranted desire for retribution.
Guy Lodge Film CriticIn most films, the sight of a slaughtered human body — weighed down at the bottom of a public swimming pool with blood gushing from its wounds — would be the most stomach-churning thing in any given scene. “Piggy,” however, is not most films.
‘Run Rabbit Run’ Adds Cast
EXCLUSIVE: Carlota Pereda, the writer-director whose debut feature Piggy (Cerdita) makes its world premiere tonight in the Midnight Section of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, has signed with CAA.
Parsifal III, sailing across the beautiful waters in Menorca, Spain.“When you go sailing, you never really know what the conditions are going to be like,” Captain Shephard says at the beginning of the trailer before the preview of the chaos aboard the luxury yacht plays out. Returning this season are chief stew Daisy Kelliher, chief engineer Colin MacRae and first mate Gary King.
Daniel Craig (“No Time to Die”) and Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here.Since starring together as hero and villain of 2012’s “Skyfall,” Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem have continued to test themselves on screen. Last year, Craig finally bid farewell to James Bond with “No Time to Die,” a moody sendoff for his iteration of the British superspy.