Valentina Merli and Pyramide under the spotlight at Venice
Recently appointed new Head of International Sales at Pyramide, taking over from Pascale Josse, Valentina Merli could not have wished for a better time to start her position, with five features from the French company lined up in the different selections at the upcoming 63rd Venice International Film Festival (August 30-September 9).
Two films have been selected in official competition: The Untouchable [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Benoît Jacquot (a Sangcho production in co-production with Arte France Cinéma – see news) and Dry Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Chad director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun.
Produced by French outfit Chinguitty Films (directed by filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako), Dry Season, which received co-production financing from Arte France Cinéma, Belgian outfit Entre Chien et Loup and the Austrian 2006 New Crowned Hope Festival, recounts the misadventures of a teenager in search of her father's murderer. Haroun’s second feature, Our Father, was screened at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight in 2002.
Pyramide also has high hopes at Venice for a title selected in the Horizons sidebar: Opera Jawa by Garin Nugroho, an Indonesian/Austrian co-production that also received financing from the New Crowned Hope Festival.
Meanwhile, the Venice Days section includes two features from the French international sales outfit. First in line is Jean-Pascal Hattu’s debut feature 7 years [+see also:
trailer
film profile], starring Bruno Todeschini, Valérie Donzelli, Cyril Troley, Pablo De La Torre and Nadia Kaci.
Produced by Films du Bélier for a budget of €770,000 and funded by an advance on receipts from the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), the film tells the story of Maïté, who is married to Vincent who has just been imprisoned. Now corridors and visiting rooms constitute their only intimate moments.
Pyramide’s second title to be screened in Venice Days is Meanwhile by Argentina’s Diego Lerman, co-produced by Fabienne Vonier for Pyramide Productions.
(Translated from French)
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