Intramovies Sells Venice Horizons Winner ‘Paradise Is Burning’ in Key Territories Ahead of Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Out of the Cannes market, Sony Pictures Classics has bought North American rights and a raft of international territories on Walter Salles‘ anticipated first narrative feature in more than a decade: I’m Still Here.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off its acquisition of Francis Ford Coppola‘s “Megalopolis,” Italy’s leading independent distributor Eagle Pictures has scooped Italian remake rights to French smash hit “A Little Something Extra,” along with a raft of high-profile projects shopped at the Cannes Film Market. The company, which is owned by veteran producer-distributor Tarak Ben Ammar, will produce and distribute the Italian remake of “A Little Something Extra” (“Un Ptit truc en plus), Artus’ heartwarming family comedy which has taken the French box office by storm, selling a whooping 3.4 million tickets in theaters in three weeks. “It’s a delightful film about a father and his son who rob a little jewelry shop in a small town and as they’re looking a place to hide, they get on a bus without realizing that it’s taking them to a summer camp for young adults with disabilities,” Ben Ammar said.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Match Factory has finalized global sales for the Cannes competition title “The Substance,” directed by Coralie Fargeat and starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. The Match Factory has sold to Italy (I Wonder Pictures), Spain (Elastica Films), Scandinavia (Nonstop Entertainment), South Korea (Challan), Hong Kong (Golden Scene Company), CIS (VLG.FILM LTD.), Ukraine and Baltics (Adastra Cinema), Taiwan (Catchplay), Australia and New Zealand (Madman Entertainment), Poland (Monolith), Greece (Feelgood Entertainment), the former Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), Bulgaria (Beta Film) and Romania (Independenta Film 97).

EXCLUSIVE: Francis Ford Coppola‘s $120 million passion project Megalopolis has closed a fresh raft of deals following its buzzy world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival last week. 

Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino ascended the red carpet here this evening for his latest Cannes competition entry, Parthenope, which was welcomed by a nine-minute standing ovation.

Paolo Sorrentino has done a wide range of films but until his most personal, The Hand Of God two years ago (a prize winner in Venice) he had not returned to Naples, the land of his youth except for the very first feature he made, 2001’s One Man Up. Since then though he has been to Cannes with his films 6 times, and his impressive list of movies have included The Consequences Of Love, Il Divo, Loro, and his Oscar winning The Great Beauty. There have been more mixed reactions for his starry English language films as well like Youth and This Must Be The Place, but Italy seems to drive his creative mojo and may be closest to his heart is the current phase of his filmmaking career when he has found new inspiration by going back to his youth, first in The Hand Of God which closely reflected his own coming of age in Naples, and now his latest, Parthenope which reflects the youth he wished he had experienced. Instead he moved away to a whole new career in film (that was indicated at the end of Hand Of God). It had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Tuesday night.

EXCLUSIVE: After seeing her debut feature Palimpsest win an HFPA Special Prize at the Venice Film Festival, Finnish writer-director Hanna Västinsalo has found her follow-up project in Will O’ the Wisp.

EXCLUSIVE: Paolo Sorrentino‘s anticipated new movie Parthenope has sold around the world for Pathé here in Cannes where the film is playing in Competition.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off its buzzy world premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, Oscar-nominated Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson’s poignant drama “When The Light Breaks” has sold to a raft of territories. Represented in international markets by The Party Film Sales, the movie has been picked up for Italy (Movies Inspired), Switzerland (Xenix), Norway (Arthaus), Denmark (Ost for Paradis), Finland (Cinemanse), Hungary (Vertigo), Greece (Cinobo), Israel (New Cinema), Poland (Aurora), Turkey (Bir Film) and Baltics (Estofilm).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film.

Annika Pham Billed the ‘Trollywood’ of the North for its close ties to talent, the leading Scandinavian regional film fund Film i Väst in Sweden’s Trollhättan has boarded the Noomi Rapace starrer “Mother, to be helmed by Macedonia’s Teona Stugar Mitevska. The biopic, in which Rapace will play the legendary religious figure Mother Teresa, will mark the English-language debut of esteemed auteur Mitevska, credited for the 2019 Berlin entry “God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya”.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent German actors Elisa Schlott (“Das Boot” TV series), Max Riemelt (“Sleeping Dog”) and Alma Hasun (“Corsage”) are set to star in Italian director Silvio Soldini‘s drama “The Tasters,” which reconstructs the untold true story of the women conscripted to be Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. Shooting is set to start on Friday in Italy’s northern Alto Adige region on the Nazi-era drama, which is being pre-sold at the Cannes Marché du Film by Rome-based Vision Distribution, headed by sales agent Catia Rossi.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Beta Cinema has closed a slew of international territory sales on its resistance epic “William Tell,” Nick Hamm’s adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s play. WME Independent represents domestic rights.

Jamie Lang International sales and distribution outfit Pink Parrot Media has closed several key deals for Doce Entertainment and Mr. Miyagi Films’ animated kids and family feature “Hanna and the Monsters.” Agreements have been made with World Visions for CIS, Boxoo for South Korea, Front Row for the Middle East, GPI for the Baltics, Cinetel for Hungary, Wediacorp for Turkey and Movie Company for Benelux.

K.J. Yossman This year’s Cannes is set to be the most activist-heavy yet.

Naman Ramachandran The film adaptation of popular comic strip “Natacha (Almost) Air Hostess” boasts an all-star cast. The cast includes Camille Lou (“Anthracite”), Vincent Dedienne (“We Can Be Heroes”), Fabrice Luchini (“The Empire”), Didier Bourdon (“Cocorico), Elsa Zylberstein (“Coup de Chance”), Isabelle Adjani (“Wingwomen”) and Baptiste Lecaplain (“Meet the Leroys”). The film is loosely based on the comic strip of the same name created by screenwriter François Walthéry, which was published by Editions Dupuy, and which comprises 23 albums and has sold more than five million copies.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor European Film Promotion is playing host at the Cannes Film Festival to 20 up-and-coming European producers, selected for its Producers on the Move program. Variety invited the producers to share details of their upcoming projects. Katharina Posch, Austria“I’m Not Here to Make Friends”Director: Julia Niemann“I’m Not Here to Make Friends” is a sleek and sunny psycho thriller about a reality TV show set on a remote island.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor As Cannes Film Festival kicks off, the Paris-based international sales company MK2 Films has revealed it has acquired three films and made substantial investments in new restorations, set against the backdrop of a strong presence at Cannes Classics. MK2 Films has entered into a collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation on the global rights (excluding the U.S.) for two films directed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle: “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” (1976) and “Daddy” (1973).

Annika Pham Rome-based sales outfit Intramovies has picked up international rights to “Uncle Jens,” the directorial debut of Norwegian helmer of Kurdish origin Brwa Vahabpour, credited for the hit series “Countrymen.” Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski, associate producer on “The Worst Person in the World,” is producing for True Content Production, the Oslo branch of Scandi group True Content Entertainment, headed by Yellow Bird founder Ole Søndberg. Anda Ionescu of Bucharest-based Tangaj Production serves as co-producer.

Alex Ritman Bill Murray has joined the cast of “Riff Raff,” the upcoming crime comedy from director Dito Montiel set to feature Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”), Ed Harris (“Love Lies Bleeding”) Gabrielle Union (“The Inspection”), Lewis Pullman (“Top Gun: Maverick”), Emanuela Postacchini (“Robots”), Miles J. Harvey (“American Vandal”) and Pete Davidson (“The King of Staten Island”).