13/12/2012 - Miguel Gomes' fascinating film has had an remarkable first week in French cinemas, with tickets selling out at some Parisian cinemas

Released on 46 copies by its co-producer Shellac, Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes' Tabu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile], which was awarded at the last Berlinale, has made a good start in French cinemas. With 34,237 admissions in its first week, it holds the third best average of tickets sold per copy of a new release behind two star-studded films (the American Killing Them Softly and the British Anna Karenina [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). Better still, it was fully sold out last weekend in several Parisian cinemas like the MK2 Beaubourg, the Sept Parnassiens, and Le Balzac. Very good results were also recorded is several towns outside the capital such as Nantes, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Grenoble, and Strasbourg, in a distribution strategy that focused exclusively on independent cinemas (with the exception of the MK2 circuit).

"This start is a little beyond our hopes, even if we really believed in it and the reviews were very good," said Thomas Ordonneau, who directs Shellac. "We distributed Miguel's first film and since we have co-produced his films too. Our Beloved Month of August [+see also:
trailer
film profile] was a notable success in 2009, which set the way for Tabu. Since Berlin, where the first press screening really sparked off its career, we have worked the film with lots of premieres and screenings at many festivals in France. But there was no onslaught in advertising. Now, our objective is to make sure that the film lasts out until after the holiday season because it will then screen on 122 copies in the selection of the Télérama Festival to start on January 16."

Ordonneau also told Cineuropa that the screenplay for Gomes' next film, Mille et une nuits (lit. "A thousand and one nights" - again to be produced by O Som e a Fúria and co-produced by Shellac) should be ready in January so the film can enter its funding phase.

Shellac's 2013 line-up for distribution is to include Thomas Lacoste's documentary Notre monde (lit. "Our world" - out on March 13) and Antonin Peretjatko's La fille du 14 juillet (lit. "The girl from July 14" - in June). Then towards the end of 2013 - beginning of 2014, it is notably to release Pia Marais' Layla Fourie as well as Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's L'Etrange couleur des larmes de ton corps (lit. "The strange colour of your body's tears").

Since it was founded about ten years ago, Shellac has distributed the films of, among others, Pedro Costa, Béla Tarr, Cristi Puiu, Chantal Akerman, Anca Hirte, João Nicolau, Raya Martin, José Luis Guerin, the duo Joana Hadjithomas - Khalil Joreige, Valérie Donzelli, Arnaud des Pallières, Frédéric Videau, Serge Bozon, Claire Simon, Jean-Claude Brisseau, Emmanuel Mouret, and Nicolas Klotz.

(Translated from French)