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VENICE 2019 Venice Production Bridge

Playtime sets sail for Venice and Toronto

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- The French sales agent’s slate boasts 3 films being showcased on the Lido, 2 of which are competing for the Golden Lion, 4 on the programme of the Canadian festival and 6 titles in post-production

Playtime sets sail for Venice and Toronto
An Officer and a Spy by Roman Polanski

French international sales agent Playtime is all set to tout its tantalising line-up, brimming with 13 features, at the 76th Venice Film Festival (28 August-7 September 2019) and the 44th Toronto Film Festival (5-15 September).

On the Lido, Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, François Yon, Sébastien Beffa, Valery Guibal and Frédérique Rouault’s team will be pinning its hopes on three films being world-premiered, two of which are taking part in the competition: An Officer and a Spy [+see also:
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by Roman Polanski (which is scheduled to be unveiled on Friday 30 August, with a cast including Jean DujardinLouis Garrel, Emmanuelle SeignerGrégory Gadebois, Melvil Poupaud and Mathieu Amalric; French release set for 13 November, courtesy of Gaumont) and Guest of Honour by Canada’s Atom Egoyan (due to premiere on Tuesday 3 September), which will then be screened at Toronto, in the Special Presentations section.

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At Venice, Playtime will also enjoy a significant presence in the Giornate degli Autori with the Italian-Belgian-French co-production 5 Is the Perfect Number [+see also:
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interview: Igort
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by Italy’s Igort (toplined by Toni Servillo and Valeria Golino – world premiere on Thursday 29 August, and due to be released in Italian theatres the same day via 01 Distribuzione; it will land in French cinemas on 16 October, courtesy of Nour Films).

Three other movies on Playtime’s slate have also been selected at Toronto. Red Fields [+see also:
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by Keren Yedaya (an adaptation of Hillel Mittelpunkt’s rock opera Mami produced by Israel, Luxembourg and Germany) will have its international premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema programme, where the Canadian flick White Lie by Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis will be world-premiered, while Zombi Child [+see also:
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by France’s Bertrand Bonello, which was popular in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, is part of the Masters line-up.

Playtime, which will be pressing on with sales for Valérie Donzelli’s Notre Dame [+see also:
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(unveiled recently at Locarno, on the Piazza Grande) at Venice and Toronto, will also be negotiating pre-sales for six features currently in post-production. Standing out among them are Summer of 85 [+see also:
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by François Ozon, Comes Morning by Japan’s Naomi Kawase, and Memory Box [+see also:
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interview: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil J…
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by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (starring Rim Turki, Manal Issa and Paloma Vauthier – produced by France, Lebanon and Canada). Other recent additions to the line-up include the French films My Donkey, My Lover & I [+see also:
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by France’s Caroline Vignal and Playlist [+see also:
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interview: Nine Antico
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by Nine Antico, both in post-production. Interestingly, all of these titles will be pre-sold based on their screenplays (except for the Ozon film, the exact plot of which is still being kept under wraps), while the Australian western High Ground by Stephen Maxwell Johnson will be sold based on a promo reel.

And so Playtime looks set to negotiate some solid deals – and that’s not to mention the business that will no doubt be drummed up by its subsidiaries: Films Boutique in Germany (which will have high hopes for Pelican Blood [+see also:
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interview: Katrin Gebbe
film profile
]
and Verdict in the Orizzonti section at Venice, among other titles), Be For Films in Belgium and Film Constellation in the UK.

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(Translated from French)

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