Goodfellas Boards Japanese Director Chie Hayakawa’s ’Renoir’ Ahead Of Cannes Market Investors Circle Presentation

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Cannes Film Festival is nearing its conclusion, with plenty of films making a splash on the starry Croisette on the French Riviera. However, one studio executive tells Variety, “There aren’t many Oscar-buzzy titles to be excited about, not even in the international feature space.” This year’s main competition jury, led by president Greta Gerwig and including J.A. Bayona, Ebru Ceylan, Pierfrancesco Favino, Lily Gladstone, Eva Green, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nadine Labaki and Omar Sy, will name its winners on Saturday.

EXCLUSIVE: Goodfellas and Utopia have announced a slew of sales for Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl following its launch at the Cannes market.

Established in 1932, Japan’s Toho Group has grown into a film-industry powerhouse, not only at home but globally. Working across production, distribution and exhibition, it has recently been on an expansion spree, reeling in box office around the world and with recognition from major awards bodies. 

Jamie Lang Brazil’s O2 Play, the distribution arm of O2 Filmes group, will host a Cannes market screening for director Marcelo Gomes‘ latest feature, “Portrait of a Certain Orient,” on Friday, May 17 at 1:30 p.m. in Lerins 4. Ahead of the screening, O2 has given Variety exclusive access to the romantic period drama’s international trailer.

Jamie Lang Buenos Aires-based production, sales, and distribution outfit FilmSharks is hosting a pair of market screenings for David Bisbano‘s animated feature “Dalia and the Red Book” at this year’s Marché du Film, and Variety has been given exclusive access to the first English-language trailer for the film. “Dalia” will screen twice at this year’s market, on Thursday, May 16, at 2:00 p.m. in Palais E and on Friday, May 17, at 9:30 a.m.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Seoul-based film sales company, Finecut has notched pre-sales for its upcoming action-comedy “The Desperate Chase, which it is launching this week at the Cannes Film Festival‘s Cannes Market,. The film is an action comedy featuring a hot-blooded detective and a swindler who is also a master of disguise who team up to combat an evil mafia. Early rights buyers include Rights Cube for Japan, Apex Success Global for Taiwan and Mockingbird Pictures for Vietnam. Screening as a rough cut in the Cannes Market, the film is the second feature by Kim Jae-hoon, known for his debut with the body-switch action thriller “Devils,” which released in South Korea last year.

In 2020, Magnus von Horn was excited to find that his film Sweat had been accepted into the Official Selection at Cannes, a big step up from his debut, The Here After, which made Directors’ Fortnight in 2015. The pandemic put an end to that, but his disappointment was short-lived; this year, his dark atmospheric follow-up, The Girl With the Needle, sees him joining the big league. “This is huge to me,” he beams. “The main competition!”

Keanu Reeves (John Wick) is now confirmed for Ruben Östlund’s anticipated upcoming film The Entertainment System Is Down and we can reveal that he’ll be joined in the cast by Kirsten Dunst (Civil War) and Daniel Brühl (Rush).

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.

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).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Uncork’d Entertainment has pre-bought multi-territory rights to upcoming Argentinian-produced action-horror film “Eyes of the Abyss” ahead of its showcase in Cannes next week. Uncork’d has picked up the film, which is currently in post-production, for North America, the U.K. and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Be For Films has acquired international sales rights to “Mothers Don’t” (“Las madres no”) directed by celebrated Spanish filmmaker Mar Coll. The film marks her third directorial outing following “Three Days with the Family“ and “We All Want What’s Best for Her.” The movie tells the story of María, a young writer who has just become a mother, and becomes obsessed by the highly publicized case of a woman who drowned her 10-month old twins in the bathtub.

EXCLUSIVE: Newly launched Dubai-based sales company MAD World has acquired worldwide rights to Egyptian director Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away, a tense African migrant drama shooting later this year in Egypt.

A five-part doc series exploring the life of late South African President and freedom fighter Nelson Mandela is being readied with his personal archivists providing material. Dogwoof has boarded Mandela: Life (working title) and will launch it the Cannes Market this month.

EXCLUSIVE: London-based sales outfit Rapt Films International has acquired worldwide sales rights to Benjamin Howard’s debut US film Riley and will launch sales at the upcoming Cannes Market. 

EXCLUSIVE: The in-demand Sydney Sweeney, coming off hit rom-com Anyone But You and horror pic Immaculate, is shifting gears again as she is set to portray trailblazing boxer Christy Martin in a new biopic which could be a knockout for buyers at the Cannes market where Black Bear will be launching.

EXCLUSIVE: Pascal Caucheteux’s Why Not Productions is joining Alexander Rodnyansky’s AR Content to produce Beanpole helmer Kantemir Balagov’s first English-language film Butterfly Jam. Goodfellas is set to launch sales on the project in Cannes next week. 

EXCLUSIVE: We understand Dwayne Johnson is due to be at the Cannes market next week to discuss upcoming A24 wrestling pic The Smashing Machine with potential buyers.

Naman Ramachandran Raven Banner Entertainment will launch international sales at the Cannes Film Market for Steven Kostanski‘s latest feature “Frankie Freako.” Kostanski’s previous feature “Psycho Goreman” premiered at SXSW in 2020 and gathered a cult following worldwide. Reviewing the film for Variety, critic Owen Gleiberman described the film as “‘The Toxic Avenger’ remade by the Robert Rodriguez of ‘Spy Kids.'” “Frankie Freako” is described by Raven Banner as Kostanki’s homage to the practical-FX-driven monster horror-comedies of the 1980s like “Gremlins 2” and “Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College.” It tells the story of workaholic yuppie Conor Sweeney (“The Editor,” “Father’s Day”) whose perfect life is turned upside down when he accidentally unleashes a trio of tiny trouble-makers into his home, led by the maniacal rock-n-roll party monster Frankie Freako.

EXCLUSIVE: Director Haifaa Al Mansour is returning to her native Saudi Arabia for the shoot of crime feature Unidentified, exploring the reality of women amid the current period of immense social change in the country.