Sola Media Closes Multiple Territory Sales on ‘The Sloth Lane’ Ahead of Annecy World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

The Artist Oscar winner Michel Hazanavicius returned to the Cannes Competition this evening with animated fairy tale feature The Most Precious of Cargoes. The warm applause for the film inside the Grand Théâtre Lumière went on for 10 minutes.

This afternoon, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof debuted his latest feature, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, in Competition here at the Cannes Film Festival to a nearly 15-minute standing ovation.

Jennifer Lopez doesn’t want any questions about what’s going on with her and Ben Affleck, and she made sure everyone knew it before the premiere of her new film Atlas. Whether some folks listened to the warning is a different story!

Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light landed a hearty eight minute standing ovation following its debut this evening at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Now a Cannes veteran, French filmmaker Christophe Honoré has returned to the Competition with the world premiere of Marcello Mio, his French-Italian comedy that stars longtime collaborator Chiara Mastroianni — who, in the film, adopts the persona and appearance of her late father, Marcello Mastroianni. The movie received applause that lasted a touch over eight minutes during its unveiling this evening.

Demi Moore made her debut in the Cannes Film Festival’s official selection Sunday evening with the competition title The Substance. The much-anticipated blood-splattered horror thriller from French director Coralie Fargeat was met with 13-minute ovation, the longest for a title so far at this year’s festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Atoms & Void, the Netherlands-based production and sales company run by Sergei Loznitsa and Maria Choustova, has closed a French sale on Loznitsa’s most recent feature documentary “The Invasion,” which premiered on Thursday as a Special Screening in Cannes. Potemkine Films has taken all rights for France, while the film’s French co-producer ARTE France maintains its exclusive TV/VOD window.

Christopher Vourlias Urban Sales has closed a raft of deals on the upcoming animated feature “Into the Wonderwoods” ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Special Screenings section. The film, which bows with a special screening May 22 at the prestigious French fest, has sold to 45 territories, the Paris-based sales outfit announced during the Cannes Market. Pic has sold to Volga for the CIS territories and the Baltics; Selim Ramia & Co.

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.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Manila-based production outfit Parallax Studio and entertainment company Saga Film Studios have formed a joint venture that will distribute the two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” in the Philippines. The deal is the first of a number of acquisitions planned by the joint venture. The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Tennis champion Naomi Osaka’s company Hana Kuma has boarded Leonardo Van Dijl’s debut feature “Julie Keeps Quiet” ahead of its world premiere on Saturday in Cannes Critics’ Week. The film is being sold by New Europe Film Sales. Osaka and her longtime agent and business partner Stuart Duguid’s Hana Kuma, an Emmy Award-nominated creative house, will serve as executive producers on the film.

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.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Religion, Karl Marx said, is the opiate of the masses. Today, he would likely say that the opiate of the masses is fame — the desire for it, the things you have to do to get it, the fragmentary nature of it (the old “15 minutes” is now, in many cases, more like 15 seconds), and everything it’s supposed to bring you. The new fame, the lusty fickle kind bred by social media, is at the center of “Wild Diamond,” a startlingly bold and true French drama that premiered today at Cannes.

George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the anticipated latest installment in his apocalyptic franchise, had its world premiere here at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor France TV Distribution has closed several territory deals for Sylvain Desclous’ “The Victoria System,” starring Damien Bonnard and Jeanne Balibar. The film has been acquired by Spentzos in Greece, Divisa Red in Spain, Arna Media in the CIS, NK Content in South Korea, AVJET in Taïwan and Mars in Turkey. The film centers on David Kolski, who is overseeing the construction of the highest tower ever built in France.

Ben Croll Shortly before last year’s Cannes Film Festival, director Sophie Fillières attended a cast and crew screening of “Anatomy of a Fall.” The filmmaker had a supporting role in the film, playing the deceased’s sister, and she soon celebrated her work’s Palme d’Or win from afar, hanging back in Paris, where she was preparing to shoot her seventh feature, “This Life of Mine.” The five-week production kicked off in late June, running smoothly and wrapping on the last day of July. The next day, Fillières checked into the hospital; in less than a month, she was gone.

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”).

The official teaser trailer for the upcoming movie Megalopolis has been revealed and Francis Ford Coppola is teasing the film as his “best work ever.”

Jamie Lang The Annecy International Animation Film Festival has become an increasingly important marketing opportunity for major U.S. studios to show off their upcoming animated offerings. This year, Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to the Showdown Productions feature In Flight, which the company is bringing to sales at the Cannes Film Festival.