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Grégoire Melin • Seller

Kinology: "very unusual and ambitious projects"

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After its dazzling launch at last May’s Cannes Film Festival selling the Public Enemy Number One [+see also:
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diptych, French company Kinology – headed by Grégoire Melin (former director of international sales at EuropaCorp) – has quickly established itself on the international market. Here is an overview of the strong titles Kinology has lined up for Berlin’s European Film Market.

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Cineuropa: What was your motivation for setting up Kinology?
Grégoire Melin: The idea is to find very unusual and ambitious projects. I was perfectly happy at EuropaCorp when young producer Aton Soumache (Onyx Films) came to see me with several very interesting films in development (including the highly original The Prodigies, which has just finished shooting) for which he was looking for international financing. Along with him and his co-producer Marc Missonnier (Fidélité Films), I met Frédérique Dumas of Studio 37 (Orange), who at the time was looking for an independent sales company to represent the films for which Orange acquires the sales, French distribution and video rights in exchange for co-production support.

I came along at the right time and I launched Kinology. I have a right of first access to Orange’s films and my aim is also to support them in their choice of more international projects. This happened on a local level with Alain Goldman’s project: My Own Love Song by Olivier Dahan (see news), starring Renee Zellweger and Forest Withaker. We’ll show the first reels of the film at Berlin.

What is your development strategy?
For the moment, I’m taking things slowly, but even so I’m working on big films. I try to limit myself to around ten titles per year because I believe that, beyond this amount, you can’t focus properly on each film. And when I meet people, what they remember most about Kinology are the totally new and visionary projects such as Juan SolanasUpside Down (Onyx Films); Andrew Niccol’s The Cross, starring Orlando Bloom and Vincent Cassel (German/Australian/French co-production); and Johnnie To’s Vengeance, starring Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Testud (majority French production).

What are your expectations of the European Film Market 2009?
We’re just waiting to see how the market goes because we’re aware of the current economic situation, which could become structural. We’re all having nightmares about the fact there are no acquisitions, but you have to remain positive. Berlin is a very enjoyable market that has successfully expanded. There’s little interaction between the rather elitist festival and the market, but the latter benefits from the atmosphere of the festival without the frenzy of Cannes. Meetings with buyers are quieter, yet all the true professionals are there.

In international market première, we’re presenting Nicolas Saada’s Spy(ies) (“Spies”), starring Guillaume Canet. Our slate also includes Joann Sfar’s Gainsbourg (see news) which has just started shooting; Mathieu Kassovitz’s Rebellion (see news), whose cast is sure to be announced at Cannes; Alain Tasma’s Ultimatum (formerly known as La Loi du plus fort - see news); Eric Valette’s thriller Une affaire d'Etat (“An Affair of State”, see news); Emma Luchini’s Sweet Valentine; Olivier Doran’s Le coach; So Close, So Far by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache; as well as the documentary One (previously The Titanic Scenario) by Nicolas Hulot and Jean-Albert Lièvre (currently in the editing stage).

At Berlin, I’m also going to wrap up sales for François Dupeyron’s With a Little Help From Myself [+see also:
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film profile
]
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