15/01/2019 - Divine Love is in competition at Sundance, and pre-sales are getting under way for Claus Drexel’s Under The Stars of Paris and Martin Provost’s How to Be a Good Wife

The international sales division of French company Memento Films is kicking off 2019 at full pelt. The team managed by Émilie Georges and led by head of sales Tanja Meissner will spring into action at the 21st Rendez-vous With French Cinema in Paris (17-21 January) with two new titles on its slate, before jetting off to the Sundance Film Festival (24 January-3 February), where it will have high hopes for Divine Love [+see also:
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film profile] by Gabriel Mascaro, which will have its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic competition. The new film by the Brazilian filmmaker, who garnered much acclaim with Neon Bull [+see also:
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At the Paris-based market organised by UniFrance, Memento Films International will be kicking off pre-sales for two French titles currently in pre-production, based on their screenplays. The first of them, Under The Stars of Paris [+see also:
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film profile] and nominated for the same trophy six other times between 2000 and 2013), the film will revolve around a woman called Christine, whose life has not been easy lately. Her lonely routine is divided between distributions at free food banks and wandering the streets. One cold winter’s night, she finds Suli, an eight-year-old Eritrean boy, sobbing in front of her shelter. Christine realises that he is lost and has been separated from his mother. Bound by their status as outcasts, together they embark upon an emotional journey to find Suli's mother in the underground world of Paris... Produced by Arches Films and Maneki Films, the feature, which will be distributed in France by Diaphana, made a strong impression on Tanja Meissner: “We were deeply touched by this young boy's friendship with a jaded, middle-aged woman, both cast out from our ruthless society. Claus Drexel tells this tale with an eye that seems to penetrate deep into all of the characters, and it will leave room for an outstanding performance by Catherine Frot. It's an urban odyssey about simple problems and emotional discoveries, which powerfully lays bare a sincere and unpatronising feel for the poetry of broken lives.” 

The second title being launched by Memento in Paris is certainly not lacking in potential, either. Indeed, How to Be a Good Wife [+see also:
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In Paris, Memento will also be pinning its hopes on the market premiere of Curiosa [+see also:
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Also featuring on the line-up are three tantalising titles now in post-production: the Australian-British production True History of the Kelly Gang [+see also:
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interview: Diao Yinan
film profile], the new opus by China’s Diao Yinan, following Black Coal (Golden Bear and Best Actor Award at Berlin in 2014), which Memento will be attempting to sell based on its screenplay.

(Translated from French)