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CANNES 2014 Market / UK

A Perfect Day for WestEnd at the Marché

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- CANNES 2014: Buyers at Cannes are keen to invest in the Benicio del Toro starrer A Perfect Day

A Perfect Day for WestEnd at the Marché
Fernando León de Aranoa (centre) with the cast of A Perfect Day

A few days away from the market wrap, WestEnd Films is on the verge of closing pre-sales on Spanish director Fernando León de Aranoa’s English-language debut, A Perfect Day, starring Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins, Olga Kurylenko and Mélanie Laurent.

The film, produced by Spain’s Reposado Producciones and Mediapro, is a comedy-drama about four aid workers with contrasting personalities dealing with extraordinary circumstances in a conflict zone. WestEnd Films’ head of international sales, Fabien Westerhoff, told Cineuropa: “The promo shown at Cannes has attracted a lot of interest, and we are expecting to close several deals.” Filming ends later this month, and the UK sales agent now has Berlin or Cannes 2015 in its sights.

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Another high-profile title on WestEnd’s Cannes line-up is in a bidding war, according to Westerhoff: Michael Winterbottom’s The Face of an Angel, starring Daniel Brühl and Kate Beckinsale. The film, inspired by the Amanda Knox case, follows a filmmaker trying to uncover the truth behind a sensational murder in Italy. “Again, the film offers a very attractive package with a big-name director and recognisable actors in a thriller set in Italy,” continued Westerhoff. The title will be ready for Venice or Toronto. 

The London-based financing and world sales company’s other flagship titles at Cannes are the Critics’ Week entry Self Made [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Israeli-born Shira Geffen and the Un Certain Regard selection Titli by India’s Kanu Behl. “These two arthouse pick-ups are exceptions in our commercially orientated line-up, but they stem from the personal relationship we have with the directors,” said Westerhoff. 

Other titles that have been well received at Cannes include the Irish animation film Song of the Sea by Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Didier Brunner
interview: Tomm Moore
interview: Viviane Vanfleteren
film profile
]
), pre-sold to GKids in the US, Studio Canal in the UK and Haut et Court in France. 

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