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CANNES 2015 Distribution / France

Four aces for Ad Vitam

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- CANNES 2015: Four films awarded on the Croisette stand out on the French distributor’s line-up, including Son of Saul and Mustang

Four aces for Ad Vitam
Mustang by Deniz Gamze Ergüven

The 68th Cannes Film Festival truly smiled upon Paris-based distribution company Ad Vitam, managed by Alexandra Henochsberg (backed up by Gregory Gajos on the acquisitions side of the business), which will be releasing four titles awarded on the Croisette in French theatres: the Grand Prix winner Son of Saul [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: László Nemes
interview: László Rajk
film profile
]
by Hungarian director László Nemes (read the review and the interview), which will be out in France in November; the winner of the Best Director Award, The Assassin by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao Hsien (released on 6 January 2016); Mustang [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
film profile
]
by Turkey’s Deniz Gamze Ergüven (read the review - Europa Cinemas Label in the Directors’ Fortnight – released on 17 June); and Paulina [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Argentinean filmmaker Santiago Mitre (read the review), which snagged the Grand Prix in the Critics’ Week and which does not yet have a French release date.

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"It’s been the best Cannes in the history of Ad Vitam," Alexandra Henochsberg declared to Cineuropa. "We got there feeling very confident, with some truly accomplished works. We’ve often had films selected over the years, but Cannes can turn out to be really brutal for the more demanding films. The result this year is splendid; it represents the successful culmination of all our work in distribution and acquisition. For a distributor, a selection in competition already changes everything, but with a major prize into the bargain, it’s a real blessing. We acquired Son of Saul at Berlin, going on the screenplay and a short trailer that was less than two minutes long. It was a gamble, as it was a feature debut, a young Hungarian director, the subject matter... But it had such strong direction, and there was this idea that in the 21st century, remembrance will come about through fiction. We will be bringing out the movie next November.

"On 17 June, we will launch Mustang, which generated a real buzz in the Directors’ Fortnight. We acquired it based on the screenplay, thanks to our very strong relationship with its French producer, Charles Gillibert (CG Cinéma). The French co-production system enables distributors like us to focus on European films, which provides invaluable assistance for our work and for the movies." 

Also featuring on Ad Vitam’s line-up are two other titles unveiled at Cannes: the competition entry Mountains May Depart [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Chinese director Jia Zhangke (set to be released on 9 December) and Les deux amis [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by French director Louis Garrel (read the review – popular as a Special Screening in the Critics’ Week – release scheduled for 23 September).

Also of note among Ad Vitam’s forthcoming releases are Difret by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari (the winner of the Audience Award in the World Dramatic section at Sundance and in the Panorama section at the Berlinale last year) on 8 July and 45 Years [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Andrew Haigh
film profile
]
by British director Andrew Haigh (which snagged the Best Actor and Best Actress Awards at Berlin this year) in November.

For the record, the French distributor recently released such titles as The Wonders [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Rohrwacher
interview: Tiziana Soudani
film profile
]
by Italy’s Alice Rohrwacher, Whiplash by Damien Chazelle and the British title '71 [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Yann Demange
film profile
]
by Yann Demange in France.

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(Translated from French)

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