05/05/2022 - Shining especially bright in the French sales agent’s line-up are Pamfir by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and The Dam by Ali Cherri, which are due to be unveiled in the Directors’ Fortnight

Preparations for the 75th Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film (running 17 - 25 May) are in full swing at Indie Sales, the French international sales agent headed up by Nicolas Eschbach (with the support of Alfred Deragne, Sarah Delafoulhouze and Constance Poubelle) who’ll be flaunting an eye-catching line-up, including two titles set to world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.

The first of these is Pamfir [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
interview: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
film profile], the first fiction feature by Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, who’s scooped numerous awards for his short films (Weightlifter, Otrotstvo, Boroda) and is a product of the Berlinale Talents initiative and the Locarno Film Academy. Notably developed within the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation programme, this movie which will take its first steps on the Croisette takes us to western Ukraine on the eve of a traditional carnival. Pamfir (Oleksandr Yatsentyuk) is reconnecting with his family after many months of absence. Their love is so unconditional that when his only child starts a fire in the prayer house, Pamfir has no other choice but to work through his troubled past to make amends for his son’s mistake. His decision leads him along a risky path, with irreversible consequences… Pamfir is produced by Ukraine’s Bosonfilm, in co-production with French firms Films d’Ici and Studio Orlando, Poland’s Madants, Ukraine’s Mainstream Pictures, Chile’s Quijote Films, and Luxembourg’s Wady Films.

Another first fiction feature gracing the line-up and having won favour from the Fortnight is The Dam [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Cherri
film profile] by Lebanese director Ali Cherri, a known figure from the world of contemporary art (notably honoured in Venice’s Biennale). Written by the filmmaker together with Geoffroy Grison and in collaboration with Bertrand Bonello, the story is set in the Sudan, in the vicinity of the Merowe dam. Maher works in a traditional brickyard sustained by the waters of the Nile. Every night, he secretly ventures into the desert to build a mysterious construction using mud. As the Sudanese people rise up to claim their freedom, his creation starts to come to life… Production is steered by French outfit KinoElektron, alongside fellow French firm Galerie Imane Farès, Sudan’s DGL Travel HQ, Germany’s Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion and Serbia’s Trilema.

Indie Sales will also be pinning its hopes on four vastly diverse titles in post-production, namely Noémie Lvovsky’s musical The Great Magic [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], The Wall [+see also:
film review
interview: Philippe Van Leeuw
film profile] by Belgian filmmaker Philippe van Leeuw (toplined by Luxembourg star Vicky Krieps), Zillion [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robin Pront
film profile] by his compatriot Robin Pront and the animated film Richard The Stork 2 by Denmark’s Mette Rank Tange and Germany’s Benjamin Quabeck.

Well worth a final mention are the market screenings on the agenda for Two Tickets to Greece by Marc Fitoussi and Angry Annie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Blandine Lenoir.

(Translated from French)