06/11/2019 - Around 20 French companies are attending the last major international market of the year, which gets under way today in Santa Monica

Today, the curtain rises on the 40^th AFM (American Film Market), which will unspool in Santa Monica until 13 November, and as is their wont, the French international sales agents (half of which will be grouped together under the UniFrance umbrella, at its dedicated area in the Loews Hotel) have a huge number of trump cards on their slates that they fully intend to play at the event. Here is an overview of the most enticing films and projects that are sure to tempt distributors from all around the world.

Playtime will be unveiling the market premiere of The Breitner Commando [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Abdel Raouf Dafri, and will be selling Nobody Has to Know [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bouli Lanners
film profile] by Belgium’s Bouli Lanners (see the article), which is currently being shot, based on its screenplay. It will also be touting five features in post-production: Memory Box [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil J…
film profile] by Lebanese duo Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Comes Morning by Japan’s Naomi Kawase, My Donkey, My Lover and I [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Caroline Vignal, Playlist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nine Antico
film profile] by Nine Antico and Summer of 1985 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by François Ozon.

Wild Bunch has announced that its line-up has been enhanced considerably by the addition of Mandibles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Quentin Dupieux
film profile] by Quentin Dupieux, The Swarm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Just Philippot
film profile] by Just Philippot, and Delete History [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine. Also of note among the firm’s slew of films are the very first images of Madame Claude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florence Gastaud
film profile] by Sylvie Verheyde, and the upcoming Lumière! The Adventure Continues by Thierry Frémaux, The Salt of Tears [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Souheila Yacoub
film profile] by Philippe Garrel and Flag Day by Sean Penn.

Kinology is setting itself apart with Annette [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Leos Carax (the shoot for which has just wrapped in Belgium, toplined by Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver) and a number of titles in post-production: Bergman Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mia Hansen-Løve
film profile] by Mia Hansen-Løve, A Mermaid in Paris [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Mathias Malzieu and How I Became a Superhero [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Douglas Attal.

Indie Sales, which has just added Dead & Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Verbeek
film profile] by Dutch director David Verbeek (complete with a promo-reel to back it up) to its slate, will also be pinning its hopes on On a Half Clear Morning [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bruno Dumont
film profile] by Bruno Dumont and two movies in post-production: All the Dead Ones [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Caetano Gotardo and Marco Dutra, and Bigger Than Us [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Flore Vasseur, a socially engaged documentary about activism (staged by Elzevir Films together with Marion Cotillard for All You Need is Prod, among others). We should also point out the market premiere of Our Lady of the Nile [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Atiq Rahimi (first unveiled at Toronto) and a teaser for Calamity: a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Henri Magalon
film profile] by France’s Rémi Chayé, an animated feature currently in the making.

Bac Films will be selling The Case [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Bernard Stora based on a promo-reel, as well as several other titles in post-production, with the very first images of Home [+see also:
interview: Franka Potente
film profile] by Germany’s Franka Potente (starring Jake McLauglin and Kathy Bates – see the article) and of the French-German animated movie Yakari, a Spectacular Journey [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Xavier Giacometti and Toby Genkel, plus a promo-reel for Wildland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jeanette Nordahl
film profile] by Denmark’s Jeanette Nordahl (toplined by Sidse Babett Knudsen). The firm will be negotiating deals for The Man Who Sold His Skin by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania (starring Monica Bellucci) based on its screenplay, and it will show the very first images of the French-Belgian co-production Our Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rachel Lang
film profile] by Rachel Lang.

Meanwhile, mk2 Films will be kicking off the pre-sales for The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol (see the article), which is currently being shot, and will be negotiating deals for the documentaries Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gero von Boehm
film profile] by Germany’s Gero Von Boehm (with a brand-new promo-reel to boot), Birds of America [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by France’s Jacques Loeuille and So Close to My Land by China’s Jia Zhangke, all in post-production.

Le Pacte will be organising a screening of Citizens of the World by Italy’s Gianni di Gregorio (see the article), the doc Phil Tippet – Mad Dreams and Monsters by Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet, and its Venice-awarded Madre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile] by Spaniard Rodrigo Sorogoyen, while also unveiling a promo-reel for Mama Weed [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jean-Paul Salomé (see the article – in post-production, toplined by Isabelle Huppert).

Charades will have particularly high hopes for Suicide Tourist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Alexander Arnby
film profile] by Denmark’s Jonas Alexander Arnby and will be pre-selling other titles such as Hunted [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by France’s Vincent Paronnaud and the US-UK production Mughal Mowgli [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bassam Tariq
film profile] by Bassam Tariq.

SND M6 will be showing off the very first images of De Gaulle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Gabriel Le Bomin, Appearances [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Marc Fitoussi, the comedy A Friendly Tale [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Daniel Cohen (starring Bérénice Bejo, Vincent Cassel, François Damiens and Florence Foresti) and the chilling Kandisha [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, but will also unsheathe a promo-reel for Poly [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Nicolas Vanier.

The recently founded Pulsar Content will be pinning its hopes on the projects I’m Going to Kill You by Denmark’s Nicolas Winding Refn, The Deep House [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by French duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, and Resurrected by Russia’s Egor Baranov, while also touting the completed movies Simon’s Got a Gift [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Léo Karmann and the documentary Aznavour by Charles [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Marc Di Domenico.

WTFilms will be pre-selling the rural-set fantasy flick Teddy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, currently in post-production, as well as lining up a slew of market premieres, including Anderson Falls by Julien Seri.

TF1 Studio will be presenting the market premiere of Into the Labyrinth [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Italy’s Donato Carrisi and will be pre-selling a number of titles in post-production: Way Down (see the article) by Spanish fright master Jaume Balagueró and the spy comedy The Lion [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Ludovic Colbeau-Justin.

Gaumont, which will be showing off #iamhere [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Éric Lartigau, Queens of the Field [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Mohamed Hamidi, Three Days and a Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Nicolas Boukhrief and the premiere of the South Korean film The Beast, also has From Africa With Love [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Nicolas Bedos up its sleeve, the shoot for which is about to get under way, with a cast including Jean Dujardin and Pierre Niney. Also standing proud on the line-up are the titles Bye Bye Morons [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Albert Dupontel (see the article), Rogue City by Oliver Marchal and the comedy Family Swap [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jean-Patrick Benes, all presently in post-production.

StudioCanal will be rocking up in Santa Monica with a jam-packed slate, which includes screenings of the animated movie SamSam [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Tanguy de Kermel, Perfect Nanny [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Lucie Borleteau and My Stupid Dog [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Yvan Attal. Standing out among the titles in post-production are Night Shift by Anne Fontaine (see the article), the horror flick 32 Malasaña Street [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Spaniard Albert Pintó (which will go on general release in Spain on 17 January 2020), The Lost Prince by Michel Hazanavicus (see the article), Gunpowder Milkshake by Navot Papushado, The Secret Garden by Marc Munden (toplined by Colin Firth) and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Will Sharpe (starring Benedict Cumberbatch). And that’s not to mention The Wolf and the Lion by Gilles de Maistre, which is currently being shot.

Orange Studio will unveil the market premiere of the horror movie Achoura by Talal Selhami and has just announced that Last Film Show by Pan Nalin, an Indian-Hungarian-French film currently being shot, has been added to its line-up.

Several other French international sales agents are also at the AFM, champing at the bit to unleash the contents of their slates, such as Memento Films International, Pathé International, Elle Driver, Other Angle Pictures (with, among others, the market premiere of Docteur ? by Tristan Séguéla – see the article) and Wide (with the premiere of the thriller Blast by Vanya Peirani-Vignes).

(Translated from French)