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CANNES 2019 Marché du Film

BFI, BBC Films and Film4 announce Great 8 showcase for Cannes’ Marché du Film

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- For the third year running at Cannes, the initiative will showcase eight exciting new UK projects currently in post-production

BFI, BBC Films and Film4 announce Great 8 showcase for Cannes’ Marché du Film
Actor-director Simon Bird on the set of his directorial debut, Days of the Bagnold Summer

Ensuring strong visibility for UK independent productions at the Cannes Marché du Film, Great 8 is backed by the UK’s three leading film financiers (the BFIBBC Films and Film4), the British Council and the UK government’s own GREAT campaign. At a private reception on Tuesday 14 May at the Hôtel Gray d’Albion, a selection of footage from eight films by up-and-coming British directors will be showcased to industry heavyweights and potential buyers. Past attendees have included Apple and Sony Pictures, along with French-based The Jokers and the Netherlands’ Cherry Pickers

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Standout titles this year include Nick Rowland’s Irish crime-thriller Calm With Horses [+see also:
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]
, starring Cosmo Jarvis (Lady Macbeth [+see also:
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interview: William Oldroyd
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]
) and Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk [+see also:
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), which has Michael Fassbender on board as executive producer. Days of the Bagnold Summer [+see also:
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interview: Simon Bird
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, the directorial debut by The Inbetweeners [+see also:
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 lead Simon Bird, is another title on the line-up with high-profile talent. Both films have Altitude Films attached as their international sales agent.

Another significant entry is Claire Oakley’s psychological drama Make Up [+see also:
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, starring Molly Windsor and produced by Emily Morgan (I Am Not a Witch [+see also:
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interview: Rungano Nyoni
film profile
]
), one of this year's 2019 EFP Producers on the Move. It was made in collaboration with Creative England and iFeatures (responsible for significant recent British films like Lady Macbeth and God’s Own Country [+see also:
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interview: Francis Lee
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]
). Protagonist Pictures is selling, with Lilting [+see also:
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]
 director Hong Khao’s Monsoon and Rose Glass’s female-focused horror Saint Maud [+see also:
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interview: Rose Glass
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]
 rounding off its contribution to Great 8’s slate of films.

The line-up is completed by Lynn + Lucy [+see also:
film review
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interview: Fyzal Boulifa
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]
 (directed by Fyzal BoulifaCharades), Perfect 10 [+see also:
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 (helmed by Eva RileyThe Bureau) and Wildfire [+see also:
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interview: Cathy Brady
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 (directed by Cathy BradyGreat Point Media).

The British Council’s director of film, Briony Hanson, said regarding the announcement: “There is a very broad range of voices on show here from a diverse group of filmmakers, and I think the selection shifts the boundaries of what UK film looks like.” 

Notable movies showcased at earlier editions of Great 8 include Michael Pearce’s BAFTA-winning, Jersey-set thriller Beast [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Pearce
film profile
]
, which provided Jessie Buckley with her breakthrough role, along with Brian Welsh’s love letter to the rave scene Beats [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the opener of the Limelight section at this year’s IFFR.

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