02/08/2019 - The French firm is selling the second feature film by Swiss director Basil Da Cunha which will be vying for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival

O fim do mundo by Basil Da Cunha

Building on the success of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where it negotiated on behalf of The Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: GoCritic! Interview: Kristi…
interview: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Val…
film profile], the work by Bulgarian directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov which walked away with the Crystal Globe for Best Film, the French international sales company Wide Management will be travelling to the 72nd Locarno Film Festival (running 7 to 17 August) with yet another impressive asset in its line-up: O fim do mundo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Basil Da Cunha
film profile] by Swiss filmmaker Basil Da Cunha, which finds itself in the running for the Golden Leopard.

Discovered in 2013 in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight (where his short films Sunfish and The Living Also Cry had previously been selected in 2011 and 2012) with his first full-length film After the Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Basil da Cunha
film profile], the 1985-born filmmaker takes a second plunge into the district of Reboleira in O fim do mundo (for which he also wrote the screenplay), where a slum on the outskirts of Lisbon is in the process of being demolished. The story follows in the footsteps of Spira who is returning to the area after eight years spent in a correctional facility for young offenders. As he reunites with his friends and family, Kikas, one of the neighbourhood’s most longstanding dealers, makes it known that Spira isn’t welcome. As the bulldozers whir into action, everyone tries to hold onto their dreams, including Iara, whom Spira talls in love with, or Giovani who will do anything it takes to become one of the biggest dealers in town…

Starring Michael Spencer, Marco Joel Fernandes, Alexandre Da Costa Fonseca, Iara Cristina Cardoso and Luisa Martins Dos Santos, O fim do mundo will have its world premiere in Locarno on 13 August. It’s produced by Julien Rouyet and Kaspar Schiltknecht on behalf of Thera Production (a firm based in Lausanne), with support from the Swiss public broadcasting organisation RTS. The film’s release in Switzerland will be helmed by Sister Distribution.

(Translated from French)