23/02/2007

Just back from the European Film Market, French sales outfit Films Distribution has communicated to Cineuropa its acquisitions at the Berlin market, with negotiations on several competition titles in the final phase (see article).

According to Didar Domehri, head of international sales at Films Distribution, Pascale Ferran’s Louis Delluc winner and nine-time Cesar nominee Lady Chatterley [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – enthusiastically received at its Panorama screening – is reported as being one of the outfit’s best buys.

Rights to the film have been acquired by the US, Canada, Brazil, Australia and South Korea. The film was also snapped up by European distributors, including for the UK (Artificial Eye), Greece (Rosebud), Eastern Europe (SPI), Switzerland (Agora), Scandinavia (Future Films), Belgium (Imagine) and Austria (Stadtkino Filmverleih). Deals with Spain and Italy are soon to be signed.

Moreover, Rachid Bouchareb’s Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for his Days of Glory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean Bréhat
interview: Rachid Bouchareb
film profile] (see Focus) has helped sales. Territories having bought the title to date include Japan, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Hollywood Classic Entertainment), Bulgaria (Sunny Film), Indonesia, the UK (Metrodome Distribution), Spain (Notro Films), Denmark (Ost For Paradis), Sweden (Folkets Bio), Belgium (Belga Film), Poland (Gaby), the Netherlands, Turkey, Brazil, China, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and North America (Weinstein Company and IFC Films).

Other titles sold by Films Distribution included What Makes You Happy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabrizio Rongione
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile] (see Focus), helmed by Belgium’s Joachim Lafosse, which was bought by Haut et Court for France.

Directing duo Eric Gutierrez and Marco Villamizar’s animated film Piccolo, Saxo & Cie [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see article) was picked up by the Weinstein Company for English-speaking territories and South America at the AFM, and by SPI for Eastern Europe and Thailand at Berlin.

Michel Spinosa’s Anna M. [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see news) found takers in Belgium (Victory), Switzerland and Mexico, while negotiations on Rodolphe Marconi’s documentary Lagerfeld Confidential (see article) are well underway for Spain and the UK.

Lastly, Diego Martinez Vignatti’s Belgian production La Marea (in competition at Rotterdam) was bought for France by Bodega Films and Ferzan Ozpetek’s Italian feature Saturno Contro, opening in Italy this Friday, was pre-sold to several territories, including Spain.

(Translated from French)